Work-life news for the week ending November 28, 2009

In the News

A hospital manager who cut her own hours to improve her work-life balance and support staff wanting more flexible arrangements has won a best boss competition. Debbie Hinton, who works for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, was nominated by several of her 48-strong team for the award, run by Working Families and supported by BT.  Few of her team worked standard hours, making it easier for them to look after elderly relatives or children.  Ms Hinton, 46, said: “I have recently reduced my own hours and can now support my son and daughter in their chosen careers, visit my parents more frequently and get to ride my horse in daylight in the winter.”

Battle to keep our best teachers (Echo News – UK)

“But currently the work/life balance is all wrong. Teachers often leave in their mid to late-twenties because they want to get a life. It’s particularly tough for those who keep in touch with friends working in other jobs who take home more money, and can leave their jobs at the office at the weekend.  “The teachers are left with piles of marking or lesson planning on Sunday nights.”

FLEXIBLE WORKING LEADS TO BETTER SERVICE (Community NewsWire)

Colleagues were particularly appreciative of Debbie’s “can do” attitude to flexibility which meant that some were able to vary their hours according to out-of-work needs, including picking up their children from school.  As few of the team work standard hours, this has meant they have been able to offer clinics early and late in the day and on Saturdays, and widen their service to patients.  Debbie’s nominators described her as “kind, caring but firm”, “willing to listen to her staff” and “always very encouraging and urging us to be the best we can, so that our patients get the best and friendliest service possible”.

France Telecom chief stays course in year of crisis (Financial Times)

No one can say that France Telecom chairman Didier Lombard has had an easy time since returning from his summer break. The suicide crisis that engulfed the group in France – 26 employees tragically took their lives over the past 20 months – has provoked a national debate about work-life balance, the ripples of which have extended well beyond the former incumbent telecommunications group.

Finding Your Way Back: Re-Entering the Science Work Force (Journal of Science)

Oftentimes individuals taking a career break are trying to find better balance between their home lives and their work lives. Because of their frequent connection to child-rearing and work/life balance, career breaks are traditionally thought of as something affecting more women than men. As a result, in recent years, programs have arisen to assist scientists in re-entering the work force with an eye to increasing the proportion of female scientists.  In 2006 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started its Career Reengineering Program. Since then, 37 students have started the 10-month program. According to Dawna Levenson, associate director for academic programs, MIT’s program was originally intended to help women re-enter the work force after child-rearing, but the focus of the program has become broader. According to Levenson, the program consists of both “people who have left to raise their children or for other personal reasons, as well as people who are looking to retool themselves.” One such student, for example, was a Ph.D. chemist who left the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to pursue a career in photography and eventually entered the MIT program with the hope of resuming his career in science.

$1.9M grant aims to close gender gap (Arizona State University News)

While experts predict the majority of workers in the United States will be women by the end of this year, they still lag far behind men in earning doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. To help close this gender gap, the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded a $1.9 million grant to a team of ASU researchers, led by Bianca L. Bernstein, a professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education, to support efforts designed to help women persist and succeed in STEM doctoral degree programs…“We know from our early studies that it is not unusual for these bright and talented women to experience a loss of confidence during their graduate years,” Bernstein said. She added that interviews with women in STEM doctoral programs revealed four common sources of discouragement: lack of direction or active encouragement from advisers, difficulty with striking the work/life balance, facing a cold or isolating departmental climate, and coping with delays and setbacks.

Work Less (It’s Good for Business) (Entrepreneur)

Some of the latest evidence comes from a study involving the Boston Consulting Group and the Harvard Business Review. During a four-year span, BCG consultants who took designated periods of time away from work–what the researchers call “predictable time off”–reported greater satisfaction with their jobs and their work/life balance than did colleagues who didn’t take predictable time off. And in the end, according to the study’s authors, the participating consulting teams delivered a better product to clients. Their conclusion: “New ways of working can be found that benefit not just individuals but the organization.”

Plan Your Workforce for the Economic Rebound (BusinessWeek)

To ride out the current economic storm, you need to focus on retaining key talent and maintaining morale and engagement among your employees. How your company handles these tough times could have a lasting impact on your talent pool, building respect, loyalty, and longevity within the ranks for years to come.  Your current employees are your best recruiting tool. An important aspect of attracting employees is the work environment that you cultivate and the satisfaction of your current staff. Understanding not only corporate but personal economic pressures will assist you in better assessing and improving employee morale. Understanding your employees from a work/life-balance perspective becomes an important part of fostering productivity in your workforce, as well as attracting and retaining top talent.

Why This Freelancer Doesn’t Need Vacation Anymore (Harvard Business Publishing)

Since I quit my full-time job about a year ago to pursue some long-neglected passions, including teaching, my life has been busier than I initially expected. Most weeks, I work nearly as many hours as I did when I had just one job, and the number of people who rely on me has increased. Yet, slowly but surely, my need for prescribed time off has simply disappeared. I routinely labor on weekends (either planning for the classes I teach or doing freelance work), but usually without any sense of encroachment. My days seem longer, yet drudgery is rare. Multitasking is a given, but it seldom feels hectic.

