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.

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?

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.

Employees Healthier when Boss Is Flexible (MedPage Today)

The 10 studies included 16,603 participants.  Overall, the researchers found that situations that gave the employee more control over scheduling have positive effects on health and well-being, particularly with regard to blood pressure, sleep, and mental health.  One study showed improvements in mental health, sleep quality on the day shift, sleep duration on the night shift, and alertness during the night shift when employees had more control over their schedules, the researchers said.  Another study reported significant reductions in sleepiness during the night shift when workers had more choice, although it reported on the effects of multiple flex interventions, not a single one.  A third study found significant decreases in systolic blood pressure and heart rate for workers with flexible scheduling, Bambra said.

IndustryWeek’s 2010 Salary Survey: Down But Not Out (Industry Week)

“I think employers and employees might be focused more on the total value proposition,” says Griffith. The total value proposition, which includes such components as benefits, career advancement opportunities and workplace flexibility, may help offset the sting of a pay freeze or cut, she suggests. Her suggestion is backed by comments from several respondents.

Why Flexible Hours and Telecommuting Are On The Rise (Business West)

In 2003, about 4.4 million Americans were telecommuting, to some extent, instead of showing up at the office. In 2010, that number is expected to surpass 100 million. At the same time, the trend toward allowing employees to work flexible or non-traditional hours has also risen sharply in recent years. Why the surges? As it turns out, even during a recession, companies still value their best talent and are increasingly willing to let them craft a workday around their personal and professional needs. Employers say they benefit because happy workers are productive workers.

In the Blogs

Don’t forget the ‘life’ in work-life balance (MayoClinic.com)

The walls of our homes no longer protect us, however. Because we’re always “connected,” we never really leave work behind. We’re now impaled by “weisure” — being on the clock even on our leisure time. Even a paralyzing snow storm, such as the East Coast recently encountered, doesn’t close the virtual office. So much for enjoying a “snow day” from work or school….So what can we do? The answer is really very simple: We’re individuals who can make choices and, at some point, we have to say “enough is enough.” We have to carve out time to simply chill and recharge our batteries. Only then can we go back into the arena with energy, focus and commitment.

Study: Women Rock As Small Business Owners (Fox Small Business Center)

Women are proving themselves to be a powerful small-business force to be reckoned with.   Not only are women-owned firms contributing $3 million annually to the U.S. economy and accounting for 16% of all jobs, but new research shows women entrepreneurs will create 5 to 5.5 million new jobs across the U.S. by 2018 – more than half of the total new small-business jobs expected to be created during that time, and about one-third of the total new jobs anticipated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Business Impacts of Workplace Flexibility and Effectiveness (Salt Lake Chamber)

Business leaders increasingly recognize the positive effects of workplace flexibility and effectiveness on retention and other bottom line impacts. For example, McKinnon Mulherin, a local Utah company explains, “We have to provide a flexible work environment that allows all of our people to succeed both personally and professionally. Ten years ago, women were leaving the firm at a faster rate than men. Today, our retention rates for men and women are the same, thanks to our family friendly policies and flexible culture. Without question, McKinnon & Mulherin and several other progressive Utah companies’ people policies and culture are generating terrific success from both an economic and strategic perspective.”

Educational Flexibility Offers Options to Advance Careers, Maintain Life Balance (Saint Louis University)

Matthew Grawitch, Ph.D., chair of the organizational studies program at Saint Louis University’s School for Professional Studies, believes that workplace flexibility options during the past decade have been well received and continue to grow.  “Many companies have developed programs and initiatives that focus on providing greater workplace flexibility in where people work (telecommuting), when people work (flexible scheduling), how many hours people work(part-time options) and how many days people work (compressed work weeks),” Grawitch said.

Find your work/life Rhythm (Life Beyond the List)

The solution? Well, i can’t pretend to have it licked, but I’ve experimented over the last week with getting to work a full 30 minutes early. This is easier than getting up 60-90 minutes early in order to work out at the gym, believe me! And those first 30 minutes can be really productive. Often disproportionately so. Coupled with taking my own healthier lunch to work, it means i can be more focused during the day, and leave on time (when i can), to make it to the gym at a more reasonable hour. 6:30pm say, rather than 7:30 or 8:00pm. My energy level is just about still high enough, and i can work out before enjoying the rest of the evening, as well as checking in on any urgent emails.

Better work-life balance boosts the bottom line (Governance Focus)

The study, by consultancy Morgan Redwood, found that companies which actively promote good work-life balance have annual net annual earnings per employee of £32,769 compared to £26,557 for other organisations.  Needless to say, the difference arises because better work-life balance results in reduced absenteeism, improved wellbeing and thus greater productivity.

Is Work/Life Balance Your Top Priority in 2010? (SimplyHired Blog)

In January we polled visitors to SimplyHired.co.uk about their career plans for 2010 and found that work/life balance will be a major theme. Thirty-six percent of you ranked work/life balance above salary (31%) as the most important consideration when looking for a new job. Furthermore, 40% of you cite improving work/life balance as a top career resolution for 2010.

Redrow meets the needs of home-workers (Easier Property)

As more people choose to work from home every day, Redrow is offering the perfect solution for those striving to improve their work / life balance.  A selection of homes at The Glades, in the Wiltshire village of Downton, have been expertly designed to feature self-contained home office space over the garage, with a separate entrance and kitchenette. It’s a move that should help meet the needs of home workers escaping the rat race.

Moms balancing work and family (Today’s THV)

The pressure of finding that balance, especially during this tough economy can be difficult.  Employees across all demographics are feeling the pressure of doing more with less. However, sometimes this means working moms have to spend more time at work and less with their families.  With these trying economic times, they are also fearful of losing their jobs, which adds more pressure and stress.  Here are five tips to help find balance

Beyond Business as Usual: More Working Moms in Part-Time Positions (The Glass Hammer)

The global study, which was commissioned by Regus, surveyed 11,000 corporations across 15 countries and found that 44 percent of companies worldwide plan to hire more mothers for part-time jobs over the next two years. Among U.S. companies the numbers are even higher, with 46 percent reporting plans to recruit more mothers into 2012.

