Something’s been bugging me since I left the ERE Expo in San Diego a couple of weeks ago.  It’s the sense that businesses just don’t get it.  They are sure they hold all the cards.  They want to be sure that potential hires fit with their organization…they don’t really care what potential hires or even employees think of them.

The speakers talked about:

the hiring Tsunami that was coming based on employee unhappiness both in good and bad times.

how employers “value propositions” in their mission statements did not meld with their manager’s realities but did reflect what employees wanted to hear.

And I had some fascinating conversations where I heard different variations on this theme over and over again:

“You can’t hire people flexibly from the start – how do you know you can trust them to do the work?”

When I asked how potential employees knew they could trust that employer to follow through and offer flex later the look I got was one of being from another planet.  It never occurred to these particular recruiters that those interviewing at the company may be as concerned with trust issues as the recruiter is.   I mean after all – they are the employer, they hold the cards, they decide if you are “lucky enough” to work there.  If you are chosen…then you are trusted (as long as you are in the office a lot).  Aren’t you lucky?

Huh?

Where did this get so messed up?

Well it may be that we’ve been concentrating on the wrong traits important in society for the past 50-60 years.  We’ve been concentrating on promotions and raises and getting validation from short-term accolades.  Not things that last.

I don’t always agree with David Brooks of the New York Times but he always makes me think.  And today’s article about whether you’d rather have short-term success or long-term happiness is a good one.  It should make everyone think a bit more about what’s really important.

And I think that’s what’s been bugging me about my conversations at ERE Expo.  Employers talk about engaging employees, offering better benefits, creating a “great place to work.”  They apply to awards and attend events and tout their accomplishments….but in the end its only about short-term success that they are concentrating on.  And we employees know they talk more than they actually believe or follow through on the talk.

Businesses used to be in it for the long haul both for themselves and their employees and happiness was important, as is success, of course.  Now happiness isn’t important…but it should be.  Because it’s still important to most people…and in a knowledge based economy your company truly is only as good as its people.

So to those employers who don’t trust me to work well from inception based on 20 years of work history, references and being given a chance…I have no desire to work for you.  I don’t trust you either and in the end we will not make each other happy.  I understand that…maybe some day you will, too.

Great news.  The White House will be hosting a forum on workplace flexibility on March 31.   This is great…right?

You see the problem is that the focus will be on how workplace flexibility can help families manage their work/life better.  Those with school age children, those with ailing parents.  And I agree, workplace flexibility is great for those populations.  But it’s also great for so many others.  People who want to pursue their passions.  Those who want to work, just not 50+ hours a week.  Those who are nearing retirement age and still want to keep working just not at the same pace.   Those who do not define themselves by their work/careers but strive to be whole people living fulfilled lives.

And I get it.  Especially after the week I’ve had.  After traveling for a week I came home with a cold only to be totally trumped by my daughter who contracted pneumonia.  It’s been a bit of a lost week of productivity for me.  So I get the pressures on family and work.  But I also felt those in my 20′s as I was pursuing my graduate degree (no children at the time).  And I felt them as I wanted to take time off to travel with my husband (no children at the time).  And I feel them for my mom who would like to work, but splitting her time between home in the Northeast and the lovely sunshine of Florida makes that pretty difficult.

So please let’s not do what so many other countries have.  Discriminate against those without children and ailing parents.  I would hate to see legislation that gives parents of young children the “right” to ask for more flexibility at work.  Everyone should be able to ask, present a business case, and at least be heard.  It should not matter whether you are a parent or not.

If we make more flexibility at work only about families it will be doomed to fail.    So here’s hoping next week there is great discussion on the issue.   And that the discussion includes many voices, not just those with children.

This isn’t how I planned it.  Which as anyone who has had children will know…is how it often ends up.  Once you have another living, breathing, thinking human being to consider the best laid plans often get waylaid.  And so it is for me.

I’ve been on the road a lot lately.  First dipping my toe in the crazy (at least for me) world of SXSW and then running to the much more tame and familiar ERE Expo.  Great conversations, interesting business partnership talks, cutting edge tools, techniques, strategies, wonderful friends and staying up way too late.  And in the background helping to juggle the responsibilities of a two-working-parent household.

