In the News

Millennial Women Want Work/Life Balance (Marketing Profs)

Young women identify two primary qualities as keys to workplace success: The ability to balance personal and professional lives, and a job where they can make a difference.   Below, other findings from Accenture’s study, Millennial Women in the Workplace Success Index: Striving for Balance…Some 66% of young women define success as doing meaningful work (i.e., “the type of work I want to do”), and 59% cite maintaining a balance between their personal and professional lives. Only 37% cite “being seen as an expert in my field” and even fewer (22%) cite “receiving awards or recognition internally.”

A recent survey finds that nearly half of U.S. adults take work home with them, and that those with college or postgraduate degrees are more likely to find work interfering with their personal lives. HR needs to keep the issue of work/life balance at the forefront of organizational discussions, experts say. HR professionals should take a leading role in addressing work/life balance issues within the organizations, and help assure “at-risk” employees that they shouldn’t feel pressure to spread themselves too thin, she says.  “HR should look at the stated values of the organization and the culture — both formal and informal. If there is a concern that work/life balance is tipped, look for the reasons. They are coming from organizational policies or perhaps from the interpretation of policies by individual managers or supervisors. “The key here,” she says, “is that policies are implemented and enforced with consistency across the organization, and that communication of the organization’s desire to provide balance be thorough and often.”

10 Principles for Successful Work-Life Balance (CIO Insight)

It seems the only way to get ahead in your profession these days is to get behind at home. Much is written on finding a healthy work/life balance. It is a widespread problem that continues to elude people, especially those of us driven to achieve…Here are 10 principles you can use to get more done in less time—and get back to a healthy balance between time spent at work and home:

New Report Address Work-Life Conflict Across Income Levels (EHS Today)

The reality is that best-practice employers typically find that workplace flexibility helps their bottom line,” the report explained. “One of the challenges is that the policies in place tend to be lopsided – flexible work hours and paid leave are often available only to the highest-paid employees, while government subsidies for childcare are often available to only the least paid. Policies, both public and private, need to be smoothed out, so that they help not only the poor and professionals but also the missing middle.”

Most women execs optimistic about achieving work-life balance (MyDigitalFC.com)

As per a online survey of 1,000 full-time employed women aged between 22-35 years in the US, more than half of them define success as doing meaningful work, while maintaining balance between personal and professional lives.  “Almost all the respondents– 94 per cent– believe they can achieve a balance between a satisfying professional life and a gratifying personal life,” the survey revealed.  Similarly, when asked to list typical qualities of a successful female business leader, seven in every 10 women cited “maintains work/life balance,” followed by “is flexible” and “is able to make an impact” (reported by 66 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively).

Bowmanville author gets companies recruiting (DurhamRegion.com)

And when sending a recruiter out, it’s important to know the target audience when trying to find the best new employees on campus. Job interviews work both ways in today’s hiring environment, he said.  Work-life balance is an important factor for potential employees looking into businesses to start their career, Mr. Allison said.

Big shot of the week: Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft (Times Online)

Former colleagues describe her as a devoted and involved mother and sometimes brought the girls to work or took them on business trips.  Ms Rosenfeld has said she does not believe that working mothers should aim for a perfect work-life balance, because it is simply not possible to achieve anything like a constant 50-50 split.  Instead, she believes it is important to know when is the right time to make work a priority and when to concentrate energies on the home.

In the Blogs

One Size Fits All? (Work. Life. Balance)

Earlier this week, I spent a few hours with an incredible group of people who research, write, teach and live the work+life balance field.  There were many important conversations around the table, but as I clarify my take aways, it comes down to this.  There is no one size fits all.  There is no cookie cutter approach.  The new dawn of work in the Western world is a cafeteria of choices and options.  It is a lot for organizations to get their heads around, yes.  But they will not be competitive unless they do.  The rest of us are scrambling to make up the rules for our own games, let alone the entire economy.  And that brings me back to story telling.  We need to hear about how others approach this.  Who has fought what battles and how they asked and got what they needed; from their spouse, from their organization, even from themselves.  Taking personal responsibility and accountability for our own work life balance is the single most important step we each can take.  My thoughts for work place reform are always under the umbrella of individual ownership of choices and in the framework of doing profitable, sustainable business.  I just want to make sure the choices exist.  And that we have the tools and education we need across socio-economic levels to enable us to ask.