West Region Vice President for Regus, Sande Golgart, believed this study to be of particular interest to Regus because many of their clients are working mothers and he believes providing part-time work to women with children can assist them in managing the work/life balance issues that plague so many women. “We think that there is much work to be done in making the transition from maternity leave back to the workforce as smooth as possible. Allowing mothers to take advantage of workplace flexibility demonstrates an understanding of the challenges that they face and paves the way for them to be more productive and less stressed at work,” Golgart said. “One of the most significant factors in improving employees’ work/life balance is offering the flexibility to work remotely, either full or part-time.

Press Releases

CORPORATE VOICES TOOLKITS PROVIDE TIPS AND TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY WITH AN HOURLY AND NONEXEMPT WORKFORCE

Events

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.

Workplace Flexibility Best Practices – February 25, 2:30-4:30 – University of Kentucky, Lexington Campus – free

Recognition Roundtable presents Shameless You! and Workplace Flexibility – Feb 24th, 12:00, Everett, WA

Shameless You! encourages employees to drop their shame so they can live, work, and play with confidence and integrity. This program helps individuals build personal strategies by identifying, acknowledging and accepting their strengths, preferences, and values. Tracy will lead us in a discussion about how a shameless workforce can lead to better alignment of personal and organizational values, one of the components of a flexible, effective workplace.

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.

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

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.

Accountability Resources president still her own woman (Austin Business Journal)

“I realized that I wanted it all, and knew I could have an exceptional career and be a great mom,” Arsenault said. “I knew I was extremely efficient and talented at recruiting, but also that to be successful, you didn’t have to block off 8-to-5 Monday through Friday. I felt that would have me miss too much time with my kids.”  Arsenault had professional reasons urging her to make a change as well. She had reached a plateau, it seemed, which left her feeling bored.  “Working for someone else lacked challenge and creativity for me,” she said. “So I walked away from a hundred-thousand-dollar position to follow my dream.”

Innovation on a dime (Business Lexington)

Businesses reap large rewards for little to no cost:  Through offering employees greater flexibility in scheduling and telecommuting, Moloney said, “our firm has found that we can take care of our business and  our employees by allowing them to be more fully productive at their work but also involved family and community members.”   Frankfort Regional Medical Center, another 2009 award winner, offers flexibility to employees through self-scheduling, flexible hours, and job sharing. Chip Peal, CEO of Frankfort Regional Medical Center, stated, “Flexible scheduling has allowed us to align our hospital’s goals with the career goals of our employees, creating a healthy environment that fosters growth and prevents burnout.”   Providing a flexible work environment also allows Frankfort Regional Medical Center employees to take advantage of a tuition reimbursement program. This program has not only enlarged the pool of employees who can be promoted but also offers them greater career flexibility.

Diversity – Law Firms:  Practicing Diversity: A 25-Year Tradition At Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel)

Life/Work balance is indeed a very challenging issue for the legal profession. We have maintained our focus on our flex-time program for associates, counsel and partners, and we have expanded our parental policy to cover both women and men who are new parents, including adoptions. Our goal is not only to have policies on the books but to ensure that we have a culture where attorneys can utilize these programs without fear of stigma.

In the Blogs

Workforce Flexibility Just Makes Good Business Sense for Desautel Hege (Greater Spokane Incorporated)

Our founder, Jim Desautel, knew the importance of work-life balance, particularly ensuring one had time for an appropriate amount of golf.  All kidding aside, we work in a demanding business and have high expectations of all our team members.  Our work often includes evening and weekend commitments and periods of converging deadlines.  We have always felt strongly about providing our team with flexibility, both because it’s the right thing to do for our people AND because it makes good business sense.  Our team members have full lives, with families, interests, volunteer commitments, hobbies and passions outside the workplace. We believe that supporting them in their ability to balance these things with their jobs is good for our company—it creates satisfied employees, happy clients and a more productive workplace.  Over the years we have developed programs ranging from flex-time to modified work weeks, we have created training and continuing education programs, supported team member’s pursuit of degrees and professional credentials and have worked to create a family-friendly and life-friendly work place.

The imbalance of work-life Balance (Balance)

To achieve work-life balance in any organization or institution, a work-life balance initiative must be based on three levels: the programmatic level, the cultural level, supported on an individual level.  Here’s an overview of what a holistic approach to work-life –Net initiative similar to this:

A Super-Scientific Study on Work-Life Balance (The Hip Mom’s Guide)

So I did a super-scientific study based on lots of empirical evidence started paying attention.  I watched and listened and I asked lots of questions.  The stunning results are in: each of us thrives—and breaks—under different levels of stress.  (We’re talking good stress here.  Let’s leave bad stress for another time.)  The key is understanding what these levels are for ourselves, and not worrying about what everybody else is doing.

America’s Unhappy Workers – Inclusion, Creativity, Flexibility Key to Turning Things Around (The Inclusion Paradox)

A truly flexible organization embeds this value reciprocally with its employees, applying flexibility to its job design, hiring policies, career management, and benefits. This flexibility can prove vital in attracting and retaining talent by supporting employee aspirations. HR needs to be more creative in coming up with a genuine menu of options in these areas. After measuring the organization’s demographic and cultural profile, HR should drive experimentation. One area where a more flexible approach is needed, for example, is in recruitment and talent management. Typically, individuals are hired to fit a job description. Companies might achieve better outcomes if they try to identify individuals with a history of achievement, intellectual and emotional intelligence, and the commitment and alignment to become a good employee.

Top Priority: Good Jobs (Huffington Post)

Here’s what I mean by that: a good job supports a family by increasing incomes, narrowing the wage gap, and allowing workplace flexibility. It is safe and secure, and gives people a voice in the workplace. A good job is also sustainable and innovative (for example a green job), helps rebuild a strong middle class, and provides access to a secure retirement and adequate and affordable health coverage. If it’s not already clear, making good jobs the norm is one of our top goals.