Wow was that fun and boy was I glad that was over.  But there was more coming…or so I thought.

As I write this I thought I would be heading to an airplane to fly to Washington DC for my 2nd to last conference of the year.  The one I was really excited about.  The first Work/Life conference for me.  But it is not to be…

My husband carried the water for the house all last week and did a masterful job at remaining home when he is normally expected to be in a different city.  The whole time I was away he was the parent on call.  He was home for dinners, bedtime, cuddles, comfort.  His career is hectic and harried with lots of work and expectations.  And it pays the bills.   So this was wonderful.  I was away without a care in the world.

I knew this week would be different.  He needed to head back out on the road.  I had agreed to be on the road to attend, write about and talk about the Work/Life conference.   I put together a village to take care of home while I was away.  I would need to check in a lot, but I was ready to go for it.  Until 102 that is.

No matter how independent they start to be, or how much they want to do things themselves.  Put a sick little one near a mommy or daddy and forget it.  Nothing else will do.  And honestly at this stage in life….that’s the way it should be.  Mom and Dad are the entire world/universe/reality for that little one.  So I made a decision…it was one I had already made, I just planned to put it off for a bit.

With a fever of 102 3 days running, my little one who was more a pile of pudding in my lap, than the usual independent, testing limits preschooler we expect. So I came off the road.  I knew this day would come.  I had planned it for  later this spring.  I just thought I had one or two more conferences in me.

So my apologies to the Conference Board and all those involved in the Work/Life conference.  And my apologies to Tru USA and all those who are working to make that a really fun event.  I will not be there.

Managing work/Life is about choices.  And the right choice for my family is for me to be the home body as needed.  And I cannot control when that is needed so it is time to practice what I preach.

I blog, I promote flexible companies, I still see the need for much more flexibility in the workplace.  I will not stop working on, talking about, promoting these issues.  I will just do it close to home and not in faraway cities at conferences.  At least for now.

This weekend and next week I am very excited to be talking to so many of the audiences I serve at Career Life Connection.  Since work/life is so multi-layered I wear many hats.  I help people with their own personal responsibility on work/life struggles.  I talk to those working in the corporate world or those that want to return to it to help them engage management on how they can work more flexibly and help it increase its bottom line.  I talk to corporate recruiters and HR people who are key to understanding that work/life is tied to productivity, talent attraction and employee retention and is thus a pain point for corporate executives.

What I haven’t been able to do is get them to talk with each other. To understand how much common ground they all have and how flexibility at work can help them all achieve their various goals.  Enough with the echo chambers and back slapping both audiences get from their peers.  It’s time to start understanding the other side…seek common ground…and find success.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

And if you’re at SXSW or ERE Expo in the next week and want to discuss, debate, give me a piece of your mind.  I’m game.  Comment on this post, @leanneclc or  email chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

So I’m on vacation.  And I’m watching my little one just enjoy being…playing with toys, riding a bike for the first time, running down the sidewalk…and I think I really should chill more.    We’re in Arizona and she would desperately like to be in the pool.  But it’s 52 degrees out, so not today.  Instead of pouting she just moves on happily.  I posted my thoughts on Facebook and a male friend agreed that wives/moms should chill more.

And so I think, goodness, why can’t I do that better?  Well it could be because I bothered to open my laptop this morning.  I have a conference call so I was checking on the details of that and in the process saw an article about a study that claims that children of mothers who work full time are fatter, less healthy kids than those that work part-time or stay at home.

Ugghhh!

Here is why Moms can’t chill.  Because if we work we are compromising our children.  If we don’t we are compromising ourselves.  If we work part-time we are underemployed as well as under appreciated both at work and at home.

My husband is great and he helps a lot but if you asked him how many fruits or vegetables our little one ate in a day he would have no clear idea.  If you asked him how much TV she took in, he would know what the rules are, but not necessarily the realities.   And if you asked him to make dinner it would consist of something frozen or a pizza.  If you asked him what Dr’s appts are coming up, he would really struggle with that one and certainly not know the dates or times or even some of the Dr’s names.