Survey: Most Companies’ Employees Cannot Work Remotely During a Crisis (Security Management Magazine)

More interesting, says Kost is that business continuity and resilience was not the main driver for implementing remote access for workers. Only 15 percent of respondents listed “pandemic or other disaster preparedness” as their top business driver. Rather most respondents highlighted remote access’ ability to create a better work environment with 71 percent saying it  “increased employee productivity” and 55 percent saying it “enables efficient and competitive business operations.”…Nevertheless, a recent event near Cisco’s San Jose headquarters showed the utility of remote access when things do go wrong, according to Kost. At the end of October, two rods and a crossbar of the Bay Bridge came crashing down into the evening’s rush-hour traffic. The bridge, which connects Oakland and San Francisco, was closed for six days resulting in a commuter nightmare. At times like these, he says, telecommuting can be a savior.

Men yearn for a work-life balance too (news.com.au)

David Gregory, director of workplace policy with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there was “definitely a growing trend among males in the workforce to be wanting to better match their work and family responsibilities”.   That trend is set to increase with new workplace laws coming in force in January that require employers to give reasonable consideration to requests from employees for flexible work hours.

UK Girls School Association Head tells Girls to be ‘Realistic’ (Mens News Daily)

What’s more important is that, while calling for the girls to choose their marital partners carefully, Berry seems to believe that the girls will live their lives alone.  She tells the girls that life is all about balance but seems not to notice that men should be part of that.  She tells the girls to work part-time or not at all when the kids arrive, but never mentions the idea of negotiating a work-life balance with their husbands.

How Sun Microsystems Fans the Flames of Employee Passion (Fast Company)

I asked Bill how Sun developed so much of the loyalty that I had heard their employees express. He spoke about Sun’s flexibility. “ We appreciate that people do their best work in different ways, so we allow our employees to work from home when possible. If an employee doesn’t need to make the commute but they prefer not to work at home, we have satellite centers where they can work that are closer to their homes.”

In the Blogs

Destination Workplace (Advanced Workplace Associates)

Increased mobility, as a result of technology and flexible (or ‘advanced’) working, means that more professionals, managers and white-collar workers have more choice where and when to work. And I say, great – let’s see more of it. Charles Handy said people don’t want freedom from work, but freedom within work. I think he was right, and we will only see more people, not less, pushing for a better work-life balance.

Cleopatra Isn’t the Only Queen of Denial (MomsRising)

Most workers, including middle-class workers, do not have workplace flexibility or paid parental or family leave. Recently, the Administration recognized that H1N1 is a national emergency. Yet, 4 in 10 private-sector workers must choose between taking care of a child with the flu and losing their pay—or quite possibly their job.

Children “At Work” (Parent Times)

For working parents like me, we would welcome our Companies’ good gesture to organise events or activities for employees’ children especially during the school holidays. In my previous Company, my boy joined me at work sometimes during the school vacation. In another Company, classes like creative art, were arranged in the work premise for employees’ children during the school vacation.

The elephant in the conference room (Examiner.com)

We don’t need to engage employees. We need to engage people. We need to get people laughing again. We need to get people comfortable with sharing their true thoughts and feelings without it being earmarked in some file. We need to get people talking about the things that excite them and turning those thoughts into new and innovative ideas. Forget employee engagement. Let’s start talking about people engagement. Let’s stop tossing around terms like work/life balance and come up with, once and for all, solutions that are not cookie cutter, but individual.

Bridging the Work-Family Divide: What the Best U.S. Employers Are Doing to Help Working Families (Sloan Work and Family Research Network)

Yes, these employers understand the business case for flexibility. They know from first-hand experience that having a flexible and effective workplace helps them attract and retain the best workers, boosts employee engagement and productivity, and improves the physical and mental health of their employees. It even reduces business expenses (think of the money saved on office space when some folks work at home) and increases profits by cultivating a committed staff that keeps customers satisfied.  Beyond the business case, many of these award-winning employers also say they believe it’s just “the right thing to do.” They see their employees as individuals who want to do well on their job and also want time to bond with their new babies and participate in the lives of their children, who want to be there when an aging parent falls ill or needs help getting to a doctor appointment. And they understand that even employees without pressing family obligations might want to reduce their hours or take some time off to train for a sports competition or volunteer in their community or take a short sabbatical.