The Interview with Giovanna Bertazzoni, Head of Impressionist and Modern Art in London (Christies.com)

You have had a leadership role in the Work/Life initiative – tell us a little about that project? I understand as well as anyone the challenges in balancing a role as a mother, a wife, a daughter and being a professional. There are real pressures at home and being the head of Impressionist Art in London is a challenging and pressurized job. The project I undertook with the team on the Work/Life initiative has been an incredibly exciting and rewarding one. We spoke to colleagues of all ages, both sexes and from all over Christie’s to get their input on what Christie’s could do to support Work/Life balance and to date we have helped support the introduction of a global Flexible Working policy and this week we see the launch of Emergency Dependent Care in the UK for all employees. I also work to help support working mothers going on maternity leave and returning to work as much as possible, as it is a lot to juggle!

Baby on Board (Chambers President’s Blog)

In addition to all the activites we do a the Chamber, we also try to be a bit of an experiment tank for the business community.  We have an employee (Dot) who “telecommutes” with a flexible office schedule to accomodate taking care of her two children under five.  If you have employees that could make this model work, it is great andwe are more than happy to answer questions you might have about it.  And if that isn’t enough, we are starting a new experiment.   [Bringing] Tess (newborn) to work with her (the employee) for the first six months.  Are there times when it could be a distraction? Sure.  But probably no more than we encounter on a daily basis around the office.  As I considered this idea before I asked Katie about it, it really occured to me that it is a new day in the work world.  Today’s parents really do focus on the work-life balance.  If we can accomodate that focus and work with it instead of against it, there is a win-win scenario.

Overworked, Under-Protected, and Under-Funded (Care.com)

When you break things down by salary, there are three types of families in America today: low, middle, and upper class. Parents in all three groups face different (but equally huge) challenges while trying to balance work life with child care responsibility. What’s more, things aren’t getting better. In fact, over the past 30 years, the challenge of providing child care has gotten harder for American families. “Work-family conflict is much higher in the United States than elsewhere in the world,” reports The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict, a new study released this week by WorkLife Law and the Center for American Progress. “Not only do American families work longer hours; they do so with fewer laws to support working families.”

What running can teach you about the work-life balance (Startup Cafe)

Ultimately, everyone wants to get ahead. This is understandable since we’re constantly told that few startups survive. The statistics are against us. We need to move quickly, react and keep moving. Driven by the sense of urgency, we want to go fast, often working long hours and little time for R&R.

Work/Life Policies Can Enhance the Bottom Line — Fem 2.0 Wake Up! Campaign (PunditMom)

I think we’ve all pretty much figured out by now there is no such thing as work/life “balance.”  It would really be nice, but with the pressures of work, and trying to make sure we keep our jobs in this difficult economy, and the ever-increasing demands of our families, balance is elusive at best and non-existent at worst. But that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be evolving work/life policies to ease up on everyone, including paid maternity/paternity leave, paid sick leave and the ability to work more flexibly.

Is Work/Life Balance Possible In Social Media Careers? (Brazen Careerist)

Look at all the social media A-listers. They’re blogging–frequently. They’re tweeting constantly. They’re traveling all the time, doing speaking engagements. They’re getting book deals. They’re reading masses of stuff–blog posts, books, articles. They’re on pretty much all the time. How do you live that life and have time to devote to family or friends or spouses or kids.  I’m nothing close to a social media A-lister, but I do have a social media career and I’m here to tell you that finding a way to work 8 hours a day, blog, read, socialize either online or off and just stay on top of the things I need not only to do my job now to the best of my ability but also hopefully ensure that I stay gainfully employed for the next 25+ years in what’s becoming an increasingly lucrative and competitive field….it’s exhausting.

‘Young’ may be a label, but smart firms covet Gen Yers (Democrat and Chronicle)

Employers also are looking beyond the jeans and faux hawks and tapping into the strengths of younger workers. Some companies even tout things like “small company feel” and “workplace flexibility” to attract and retain Gen Yers. In the recent Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, companies like Wegmans and Marriott — which encourage and reward employees for developing innovative approaches to workflow — have won over the Millenials.At Xerox, it isn’t uncommon for a Gen Yer to help a colleague (old enough to be his dad) learn to use interoffice instant messenger to make communication more efficient, says Maribel Zayas, manager of the Xerox internship program. And without knowing it, the older work force at Xerox has helped Gen Yers realize the importance of face-to-face communication and feedback — something Millenials don’t get much of in this age of texting and online gaming.

Discussions

Interesting Q & A on LinkedIn about how to know when you are allotting enough time to family vs. work.

Also on LinkedIn: How can we reframe work/life balance to be inclusive?

Events

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.

Workplace Flexibility Best Practices – February 25, 2:30-4:30 – University of Kentucky, Lexington Campus – free

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

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.

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.

Now where are those thank you cards for the birthday gifts?  They’re not going to write themselves – nor is she old enough to write them yet…

In the News

There are plenty of dads out there swapping gossip with the mums at playgroups every day but when three high-profile fathers play the father card in one week it focuses the attention on the dads who just want to be dads. From a social point of view, it’s applauded. From a business point of view, it’s seen as another challenge.  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”.

Military Fights for Women (Sydney Morning Herald)

THE Defence Force has completed 18 months of intensive research to find out why women are reluctant to join the military and why so many of these who enlist do not stay.  A key measure will be greater flexibility in working arrangements so that women who want to have children can take time off without damaging their careers and can be assured of proper support when they return to work.

Home working blossoms as it caters for new careers (NE Business)

The most popular reasons for starting a home business were low costs, 57%, a better work/life balance, 52%, and being close to the family, 33%. These were certainly among the reasons why new mother Lydia McCaslin chose to set up the Jesmond Cupcake Company in her own kitchen earlier this year.

Crowe Horwath in ‘Balance’ with Women (Web CPA)

Crowe’s WIL program promotes career advancement and development among women leaders and includes assigning personal career sponsors and leadership development forums. The program also provides women opportunities to participate in specialized peer interest groups addressing issues such as caring for aging parents, managing extensive travel or participating in a flexible work arrangement.