Moms are working (women are now 50% of the workforce), they are attending to the children’s health, the food buying, the food preparation and they are being judged.  ‘Nuff now.  Either it’s time for other parts of society to help or quit it with the judgments and studies! Just once I would love to see a study on how Dads’ work habits, eating habits, life affect children.

Oh and did I mention today’s breakfast for me & the little one will be hotel room service.  I won’t be controlling the ingredients, etc. I will make sure to include fruit in the mix, but I’m sure it won’t be as healthy as it could be…and I’m sitting her in front of the TV at 11a as I have a conference call.   As Kathy Griffin would say:  You can suck it society.

Events happening this week

The Care Summit - March 11, Washington, DC

Join the work/life dialogue along with other organizations on the cutting edge of family
care giving issues.

In the News

“Although Krislite is not a family-run business, we inculcate a family spirit among our people,” explains Mr Teo.  The company encourages a work-life balance where it can, and facilitates connections on both social and business levels to maintain the team spirit.   The strategy has worked well, with the company managing to retain its best people.   “It can be expensive,” comments Mr Teo, “but we balance costs with flexible wage solutions and a performance-based incentive structure.”

Civil servant unions pushing back on feared cuts to pensions (The Montreal Gazette)

But Duxbury said pensions aren’t the big draw they used to be for the “creme de la creme,” those young high-flyers who don’t see themselves in one career. Today’s big lure for all workers of all ages, is work-life balance, which the government is ideally positioned to offer.

Survey: Work-life balance difficult when family business is your life (Central Valley Business Times)

As a result, 56 percent of owners are constantly trying to improve their work-life balance, according to the survey.  According to the survey, 44 percent of family business owners always or often discuss work at home, and 28 percent always or often discuss home life at work. Nevertheless, surprisingly few find it to be a concern. Sixty percent say their discussions of work at home rarely or never cause problems, while 75 percent say discussing home at work presents no difficulties.

In the Blogs

Japan’s Local Government Offices Start Introducing ‘Telework’ System (Bernama.com)

As maintaining a work-life balance and tackling global warming have both become key issues, the Japanese government is promoting a ‘teleworking’ system in which people are able to work at home using computers and the Internet, and reduce emissions at the same time by not commuting, Kyodo news agency reported.  In 2007, the government laid out a plan to increase the number of teleworkers to 13 million by 2010, twice the figure in 2005, hoping to promote the system in both public and private entities.

Latest Book by California Western Professor Explores How Married Lawyers “Share the Pants” (California Western News)

“Work-life balance is not just a woman’s issue,” writes Slotkin. “Men also seek a work-life balance. Significant numbers of Gen-X and Gen-Y male professionals are demanding balance for themselves and their families.”

Through a collection of first-person essays by the husbands of women lawyers, Slotkin offers readers lessons and suggestions for achieving work-life balance and building lasting relationships.

BlackBerry adds 10 extra work days a year (Into Mobile)

These studies are always a bit overblown in the same way we see those stories about Facebook costing businesses billions in lost productivity. It would be foolish to say that the work/life balance hasn’t changed but I think that’s okay because the 9-to-5 schedule is antiquated. Sure, you may now be on the hook to respond to work e-mails on the weekends but that same ability should enable flexibility to take off in an afternoon if you need to do things like pick up your kids.

A Flexible Work Arrangement May Have Health Benefits (Emax Health)

The review also found that flexible work schedules was associated with improvements in alertness and heart rate, as well as secondary health outcomes such as perceived social support in the workplace and a sense of community.

Time spent at the workplace is often greater than the time spent with families and in personal pursuits. The consequences of losing an overall work-life balance can result in conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and certain cancers due to factors such as increased use of packaged and convenience foods (ie fast food), decrease in the amount of time spent doing physical activity, and the lack of sleep from anxiety.

Workplaces can use this study to their advantage. A worker who gets the appropriate amount of sleep, for example, is less tired and more productive during working hours. Having time to dedicate to one’s health can reduce overall healthcare costs for employers as well. And happy employees are often more engaged with company activities.

