Work-life news for the week ending 2/27/10

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.