Study: Morale low at a quarter of workplaces (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Workplace morale is flagging in some offices. In a study, 23 percent of 2,900 polled workers said their current organization’s employee morale is low.  About 40 percent said their stress level at work is high and 47 percent said their workload has increased in the last year. About 20 percent are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

CIOs fear mass IT exodus following economic recovery (Network World)

Robert Half Technology suggested a few retention efforts IT employers must begin now, including training and career development programs and career advancement opportunities. CIOs should re-recruit their best employees, which essentially means they must start working to convince them to stay on board.  Other suggestions include recognizing excellence and providing project support. Robert Half Technology also suggests managers communicate regularly with staff, encourage team-building activities and promote work/life balance.

IT pays to work@home as technology brings world closer (The Economic Times)

Global hr experts abhor the idea of taking work home. But local HR managers have turned the debate on its head: they now prod

Employees to carry their office home. A raft of technology firms such as Hewlett-Packard, Nokia Siemens Networks, Dell, Cisco and IBM reckon that letting employees work from home not only saves office expenses, but also helps ramp up productivity by saving precious time wasted in India’s labyrinthine peak-hour traffic.

Union warns of a shortage as Edinburgh headmaster jobs are re-advertised (Edinburgh Evening News)

Even at Edinburgh’s top- performing school, St Peter’s Primary in Morningside, education bosses have been unable to recruit a new headteacher and are this week due to advertise the post for a second time. Teaching unions warn this is a growing crisis, with a shortage of applicants across the primary and secondary sector.  They say the situation will only get worse unless headteachers are rewarded with a better work-life balance.

Recession takes its toll:  Employee morale drops (Central Valley Business Times)

Workers revealed a variety of factors that could be contributing to low morale levels. Two-in-five said that their stress level at work is high and nearly half (47 percent) said that their workload has increased in the last six months. One-in-five are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

Book highlights accomplishments of NIH’s female scientists (Scope – Stanford)

The NIH recently announced a new publication featuring the achievements of 289 female scientists working at the institute. In the book, “Women in Science at the National Institutes of Health 2007-2008,” the researchers highlight some of their greatest professional accomplishments, discuss the importance of mentoring and address the issue of “work-life balance.”

Five million Aussies want to ‘be own boss’: survey (Dynamic Business)

Around five million Australians are attracted to the idea of starting their own business, with the belief it will offer flexible working arrangements or simply fulfil their wish to be their own boss, according to research commissioned by St.George Bank.

Women changing the face of labor (Lansing State Journal)

The shift, outlined in a recent report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, could see organized labor focus more intensely on issues important to women as unions look to broaden their ranks and wield greater political strength in the next election cycle.”When you have a majority of women in the labor movement, issues like work-family balance, paid sick days and paid parental leave become more important,” said John Schmitt, an economist at the left-leaning think tank and one of the authors of the report.

House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Hearing (Trading Markets)

Transcript of testimony by Maria Ferris, Director of Diversity, Compliance

and Employee Experience at IBM.  Good read which includes some of the innovative ways IBM thinks about work/life and interesting policies they’ve put into place.

Consumer confidence rebounds (Asia One Business)

Singaporeans are also less concerned about the economy and job security, which were their two key concerns in June.  Thirty-three per cent say that the economy is their first or second biggest concern, compared with 40 per cent before.  Taking second place on Singaporean consumers’ list of top concerns is work-life balance, which is now causing anxiety among 30 per cent compared to 17 per cent previously.

Swine flu threat opens door for sick leave legislation (Workday Minnesota)

The swine flu outbreak has only made the problem worse, testified Desiree Rosado, a special ed assistant in the Groton, Conn., school system. That’s not because the parents get sick; the kids do.  Rosado had to miss two weeks of work to take care of her three children, suffering from bronchitis or the flu, this fall.  “I get no sick pay, so my paycheck for that period was almost nothing. That caused tremendous hardship for my family. My husband and I live paycheck-to-paycheck right now. We have no choice…It’s a hard road. And it’s made immeasurably harder because whenever we get sick or our children get sick, we have to decide whether to stay home without pay, or to disregard doctor’s orders and risk getting sicker and infecting others by going to work or school.”

In the Blogs

Misconceptions over family-work conflict hurting women (Everyday Money)

That thud you may have heard recently is the sound of women continuing to hit their heads on that invisible glass ceiling, according to recent research from the University of Illinois.  One key factor: Too many managers, regardless of gender, believe women have more family-work conflict than men And this belief, mistaken though it is, leads supervisors to take a negative view of female employees’ suitability for promotion and salary increases, maintains Jenny Hoobler, the professor who headed up the study.  This seems a bit odd when you consider that, 30 years ago, 41 per cent of women reported feeling some level of work/life conflict, whereas only 35 per cent of men did. Today, the numbers are roughly the same for women, but 59 per cent of men are now similarly torn.

Gross National Happiness (UTNE Reader)

Not surprisingly, they have found that beyond a certain minimum level of income, greater happiness comes from strong and plentiful human connections, a sense of control over one’s life and employment, meaningful work, good health, basic economic security, trust in others and in government, and other opportunities less directly connected with monetary remuneration.  Studies of life satisfaction around the world are now enhanced by regular polling in many countries using a broad range of questions, and have led to consistent findings in recent years that the highest levels of satisfaction are found in such northern European countries as Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden—countries with a strong sense of social solidarity and attention to work-life balance, small income gaps, and—contrary to the thinking of American conservatives—high taxation rates.

Women to Be Majority in Labor Union Movement, So Here’s the Job Ahead (Huffington Post)

A study released last week put the spotlight on a workplace demographic shift that is occurring: women are expected to become a majority of labor union workers within the next decade…Labor unions are central players, in fact leaders, in many of the more significant workplace victories for women over the years. But it does raise hopes that issues of family/work balance will finally come to the forefront of much needed and long-overdue workplace change.

Does working from home make you more productive? Yes (with data)! (The Rescue Time Blog)

So about a month ago, the RescueTime product team decided to experiment with working from home to see how it would effect how we spend our time.  The initial plan was to run the experiment for a week, but we realized that we were paying too close attention to the affects of the experiment and would let it “bake” for a few more weeks to get some better data.  The data (4 weeks of it) is in, and there are a few surprises….Working from home gives folks a lot more time in front of a computer, if that’s what they are after.  With commutes, associated setup/teardown time, getting coffee from starbucks, lunches, and people dropping into the office, we’re all losing hours.  To be clear, all work and no play is a bad idea…  The really interesting thing about working from home is that we felt like we weren’t working as hard, but were actually logging about 22% more development and design hours.