A (Very) Non-Millennial Working Mom’s Thoughts on Tattoos, Piercings, and Work-Life Balance (Current Mom)

Even more compelling is recent data from the consulting firm, Accenture, about Millennial (and Millennial-plus) professional women (here, women aged 22-35). Despite the recession, the vast majority of the 1000 women surveyed by Accenture - 94% – believe they can achieve a balance between a satisfying professional life and a gratifying personal life.  And nearly half of them – 46% – actually reported having an equal balance between their work and personal lives. (Hmm. I wonder how many of them have kids right now. Or whether they’re simply balancing work with leisure-filled weekends.) Significantly, 59% of these Millennial women defined success as “doing meaningful work while maintaining a work/life balance” as opposed to achieving a certain job title or level (37%) or being seen as an expert in their field (38%).

The Imbalance of Life and Work Balance (Expense Report)

Did you know the following?

* Health Care expenses are almost 50% higher for Workers who report high levels of stress

* People who experience work/life imbalance are three times more likely to suffer from heart problems, infections, injuries, mental health problems and back pain, and five times more likely to suffer from certain cancers

* Workers who have to take time off work because of stress, anxiety or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days

As these statistics show, work/life balance is still an important (and costly) issue both for individuals and organizations.

Events

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?

The Work. Life. Me! Balancing Retreat for Working Mothers – March 27-28, Lewiston, NY

Unlike many other “getaway weekends” geared towards women, this retreat acknowledges the juggling act working mothers live out each day – and the extreme difficulty many have with feeling deserving of time and money investment in themselves. This is reflected not only in the affordable registration rate, but also through workshops which will give participants takeaways they can apply immediately toward more balance in their lives. Workshops include an introduction to the Law of Attraction, Organization 101, Kicking Super Mom Syndrome to the Curb, Eating for Mind Body Balance, and Finance for Women. Presenters are not only experts in their fields but working moms who bring real-life understanding to the table.

Developing an innovative workplace using flexibility – April 1, Lexington, UK Campus, ES Goodbarn

Learn how flexibility can be used as a strategy to motivate and engage employees who are having to do more with less, forego salary increases and deal with the challenges of work and life in the 21st century.

Workplace Flexibility Summit – April 7, Dallas, TX

When Work Works – April 8, Chandler, AZ – The Chandler Chamber of Commerce will hold its launch breakfast and forum for the 2010 When Work Works Alfred P. Sloan campaign to promote flexibility in the workplace from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. April 8 at the Courtyard by Marriott/Fairfield Inn at 1100 S. Price Road, Chandler.

Planning Your Post-Career Career: Work/Life Balance After Age 50 – April 14, Hartford, CT

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

Work Life Balance (as seen from Stanford Biz School grads)

Kevin Roberts interview in Paris (amplified) < He’s the man! #branding #sorted #follow

Recently had need to drag this out of the archives so thought I would share it with you. My favourite part of this is…‘It’s not about work/life balance; it’s about work/life integration. I don’t want to balance my life, I want to blast it to the max’

Flexible Work Arrangements as described/discussed by Kathleen Greer of KGA

Kathleen Christensen, Ph.D. Discusses New Book “Workplace Flexibility” on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal
Kathleen talks about workplace flexibility and the idea that the workplace structure should adapt to the changing needs of workers. She also responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.

Career Life Connection News and Events

ERE Expo – Career Life Connection will be exhibiting at ERE Expo on March 16 & 17 in San Diego, Ca.  Come by booth #317 to plug in, grab a drink, grab a seat and generally re-charge

SXSW, March 12-14 – Leanne Chase from Career Life Connection will be at SXSW in Austin, TX.  To meet up @leanneclc on twitter, send email to chase at careerlifeconnection dot com

Creating buzz, one day at a time (Boston Globe)

Work/Life balance and the Community Manager – March 3rd – discussion for members of The Community Roundtable, led by Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection

Work Life Balance Strategies on Career Life Balance Radio featuring Leanne Chase, Founder and President of Career Life Connection.

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.

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.

Don’t you hate it when you have a really great presentation, conversation, brainstorming session and then 20 minutes later you have an epiphany that would have been perfect if only you’d had it during the event?  Yeah, me too.  Yesterday in fact.