Women Fleeing Tech Field: Causes and Solutions (Theglasshammer.com)

“There is a perception of work/life balance being a women’s issue,” said Dr. Ashcraft. But, the study showed that “work/life balance is as important to women as much as men.”  The difference, though, is that while “mid-level men are almost four times more likely than women to have a partner who assumes the primary responsibility for the household/children,” mid-level women “are more than twice as likely as men to have a partner who works full time.”  This means that women in the computer science and information technology industry are more likely than men to feel pressure from work/life balance issues. To exacerbate the problem, many women reported that while flex-time or telecommuting policies are formally available, they were discouraged from taking advantage of them.

Work/Life Balance: Refocusing a Flawed Concept (Huffington Post)

The discussion of ‘work / life balance’ is inherently challenging because it pins ‘work’ and ‘life’ against each other. We often feel as though work is hard and life should be easy, or at least easier. But in reality life is filled with work and so what we are really talking about is balancing work for monetary compensation with work that satisfies one’s need for personal reward or obligation…As illustrated in the work of Stephanie Coontz, author of ‘The Way We Never Were’ and ‘Marriage, a History’, women have worked and contributed to the income of the household throughout history, with the short exceptional period from the 1950s-1970s. What we now hold up as a traditional family structure was essentially an anomaly.

Work/Life: Only for the Wealthy? (The Mama Bee)

Work/life doesn’t mean reduced hours for all employees.  I want to be a chief executive, and I don’t expect to do that by reducing the time I spend at work.  But that doesn’t mean that work/life isn’t important to me; on the contrary, I still want the flexibility to pick up my child from school some days, or take an elderly parent to the doctor.  I am keen to see more high-quality childcare options at or near  my workplace so that I can see my child at lunchtime.  I want to be able to pump milk or breastfeed at my office.  And I don’t want to face discrimination because I have children, when the work I do is comparable to or better than my peers.  These are all work/life issues, and yet they are dwarfed by the perception that work/life is simply about working less.

Have Work-Life Balance p.2 (Have No Room To Move)

“Our industrial work culture says that, if I can see you, then you are working and, if I don’t, then you are not working,” she sighs. “The idea that we all have to work during the same time period in the same place has been [transferred] from the factory to the office. It made sense with industrial factory work but not when we’re talking about innovation, ideas, creativity.”  Kring’s ideas have already spread to Ireland. In 2008 the Citywest branch of international pharmaceutical company Abbott introduced a life navigation programme. Employees attended five half-day sessions designed by Kring to encourage them to prioritise their work-life balance, to respect and create individualised working schedules and methods. The results are impressive. There’s been a marked increase in employees working from home or to a flexible schedule, employee turnover has reduced by more than half, and internal surveys show that staff morale has greatly increased.

Flexibility offers a work-life balance (Careerone.com)

Employers and their businesses run the risk of being “named and shamed” on social media sites if they fail to manage new workplace flexibility laws properly, a Brisbane workplace lawyer has warned.  Brad Petley, workplace relations and safety partner at Holman Webb, says employers who have not prepared for r2r – the right of workers to request flexible work practices – could suffer business brand and bottom line damage.

Retirement survery sheds light on impact of GFC on flexibility for mature age workers (Workplaceflexibility.com)

What came as no surprise in the survey however, was that a third of respondents (34%) stated that career and flexible work options play a major role in determining when and if to retire, with one mature worker telling us “I may delay retirement if my work options improve dramatically, including the option to work part-time or from home.  I loathe the daily commute and the hassle involved”.  In fact, only 47% stated that at this time they wanted full-time work.