Training Days Keep the Doctor Away (Life Meets Work)

A supportive manager and a flexible workplace can actually make employees healthier.  That’s according to Leslie B. Hammer and Ellen Ernst Kossek, professors at Portland State University and Michigan State University.  Hammer and Kossek found that employees working with managers trained in supporting a flexible workplace were healthier and more satisfied with their jobs.  These findings were reported on Oct. 13 at a congressional briefing and have been reported in Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management, SHRM news, ABC news and others.

Life is a Balancing Act (Calcasa)

The term work life balance is somewhat misleading; this term does not refer to an equal number of hours worked in comparison to an equal number of hours of leisure and relaxation or personal time.  The Work Life Foundation states that work life balance

“is about people having a measure of control over when, where, and how they work.  It is achieved when an individuals right to fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society”

Below is a short list of ideas that management can contemplate doing to promote an employee’s work life balance:

Celebrating Thanksgiving Past (Huffington Post)

Now I know there are many mothers, and fathers, who will forever dispute the benefits of being a working mom. Opinions abound about whether a woman can properly care for her children while keeping her career in tact. Just this past summer, Jack Welch, CEO of GE, referred to women’s attempts to juggle work and family as one where “there is no such thing as work life balance … there are work life choices, and they have consequences.” Well, Jack, I agree, and if women choose not to work throughout motherhood, these consequences can prove dire.

Secrets of Successful Social Intrapreneurs: Advice From Three Major Brands (Triple Pundit)

After filling a variety of roles at Accenture and working closely with the CEO, Nicholus was tapped when the company decided to implement a work-at-home initiative. Like most sustainability efforts, it paid off in several ways – substantial cost-savings for the firm, a reduced carbon footprint and workplace flexibility that employees crave.

The Monday Meeting: Flexibility; how important is it to you? (Girl With Red Hair)

Studies are showing that Gen Y values flexibility in their jobs more than wages. We don’t want to work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. We want to get off work when the work is done, we want to be able to take a long weekend every once in awhile, we want to be able to take a late lunch or a long lunch every once in awhile. At least I do, do you?  For me, if I made a huge wage but never had any time off to go home for a visit – I live 1,000 km (620 miles) from home – it wouldn’t be worth it. I value my extra time to go home; I value it more than an extra $1, $2, even $3 an hour.

Workplace Flexibility Means One Thing in the Private Sector, Another in Academia (Sideblogs)

“Workplace flexibility is a large, complex notion,” said Kathie Lingle, executive director of Alliance for Work-Life Progress. “It is the one work-life initiative that doesn’t require a specific investment in dollars, yet may require an organization to completely reinvent its culture. It is a remarkably inexpensive power tool for creating higher levels of attraction, retention, engagement, productivity … and even wellness.”

A Character Revealing Situation (My Online Career Coach)

Stop for a moment and think about this.  You are preparing to meet with’your boss tomorrow’to tell him that you’are resigning because you have a wonderful opportunity to learn something new, to move into an area you’ve always been interested in, to gain workplace flexibility, to go back to school, or to [fill in the blank]. How would your boss respond?

Why you DO need work/life balance (Gals’ Guide)

And I think especially in your twenties, the importance of striving to build a balance between work and life should never be underestimated. You may spend 40 (or 60) hours a week at work, but it shouldn’t become the only priority in life — it should be one of many. At your first job, when you’re young and fresh out of college and eager to please, you’ll put in long hours — but don’t let it become your number one priority.

Press Releases

The American Society of Clinical Oncology Recognized for Providing Family-Friendly Work Environment

ASCO employees have several schedule options to help minimize their daily commute and time away from family, including compressed work weeks, teleworking, and flexible core work hours. ASCO also offers a generous paid time off leave program.

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.

In the News

Teaching teenage girls about work life balance (Ottawa Citizen)

Headmistress Jill Berry, president of the Girls’ School Association (GSA), a body representing heads of private fee-paying schools, said most women are unable to “keep all the plates spinning.”  Speaking ahead of the GSA’s annual conference next week, she said girls should “stop beating themselves up” if they cannot juggle a career with being a wife and mother.  “They will need to realize that there may be times when they might not want to work, or they might want to take a lesser job because their priorities have changed,” she told the weekly Times Educational Supplement.  “It is important that they leave school at 18 with their eyes open.”

White House Endorses Paid Sick Leave Bill (New York Times)

The H1N1 pandemic is raising concerns about people reporting to work sick and spreading the disease. The pandemic has given momentum to Congressional efforts to enact legislation that would guarantee paid sick days to tens of millions of workers — although it is far from clear that such legislation will be enacted. Those legislative efforts received added momentum on Tuesday when the Obama administration backed the Healthy Families Act, which would guarantee seven sick days a year to workers in companies with 15 or more employees…Mr. Harris said, “The vision for the Department of Labor is good jobs for everyone. And one of the key components of a good job is having workplace flexibility for family and personal caregiving. We believe that work-life balance includes policies such as paid leave, flexible work schedules and teleworking, employee assistance programs, child care, and elder care support.”

In Downturn’s Wake, Women Hold Half of U.S. Jobs (Wall Street Journal)

The composition of the nation’s work force is approaching an unprecedented benchmark. Due in part to deep layoffs of men, women are poised to become the majority of workers for the first time. As of September, women held 49.9% of the nation’s jobs, excluding farm workers and the self-employed, a rise of 1.2 percentage points from their 48.7% share when the recession began in December 2007. In 1970, women held 35% of jobs…”I think we are at a pivotal moment,” said Arlie Hochschild, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has written several books on work-life balance. For many households, it used to be that “she worked because she wanted to,” said Ms. Hochschild. “Now, she’s working because she has to.”