I was on a call with community managers through The Community Roundtable and we were discussing work/life.  I was giving them the knowledge I had learned over the years and through the research I’ve done for this site:

1) Have boundaries and stick to them

2) Manage expectations

3) You cannot have it all, all at once – you will need to say “no” to things

4) Ask for help

By all accounts the call went well and a good time was had by all and I learned a lot from them.  Afterward I was talking offline with one of the participants.  He is an expectant father and is nervous about how his life will be changing soon and how he will manage his work/life.   I told him that this would all actually become much easier…because as a parent you need to do all of the above…regularly.

There it was…the epiphany that has probably been rolling around in my head for a while but just simply couldn’t manage to come out at the opportune time.

Why has it been rolling around…well this is a daily routine with me:

1) Boundaries – while I like snuggling with my little one, I also like sleep.  My pre-schooler knows mommy & daddy’s room is off limits to kids before 7am unless you are sick/in need.  It’s a hard and fast rule.  And it works really well – with the help of a digital clock.

2) Expectations – “Mommy can I have a cookie?”  “Mommy can I have an ice cream?” “Mommy can I have that toy?” How many times a day, week, month, year do I hear this?  While I am asked constantly for these things she doesn’t get them consistently.  New toys come around birthdays & holidays, treats come sparingly each day.  That is what she now knows to expect.  It won’t stop her from asking but it stops her from having a meltdown each time she doesn’t get what she has asked for.

3) Say “no” – well based on the above I say “no” a lot.  But I also do it in a more positive way.  “Mommy can I have a cookie?” “Absolutely, once we have dinner.”  “Mommy can I have a new toy?” “Not right now, but let’s put it on your birthday list.”

4) Help – There is no way I could do all of this and stay sane without my nanny, weekend babysitter, husband, extended family.  I would simply be too stressed and dysfunctional.

What happens if I don’t use these 4 constantly?  Bedlam, unhappiness, stress, tears for all.

So why wouldn’t that be true for our adult selves as well?  It doesn’t matter if you’re a community manager or a business owner or a car mechanic.  It doesn’t matter if you use a smart phone or not.  It doesn’t matter if you’re 20, 30, 40 or 80.  This is what is needed.  And I’ll be the first to admit – I’m great at parenting a pre-schooler.  Not so much at parenting myself  – because it’s not fun…and I do want it all, NOW…and let’s be honest my parents would never let me stay up this late to write a blog post.

So show of hands…who wants to be my parent?

The subject of today’s guest post seems to be on a lot of people’s minds these days.  Clearly it’s on mine as I wrote an employee pledge to employers recently.  It’s on the mind of my former boss who managed me remotely for a couple of years.  She is now working near Boston from home while her company is based in Austin.  She travels back and forth but for the most part is remote.  We were discussing how companies don’t advertise jobs as being flexible, how workers need to prove they are worthy before they are given the ability to have flexibility.  And how frustrating that is to someone who needs flexibility in order to take a job.  Her take was that too many companies have gotten screwed by employees who want to work remotely but then don’t do their work.  I think there is definitely some of that…but I also think that reality and its corresponding urban legend are very far apart.  Most remote workers I know understand that they need to work much harder to prove they are getting their work done than their in-office counterparts and take this issue very seriously.  For those remote workers here are 5 tips from Deborah Fike to help you out.

Having been a project manager at a software development firm, I have managed teams of both in-house and remote employees.  I have to admit, the workplace can be rough for offsite employees.  You can’t participate in the water cooler conversations that happen in all work environments.  You don’t get to joke with your cubicle neighbor.  And worst of all, when something goes wrong, the in-house people love to blame those “playing around at home.”

But don’t despair!  As a manager who got to know both my in-house and remote employees really well, I know that the above are often myths generated by people used to working in an office.  If you look behind these “disadvantages,” you’ll find that water cooler talks often center around last night’s football game, that you can get to know your teammates without being attached at the hip 24-7, and that people often use those whom they don’t know well as scapegoats, even if the problem is internal.