Work/Life Integration: Leader’s Series (HR Ringleader)

The take away for me was that it would be interesting to do a series of posts from people in different geographies, from different generations, on what work/life flexibility means to them and whether or not they think it works.  I’m thrilled to say that Eric Winegardner (from Monster), Bill Boorman (UK based Bill Boorman Consultancy), and Beth Carvin (CEO of Nobscot Corporation) all signed on to participate in the series.  I don’t know if this will turn into a generational divide, a men vs. women debate, or a geographical smack-down between the US and the UK.  What I do know is that I have three of the brightest in the HR industry weighing in on a great topic.  We welcome your comments and ideas on what work/life flexibility means to you.

Government jobs rank high (Metro News Toronto)

Students in the survey listed interesting work as their number one consideration when choosing an employer, followed by work-life balance, good people to work with, job security and good training opportunities respectively in the top five.   A high initial salary was sixth on the list of factors students consider for a potential employer, suggesting students have a sophisticated career outlook that takes into consideration their personal, emotional and financial goals.   In essence, Canadian students want the big picture of what work-life balance entails.  “Work-life balance is about flexibility and control — it’s not just about absolute hours,” Meerkamper said.

Managers a Barrier to ‘Good Jobs’ (bNet blogs)

The report has called for government to help employers create good jobs, but the Work Foundation’s own recommendation for employers to share best practice with each other seems a far more likely route to success.  The good job assessment: five areas to consider:

• Work-life balance — flexible or shift-working, job shares.

It is Not Our Parents Workplace Anymore (Huffington Post)

In addition, shifts in generational values and attitudes need to be addressed. Today’s workers are more interested in maintaining a work-life balance; they are seeking jobs that offer flexible work arrangements to address both the needs of their employers but also the needs of their families. They are looking for jobs that offer arrangements such as workplace health programs, telecommuting options, green sustainability and job share and part-time options. In order to recruit and retain the talent pool necessary to address tomorrow’s challenges, employers must seriously consider the deficiencies in today’s workforce and begin to develop solutions to better improve our educational system, create new incentives to attract tomorrow’s workers, and stay competitive in a global marketplace.

7 Tips for Balancing Life and Work During the Holidays (Power Home Biz)

With the holidays fast approaching, thoughts turn to work-life balance more so than any other time of year. If you are like many of us, you must keep up with your work responsibilities while fitting much more into your personal life. This can get crazy stressful if you let it, especially if your home is also your workplace. Whether you are a work at home mom, small business owner, or employee, here are some tips for avoiding or reducing stress this holiday season.

Press Releases

Happiest doctors caring for children, elderly, study finds

A new University of California Davis study on physician job satisfaction found differences among medical specialties, with the happiest doctors caring for children and the elderly….Additionally, researchers found work-life balance is becoming more important among doctors, Leigh said.  “In the past medical students have been very attracted to income,” Leigh said. “But having a controllable lifestyle is becoming more important.” Geriatrics is one specialty where doctors have control over their work hours, because elderly patients in nursing homes have flexible hours, Phillips said.

New Report: Federal Government Would Improve Recruitment and Retention by Offering Parental Leave Benefits Common in Fortune 100

While the federal government is generally known for its good employee benefits, in the area of paid parental leave it lags behind the private sector,” said IWPR Executive Director Barbara Gault. “If we are to truly realize the President’s goal to make the federal government a model for good work-life balance, the first step is simple: provide paid parental leave.”  Balancing work and family is particularly important to young college graduates entering the workforce. Two-thirds of college students say that balancing work and family is a priority for them, according to a report by the Partnership for Public Service.

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection will be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on December 10, 2009 at the Boston Convention and Exhibit Center:  Come on by and talk work/life balance/flexibility/fit at the annual conference where women can connect, be motivated, network, get inspired and build their skill base.  Last year the event brought together more than 5,000 women for the day.  Also be sure to check out the career fair raffle where Career Life Connection will be looking to put more balance back into your life with a one-hour massage gift certificate to Bella Sante.

Social Recruiting Summit – November 16 – NYC

Social media is rapidly becoming more than just another tool in a recruiter’s toolbox — it’s an important part of the future of the talent acquisition profession. The goal of #socialrecruiting summit is to have an industry conversation about these tools, talk about tactics and strategies that are already in the field and working, not pie-in-the-sky ideas.  Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection will be part of that conversation.  If you are attending the Social Media Summit or just in NYC and would like to talk about social media, workplace flexibility or work/life happiness with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

Career Life Connection will be attending the OnRec/Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference in Chicago November 3 & 4th.  If you’d like to meet Leanne Chase and talk work/life with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.  You can also catch her and many HR professionals talking about how to fail spectacularly in business at this fun industry event.

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection spoke about #work/life with Human Resources Professionals during the October 8th Episode of HR Happy Hour:  The WorkLife Show.

ERE Interviews:  Career Life Connection (JobRadio.fm)

Last week we stalked some of the job search vendors at the ERE Fall Expo in Hollywood Florida. This is the first of several interesting interviews from the expo floor. Meet Leanne Chase from Career Life Connection, an online community all about finding flexible work.