SWIB Speed Networking Roundtable Event (NYU Stern School of Business blog)

SWIB members sat according to area of interest while the company representatives rotated from table to table. “It was great to speak with women in the work force and discuss some issues that are taboo at recruiting events, such as work-life balance, salary expectations, and life working in male-dominated industries,” said MBA1 Elizabeth Strenio.

The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict (Center for American Progress)

Our analysis shows that while families across the spectrum face work-family conflict, they experience it differently, and the politics of resolving these work-life conflicts are defined by these differences. While these differences are very real, they mask the fact that no matter where Americans stand on the income spectrum, they need short-term and extended paid leave and new workplace flexibility rules, as well as high-quality, affordable childcare and freedom from discrimination based on family responsibilities.  In short, this report reveals the disconnect between Americans’ widespread concern over work-family conflict and their policymakers’ inability to pass legislation to address the issue. Understanding this disconnect first requires a portrait of why work-family conflict is so acute and widespread today.

Press Releases

Events

Wake Up, This Is the Reality!: A Fem2.0 Campaign to Shift the Public Narrative Around Work/Life

From January 25 to February 5, 2010, Fem2.0 will present a blog radio series – one program a day, each zooming in on how today’s work environment and policies are impacting a particular community. The series’ purpose is to demonstrate how work/life is NOT just a women’s issue but everyone’s issue. There will be more details about each segment very soon.

Fully Engaged:Achieving Work/Life Balance and High Performance – February 23rd, 8:30-4:30p, Kent State Stark Prof. Education and Conf. Center, North Canton, OH.

Work Life Conference – March 25-26, Washington, DC

Join us on March 25–26, 2010 for our annual thought–leader conference for work life, HR, diversity and talent management professions. This year we will explore the “New Normal” in the Global Economy: What is it and what are the implications for work life and talent management?

Workplace Flexibility Summit – April 7, Dallas, TX

Workplace Flexibility: Flexibility in a Multigenerational Workforce

Ann Arbor IT Zone
330 E. Liberty
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

“Work, Life, Balance: No Excuse!” February 4 Lunch Program – Century House Hotel & Conference Center,
997 New Loudon Road – Route 9 Latham, NY 12047

A Conversation on Workplace Flexibility Research Pt 2 (Georgetown Law event)

Video

Career Life Connection News and Events

Leanne Chase of CareerLifeConnection.com will be at the #Connect HR event on January 27 in Washington, DC.  If you are in the DC area and interested in meeting with her you can connect by commenting here, on twitter @leanneclc or by emailing her:  blog at careerlifeconnection dot com.

Success: Advancement and Caregiving–Challenging Work+Life Fit Roadblocks (Fast Company)

Really challenge what a good mother looks like for you personally.  Not what your mother says it is.  Not what the media says it is.  What do you say being a good mother looks like to you, based on your unique work and personal realities that are unlike anyone else’s.  Here are some of my favorite resources broadening the conversation about what it means to be a “good” mother:

• The Mama Bee Blog
• Morra Aarons-Mele at WomenandWork.com
• Joanne Bamberger at PunditMom.com
• Kami Lewis-Levin at The Fence, a Working Mom’s Blog
• Leanne Chase, CareerLifeConnection.com
• Chrysula Winegar at Work.Life.Balance

What is a Mommy Blogger? (TheMamaBee)

Earlier this week Babble came out with it’s list of the fifty best “mommy bloggers.” In a lot of ways it’s a great list — I read many of these women and have linked to some of them, notably The Mommy Blog and Silicon Valley Moms Blog. But the list also left me a little conflicted because almost none of the blogs listed were issues-oriented…And yet, I would have loved to see a blogger like Morra Aarons-Mele (Women and Work, MomsRising), Joanne Bamberger (PunditMom), Kami Lewis-Levin (The Fence, A Blog for Working Moms), Leanne Chase (Career Life Connection) or Cali Yost (Work Life Fit) make the list. All are moms, all are successful bloggers, all write about issues core to mothering — and yet, somehow, they are not in the “mom blog” space.

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.