So what’s a remote employee to do?  Well, first you have to accept one thing: you are accountable for the time you work from home.  Having a flexible schedule means better work-life balance, but it comes with the price of staying connected and communicating in smart ways.   That means not only letting people know what you’re working on, but also just getting to know the personalities of your teammates back at the office.  The less you appear as a faceless robot that sends e-mails, the more likely you will be accepted and appreciated by the team, even if you can’t physically be with them.

Below are some tips and tricks I learned by working with remote employees:

• Keep track of your work output.  At a bare minimum, make sure your manager knows what you are working on every day.  If possible, let all your teammates know as well.  There are a lot of online tools out there that record employees’ work output (in fact, my husband and I are building one right now).
• Use IM as often as possible. Even if you can’t physically be at the office, you’re often working near a computer with an Internet connection.  Have your teammates install a common IM program on their machines.  Send quick links, tidbits of information, and questions over these channels as you come across them.   It will not only make it feel like you’re at the office, but you can also have more casual conversations than you can in e-mail.
• Keep a schedule (as best as you can). One of the benefits of flexible schedules is not having clear work hours.  The truth is, though, even remote employees often find themselves working at the same time each day.  Let people know the likely hours you plan on working and remind them to IM freely if they need to speak to you.
• Set up weekly phone calls or video chats. If you are too far away to go to the office at least once a week, I highly recommend weekly sync-ups with managers and other key teammates.   Schedule phone calls and video chats whether you need them or not.  In reality, there is always something work-related to talk about, even if it’s just to clarify a company e-mail.  Plus, you get the bonus of showing off your personality and just “talking shop,” which is hard to do via e-mail or even IM.
• Speak up! If your team regularly sends out group e-mails, make sure your voice is part of the conversation.  Don’t hesitate to respond with an opinion or question just because you think you don’t know the whole story.  It will not only clarify what’s happening at the office, but also allow you to digitally brainstorm with your teammates. 

Just remember the main goal: stay connected, communicate your work output, and get to know your teammates.  It’s on you to remain visible and stay accountable as you work from home!

Deborah Fike is a co-founder of Fellowstream, a Facebook-meets-collaboration tool for remote teams. She has overseen five product launches as a product manager for the Torque line of game engines.  She hopes that the next wave of online tools will help more people achieve a realistic work-life balance.

Events happening this week

Psychologically Healthy Workplace Conference – March 5-6, Washington, DC

Explore ways to position your organization for success in the economic recovery…Current issues in employee assessment and selection…New perspectives on work-life balance…Best practices in diversity and inclusion…And, back by popular demand, Employer Experience Sessions: lessons learned from award-winning companies.

In the News

Turning overworked, underpaid staffers into top performers (CFO Daily News)

Portrait of the American worker: longer hours, increased workloads, fewer resources and little to no work/life balance — all for the same paycheck.

At least that’s the picture a recent CareerBuilder survey painted.

According to the surve

A New Work/Life Balance Model: “Mass Career Customization” (Media Bistro)

Consulting and accounting firm Deloitte has scrapped its nearly 70 different “flexible work arrangements” in favor of a system it developed called “Mass Career Customization.”

The arrangement has promise for other companies—and in fact, according to Workforce, Deloitte is now pitching the concept to its clients—especially those that believe work-life balance is for more than mothers.

There’s a cute little matrix chart thingy, seen above, with four columns and six levels of commitment and other things that HR folks love, but in essence, it’s a system designed to get employees to think about how they want to contribute at what stages in their life. And it allows for people not to just say “I want less work and more time with my family” but “Please give me more responsibility, I’m interested in advancing my career.” Which is something we find sorely lacking in work-life programs.

For Physician-Scientist Couple, Success is in Balance (Science Magazine)

We made some changes in our careers specifically so we could have a work-life balance. We made a conscious decision that work is really important and family is really important. I think unless you make that conscious decision, you won’t succeed.

The study authors speculate that a greater prioritization of “work-life balance” among younger generations could be responsible for the larger decline. And that sets up American hospitals and clinics for a new paradigm, where doctors continue to spend fewer hours on the job.

Finding Work-Life Balance In Medicine (Better Health)

When you die:

A) The house of medicine will collapse, and only recover by remembering your compassion and sacrifice.