Women beating men to council top jobs (Derby Telegraph)

Engineer Ms Durrant, responsible for highways and transportation, joined the authority in 1997 as principal traffic and transportation engineer, and was gradually given more responsibility, rising to head of transportation and then to assistant director level. With two young children, she knows the importance of the work-life balance, but said once she had set her mind to working full-time, she had no problems achieving it.  “It is a balance of being prepared to put yourself out when you need to, but also people appreciate that the most important thing in life is not work and that is a good culture to have.”

Job sharing helps parents find work-life balance (Calgary Herald)

Most job shares are employee-driven–two co-workers decide they want to work halftime and then pass the idea by their supervisor–says local HR professional David Knudson, who sits on the board for the Human Resources Institute of alberta.  But just because you want to job share doesn’t mean your manager will give you the green light.  “It’s putting that business case together,” he says.  Here are some of Knudson’s tips for making your job-share dream a reality.

Agencies promote telework as a powerful tool, not a panacea (Government Executive)

Alternative work schedules long have been touted as one solution to the federal government’s recruitment and retention challenges. Telework, in particular, has taken narrow but determined root in many federal agencies, and the Obama administration has made it a priority to translate those limited successes into governmentwide standards for telework policies. But the administration also recognizes that agencies and managers have to be more flexible and comfortable making case-by-case decisions. Officials also are trying to balance expectations by underscoring that while flexibility in the workplace is a powerful tool, it’s not a magic wand.

Ryan Recognized as One of the Top 100 Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth (SOA World Magazine)

In August 2008, Ryan launched myRyan, an innovative work environment that changed the measurement of work performance from hours worked to results achieved. The Firm rolled out myRyan to 800 employees across North America and Europe as a major culture shift designed to reach even higher levels of client service and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, myRyan has delivered tremendous dividends for the Firm, its clients, and its employees. Ryan has dramatically improved employee retention and satisfaction, while demonstrating solid year-over-year revenue growth. Most importantly, Ryan employees have achieved the highest client satisfaction ratings in the history of the Firm, while enjoying the freedom to meet the competing demands of work and life.

“We are honored to be recognized with yet another award for our innovative work environment, and especially proud that our employees were the driving force behind our selection as one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth,” said G. Brint Ryan, CEO and Managing Principal of Ryan. “Our employees are given incredible flexibility and freedom, and they have responded by producing superior results for our clients, as well as our Firm.”

Seeking a flexible workplace? Award says it’s the Madison YMCA (Madison Eagle)

Laurie said there are many advantages of working for the “family-friendly” organization, and employees are offered many choices to help balance work and family, such as free babysitting, free membership, and reduced-cost child care at the YMCA’s F.M. Kirby Children’s Center on East Street.  All Madison Area YMCA staff may participate in many of the programs and classes offered at the YMCA at a discount.

Laurie said both full-time and part-time positions at the YMCA entail flexibility that is helpful when life-changing events may arise and may temporarily make working full-time difficult. Job-sharing arrangements are also welcomed

Women can balance work, play, family, self (Durango Herald)

Work-life balance is a term being used in the work site wellness field these days.  We know instinctively that life goes more smoothly when we have adequate time to rest and recreate during our time away from the workplace. Finding the time to do so is a challenge.

Yes, it’s hard for working mums. But dads want to be with their children too (Guardian)

After Gaby Hinsliff explained that she was resigning as Observer political editor because her family life was suffering too much, Demos director Richard Reeves argues here that working fathers are finding it just as hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance

In the Blogs

Minister seeks more flexibility for working fathers (Expatica.com)

However the minister said: “The question is whether this meets the wishes of many fathers who want to see their children grow up and of many mothers who want to develop professionally.”  According to the minister, the freedom to work less is often limited by men’s perception they would have reduced chances of promotion if they work part- time. “A modern labour market means that families should be able to decide for themselves how they want to combine their professional and private lives,” said the minister.

Forget Work-Life Balance And Build A Lifestyle (Employee Evolution)

In a recent talk, Tony Hsieh, the CEO and founder of Zappos was asked about how the company manages work-life balance.  Hsieh replied, “For most companies (work-life balance) implies that work must suck so much you need a life on the outside. At Zappos we’re more focused on creating a lifestyle. We don’t think of it as one or the other. Most Zappos employees leave work and hang out with other Zappos employees.” He’s right. While it’s usually done with good intentions, focusing on work-life balance is killing your corporate culture. Like Hsieh says, the mere term implies that work must be so terrible that you need to stop thinking about it the second you walk out the door.

Brits Waste 4.6 Million Hours A Day Commuting (Turk.Internet.com)

The survey of 2,000 adults* finds 62% of commuters want to reduce the time they spend travelling to and from work, with the biggest frustrations being stuck in traffic (42%), issues with public transport (38%), travelling in the dark (36%) and cost (30%).   The report, available to download from http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/, reveals how British workers believe they could significantly reduce the astonishing 26 million hours a day they spend travelling to and from work, by adopting a smarter approach to commuting. The most popular solutions include home working (34%), varying start and finish times (22%) and using technology to enable flexible and remote working (32%).

Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work (AZ Family)

They’re antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too…Sounds like Gen Y, the so-called “entitlement generation,” right?  Not necessarily, say people who track the generations. In these hard times, they’re also hearing strong rumblings of discontent from Generation X.

Obama Administration Endorses Paid Sick Leave (Yglesias)

It’s not quite the high-profile issue that health care or climate change is, but there’s been some interesting developments recently on the quest to get paid sick leave for all of America’s workers. The fact that many American workers get no sick leave whatsoever is rarely discussed in elite circles, most likely because, as Steven Greenhouse has highlighted with this chart, the phenomenon is quite class bound…

Get Creative:  It Is Possible! (Work. Life. Balance)

But my friend has come up with a rather ingenious and ground breaking work-life balance solution.  And because he’s single and not a parent (and a “he”), it might be considered even more unusual…He works his guts out for nine months of the year.  And then every summer he works in a completely different environment where he’s able to give a little back to the world and certainly restore himself.  It’s a beautiful solution. His company gets his absolute best from September to May.  He then renews and restores his passions from June to August.

Working the Work Life Balance (From the desk (and Blackberry) of Keith Parnell)

Nicole, Sydni and I went for a walk this afternoon around our neighborhood, Colonial Place, in Norfolk. It felt good to get outside on such a beautiful, sunny Fall day and enjoy being out of the office and out of the working mindset.  What do you do to get away? What do you do to reboot your brain?

She had everything — but a life (beliefnet)

Alex e-mailed to me the remarkable story of Gaby Hinsliff, the political editor of The Observer newspaper in England — or rather, the former political editor, inasmuch as she resigned because she concluded she couldn’t have both a high-powered career and a satisfying family life…I don’t mean to give the impression that Hinsliff believes she’s stepped out of a stressful life into a garden of domestic bliss. She’s struggling with a lot of anxiety over whether or not she’s done the right thing, and getting used to life at home all day instead of being at the office.

Press Releases

SHRM Testifies before Senate on H1N1 and Need for Flexible Paid Leave Policies

In arguing against the need for new employer mandates to require paid sick leave, O’Brien testified:  “The current flu pandemic illustrates the need for a 21st century workplace flexibility policy that adapts to emergency situations, reflects the nature of today’s workforce, and meets the needs of both employees and employers. It should enable employees to balance their work and personal needs while providing predictability and stability to employers. Most importantly, such an approach must encourage employers to offer greater flexibility, creativity and innovation to meet the needs of their employees and their families.”

Deputy secretary of labor testifies before Senate subcommittee on paid sick leave for workers and families

“It’s common sense and good business sense – workers should be able to stay home if they are ill,” said Harris. “The Healthy Families Act offers a great opportunity to level the playing field for workers and gives them the ability to stay home if they are sick without fear of losing their jobs or being forced to work sick.”  Nearly 40 percent of private sector workers do not receive paid sick leave, according to a recent survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In his testimony, Harris noted that our current system forces many sick workers to go to work and many working parents to send sick children to school. He said such a system poses a threat to public health, the nation’s economic future and a social system that depends heavily on people caring for themselves and their family members.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

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.

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.

Can layoffs be good news? Maybe (Fredricksburg.com)

Most of the 12 survey respondents described the layoff in positive terms. It made them rethink the kind of jobs they wanted, and focus more on family and friends. They were more apt to target new jobs that offered meaning, security and a better work-life balance. Salary was less important than quality of life.

Don’t Get Strapped to Your work Desk (Santa Monica Daily News)

Balancing life’s requirements comes down to making clear choices about what’s important to you. In other words, it’s about you defining your values and making commitments to those values. Our values often shift throughout life.

Work/Life Balance Is Not a Woman’s Issue (American Prospect)

For all of our progress on framing the issue, however, one challenge remains largely unmet. We have yet to figure out a way to tag these issues as critical to both women and men. We have to stop using “work/life balance” as coded language for “working-mom stress.” Despite ample evidence that men are served by investing more time and energy outside the workplace and “coming out” as fathers while in it, there are very few men who are taking on this issue in a substantive, political way.

Part-Time Lawyers: Clients Accept Us (Law Week)

A reduction in office hours doesn’t always mean a reduction in success.
Lawyers and their law firms can flourish with successful “balanced-hours” programs, challenging the stigma that part-time arrangements are what the study’s authors call “bullets to the hearts of lawyers’ careers,” a recent study in Denver and two other cities has found.

40% of women won’t achieve a work/life balance due to stress at work (Consultant News)

With National Stress Awareness Day taking place next week (4th November) these recent findings just underline even further how stress at work is affecting women in achieving a work / life balance. The study was designed to determine to what extent women of working age in the UK agree or disagree with a range of attitude statements and determine their levels of contentment towards life, work, relationships and future prospects. Throughout the study women frequently experienced negative and stress related feelings, with 39% highlighting this fact further, by saying they are constantly feeling anxious.

Uncle Sam tends to federal families’ well-being (Government Executive)

Employees usually are encouraged to leave their personal lives at home when they go to the office. But these days it’s unrealistic to expect employees to lead perfectly bifurcated lives, particularly given the challenges associated with raising a family, caring for aging parents or coping with disease.  It’s much less taboo now for employees to ask for help in balancing the demands of home and office.

Balance key to employee satisfaction (Emirates Business)

There are many variables that influence an individual’s career choices. The balance of motivations is unique to every individual; some people relish highly challenging positions, while others are more focused on job stability and the work-life balance.  Higher compensation does not automatically equate to high job satisfaction. We have encountered many candidates who were well rewarded financially, but were unsatisfied with their jobs for other reasons.

Business Forum: Growing within the corporate lattice (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Job security is a thing of the past; workloads continue to increase by the hour, and loyalty to one company seems an anachronism. Add in the need for a better work/life balance and a multigenerational workforce with differing perceptions of success, and it becomes obvious that a new model for career growth is overdue.

Wanted: More Women in the Workforce (Asia One)

Hence the need to woo more women back to work. The female labour force participation rate here is only 56 per cent, compared to the average of 78.6 per cent in Scandinavian countries. This lower female participation rate pulled down Singapore’s position in a global competitiveness ranking – from third to 84th place.

‘I had it all, but I didn’t have a life’ (The Guardian)

Gaby Hinsliff, political editor of the Observer, has resigned to spend more time with her two-year-old son. She explains why she can’t juggle work and family any longer

Within weeks, both the government and the opposition will begin unveiling their plans for families, ranging from better quality part-time work to more leave for fathers. The coming election will confirm that our work-life balance is a political issue no serious party can now ignore.

In the Blogs

Military Families and Workplace Flexibility: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Work and Family Blog)

At the bill signing ceremony, President Obama noted that this law “reaffirms our commitment to our brave men and women in uniform and our wounded warriors.” This is just the first of many laws that President Obama will likely sign that reaffirm this commitment and provide military families with access to additional time off and other types of workplace flexibility. We can also expect the President to fulfill his campaign promise to support the needs of all workers as they struggle to find a work-life balance. Stay tuned for more action from the Obama Administration in the months and years to come. In the meantime, employers should revise their FMLA policies to reflect the NDAA 2010, as well as notify employees of these changes.