B) Patients and staff will wail in sack-cloth and ashes

C) Someone may name a procedure or drug in your honor

D) People will walk over your dead body, take your vacant day-shifts and go through your pockets for change.

The answer is D. Although I’m using some hyperbole, the point is that when you die, some people will be sad; your loved ones will miss you. But life will go on. The hospital will not close, and the sick will not stop being sick. So conduct your life with this in mind. Medicine, for all it’s wonder and value, must not be a rock on which you wreck yourself. Let it enhance, not overwhelm, your life.

Editorial: Implement telework wisely (Federal Times)

Three feet of snow within a week closed federal offices in Washington for 4½ days and cost an estimated $45 million in lost productivity. Telework advocates, including Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, say the fallout from “snowmageddon” could have been sharply reduced were more federal employees and managers more practiced and equipped for teleworking.

They are right that more must be done to promote teleworking — not just so agencies can operate through nasty blizzards, but so government can reap the many other benefits that can come with an effective teleworking workforce. Those include greater productivity, a more versatile and portable government operation, better employee morale, a better work/life balance that attracts high-caliber job candidates, lower real estate costs, fewer sick days taken by employees and less traffic congestion and energy consumption.

In the Blogs

Work Life Stories:  When the Dream Turns 180 (Work. Life. Balance)

Working from home is not as easy as it sounds.  It is one thing when you’re self-employed and an entirely different proposition when you’re with a company that works hard and plays hard – with long hours, expecting face time and trying to create a culture as well as run a profitable business. Lindsay Hepworth talks to us about how she navigated the process with an innovative software company over several major life events and how a mutually trusting relationship has been essential.

Achieving Your Career Goals and Attaining Work Life Balance (Six Figures)

Emerging from the Bubble (The Harbus)

A column dedicated to the transition from HBS back into the real world

8. What we do outside of our work might be just as important as what we do at work. Work/life balance starts now, even if you are single or married but pre-kids. Don’t ever give up the life part of the equation, because you might forget to take it back when it truly matters.

Why Workplace Flexibility Matters for the Chronically Ill (Sloan Work & Family Research Network)

The movement calling for a more flexible workplace is getting louder. We’re hearing demands from various sources, including working mothers, a “sandwiched generation” and aging boomers. The message is that a rigid, standardized work schedule makes it difficult to balance the competing needs of successful employment and a balanced, personal life.

Yet there is one group that is markedly absent from this discussion. That’s the 40% of the workforce living with a chronic illness.

Snowy Day: Debunking Work Life Balance Myth (85 Broads)

When women ask me, “how do you balance it all…business, clients, public speaking, 2 preteens, husband etc.” I usually say “I DON’T!!! It’s always messy !And anyone who says they are ” balancing” is liar!” Anyone who knows me knows I usually don’t mince words. Life’s too short not to speak the truth!

So..while I’m snowed in with “everyone” home, trying to reschedule clients, and diplomatically, fielding periodic well-disguised distractions by very cute people that all amount to ” Hey..you, the woman on the phone and keyboard! I’m bored, please pay attention to me!!” I am really struck by how messy my life and work can be.
So in the interest of leveling the playing field between all women who want it all here is the debunked myth of “life work balance” in all its graphic ugly detail

An Apple a Day Won’t Keep Burnout Away (Employee Assistance)

Most employers have the foundational elements of a healthy workplace, including health insurance, healthy cafeteria choices, and gym benefits. There are several means of building upon that foundation to truly create a healthy workplace. The basic tenets of improved employee health include employee involvement, employee growth and development, health and safety, work-life balance, and employee recognition.

Enjoying Good Health For Work and Life (Live for the Moment)

People want to take the ‘tired’ out of retired. Retirement is no longer a matter of ’stop work and start dying’. It’s now more like, as one client put it to me, “what’s for dessert? I’ve finished the main course and I’m still hungry!” Such people want to continue having an active involvement in society – preferably paid – but on their own terms rather than on an employer’s terms.

Work Life Balance (TransWorld News)

Following the theme of his newest book, Lead with Love, Mr. Czarnecki urges that everything a leader does must begin with love. “Love is the power behind any workforce that moves any company. Today, more than ever before, loving your employees means understanding their need to balance their life with their work place.”

A Parents at Work (PaW) survey shows that nearly two-thirds of respondents recently said that their work-life balance made them feel a “little stressed” with almost a quarter claiming that it made them very stressed….Mr. Czarnecki sites some additional statistics on the impact stress has on employees and our business

Five Predictions For How We’ll Work in 2010 & Beyond (Compensation Cafe)

Moving on to her next point, there’s more to life than work, as we all know.  While we all need to work to earn a living, we have other demands on our time, energy, and interests.  So yes, we should work with passion and dedication in a field that’s meaningful and satisfying, but we need to balance work with our other life demands over decades of our careers as our lives evolve.   If anything, employees are less loyal now than they were even two years ago before the recession began.  Layoffs, reductions in merit budgets, cutbacks to benefits, furloughs, and increased workloads have all contributed to a reduction in employer loyalty.  And it’s affected the family of those who were directly impacted by these practices, with our youth questioning and challenging the traditional employment relationship.

The balance in the employment relationship has to be restored in order for loyalty to return.  And that balance differs by employee in every company in America, based upon their individual experience particularly over the past few years.

Maintaining Work/Life Balance in the Always Connected Work Environment (Evolved Employer)

Over a quarter of those polled sent email during dinner? This sounds like a serious breach of work/life balance. While a company may support or even encourage flexible work situations, employees can’t be expected to be connected and online 24/7. Employees want flexible workspaces to improve work/life balance, not eliminate it!

Culture of health emerging (Benefits Canada)

Employers are coming around to the idea of improved productivity through healthy employees healthy—so much so that it is emerging as the top business objective for employer-sponsored wellness programs around the world, according to a poll.  Buck Consultants’ third annual Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies poll of more than 1,100 organizations from over 45 countries finds that the most powerful drivers for wellness strategies among Canadian employers are mental health issues: stress, work/life balance, and depression.

Press Releases

Events

The Care Summit - March 11, Washington, DC

Join the work/life dialogue along with other organizations on the cutting edge of family
caregiving issues.

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?

The Work. Life. Me! Balancing Retreat for Working Mothers – March 27-28, Lewiston, NY

Unlike many other “getaway weekends” geared towards women, this retreat acknowledges the juggling act working mothers live out each day – and the extreme difficulty many have with feeling deserving of time and money investment in themselves. This is reflected not only in the affordable registration rate, but also through workshops which will give participants takeaways they can apply immediately toward more balance in their lives. Workshops include an introduction to the Law of Attraction, Organization 101, Kicking Super Mom Syndrome to the Curb, Eating for Mind Body Balance, and Finance for Women. Presenters are not only experts in their fields but working moms who bring real-life understanding to the table.

Developing an innovative workplace using flexibility – April 1, Lexington, UK Campus, ES Goodbarn

Learn how flexibility can be used as a strategy to motivate and engage employees who are having to do more with less, forego salary increases and deal with the challenges of work and life in the 21st century.

Workplace Flexibility Summit – April 7, Dallas, TX

Planning Your Post-Career Career: Work/Life Balance After Age 50 – April 14, Hartford, CT

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

Work Life Balance (as seen from Stanford Biz School grads)

Kevin Roberts interview in Paris (amplified) < He’s the man! #branding #sorted #follow

Recently had need to drag this out of the archives so thought I would share it with you. My favourite part of this is…‘It’s not about work/life balance; it’s about work/life integration. I don’t want to balance my life, I want to blast it to the max’

Flexible Work Arrangements as described/discussed by Kathleen Greer of KGA

Kathleen Christensen, Ph.D. Discusses New Book “Workplace Flexibility” on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal
Kathleen talks about workplace flexibility and the idea that the workplace structure should adapt to the changing needs of workers. She also responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.

Career Life Connection News and Events

Creating buzz, one day at a time (Boston Globe)

Work/Life balance and the Community Manager – March 3rd – discussion for members of The Community Roundtable, led by Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection

Work Life Balance Strategies on Career Life Balance Radio featuring Leanne Chase, Founder and President of Career Life Connection.

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.

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.