On Achieving Work-Life Balance (Humingbird 604)

As we were making our way to the parking lot, it struck me really hard: when I work hard in what I love doing, I feel incredibly alive. I love consulting, I love teaching, I love research.  I am able to do all of that and maintain a social life. And I’m really enjoying it. All of it. I guess that is why I feel I have a work/life balance.

The Quest for Work-Life Balance (AAUW Blog)

I never finished that blog. Why? I got busy with work. I had to take time to go to the doctor and dentist. I had to deal with responsibilities around the house. I had to get my car fixed.  Compared to most women, my life is easy. I have no kids or other dependents; I have a good job, health insurance, and safe housing. But that doesn’t mean that work-life balance is something that even I can accomplish. It still seems like I am always juggling too much, trying to make sure none of the balls drop.

Obama Marriage: Balancing Competing Demands of Two Careers (The Juggle)

I’m far from being president of the United States, or of anything else, but my career decisions have largely led in my marriage, too. I’ve wanted to be a journalist since I was 6 years old and have never seriously considered doing anything else, even though it’s not a wildly lucrative profession for most people. My wife’s respect for my avocation has led her to wrestle with career choices much more than I’ve had to, ending up with her as our family’s primary breadwinner—while she’s remained, in most instances, the first responder on the home front as well. Finding ways to even out that balance is one of my big challenges.

Working Families welcomes government proposals on more family-shaped jobs (Women’s grid)

“It is great that the government is recognising the value that families put on time together, which often constrains the kind of jobs which parents can take on. Most parents who are job-seeking, are looking for part-time work. But there are far fewer part-time jobs available than there are part-time job-seekers. So new ideas to help employers fill their vacancies by creating more family-shaped jobs will help everybody.

7 Steps to Work-Life Balance (NorthStar News)

Achieving balance in your work and family life is about having a clear and focused mind, so that you can be free to give 100% in each area. You are free to be creative and make sound decisions, unhampered by outside stressors. Here are seven things to keep in mind

New Work-Life Balance Survey Live (Richard McKinnon)

As regular readers will know, I’m conducting research into Work-Life Balance for my Doctorate. I’ve just launched a new survey on the topic, which examines the perceived impact of the present economic downturn on employees’ Work-Life Balance.

Press Releases

Illinois-Based Mann. Weitz & Associates Joins List of 2009 Best Accounting Firms to Work For

“Fifteen years ago, our vision was to create a firm that would be large enough to provide clients with leading edge solutions but small enough to offer personalized attention and service to our specialized client base,” explained Leonard Weitz, managing partner and one of the founders of the firm.   “Critical to that vision are our employees,” added Mark Mann, another founder of the firm. “Over the years, we have responded to the changing needs for a family-friendly work environment and work-life balance. For example, about half of our staff works part-time, and our full-time employees receive flexibility for family needs. This strategy has paid off – our associate retention rate is an enviable 95 percent. We’re pleased to receive this national recognition for our commitment to our employees,” Mann concluded.

Prestwick House Remains a Top-Notch Place to Work Despite Economic Climate

In addition to offering a benefits package that includes matching 401k contributions and health, life, dental, disability, and vision insurance, Prestwick House encourages a healthy work-life balance and collegial atmosphere, according to the survey results.  “With options such as telecommuting and a flexible work schedule, tuition reimbursement, and paid time off for community service opportunities, employees are able to really build their own experience and grow in their field,” says Prestwick House copywriter Annie Rizzuto. “Prestwick House doesn’t just contract employees, they actually take the time to invest in our futures and make us an integral part of the team.”

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

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.

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.

More Employers Should Adopt Flexible Work Practices Says Families Commission (Voxy News – New Zeland)

“While the Commission’s own entry was not a winner, it is great news that increasing numbers of employers are recognising the value of helping their employees achieve a good work-life balance through the imposition of flexible working programmes,” Mr Curry says.  “Supporting staff to achieve work-life balance saves employers money, creates a more productive workplace, leads to higher productively and improves staff retention levels. The EEO’s research points to this conclusion, as does our own experience of flexible workplace practices at the Commission.”

Utah saves millions on four-day week (CBC News)

Only a slim majority of state employees endorsed the shortened worked week initially, but that number grew as the year progressed.  “What we saw was 52 per cent of employees were favourable. They liked the idea of a 4/10 (workweek) before it started,” said Hansen. “But then there was this very big group that weren’t sure.”  “But half way through the year, we did the same survey, same type of questions and that number went up to 70. And then when we got to the end of the pilot period, one year, that number went up to 82 per cent,” said Hansen.

Not Being There (Better, Faster, Cheaper – Harvard)

Report Reviews Use of “Telework” by Federal Agencies

Koskinen notes the benefits of TIGTA’s use of telework and sees more to come: “The real value of telework is not just the work/life balance that it promotes.  By creating the policy and technical framework to ”tele-enable” all TIGTA employees we’ve been able to work with ourselves and our constituents at a level of responsiveness and productivity that was heretofore impossible.  We see “mere telework” as a phase to go through in order to reach the tipping point on creating a much more nimble government organization.  It’s not just about working from home that matters–it’s about working from anywhere with anyone at any time.”

Balancing Work and Life (The Age)

These so-called ”potentialists” – some in their 30s but usually in their 40s or 50s – are consumers happy to put up with an old bomb of a car or a smaller television in order spend their extra income on hobbies or developing skills, with cooking and writing the most popular, that could help them to swap careers.

French women don’t get fat, but they do get work-life balance (The Globe & Mail)

Every time I lectured in America, women would approach me afterwards to suggest I write a book of just this kind: not a business textbook but a guide to balancing work life with life life. This is why my business book, while covering important workplace skills and strategies, also covers style and food and wine and entertaining: because you can’t disassociate work from life. The book I wrote is as much about ‘art de vivre‘ as it is about getting ahead.

Pay gap a problem for both sexes (Sydney Morning Herald)

‘Until more men access workplace flexibility, these arrangements will continue to be seen as ‘solutions’ to the ‘problem’ of women’s employment rather than a means of supporting employees in managing their full range of responsibilities,” said Ms Steele.

Workplace health may be declining — what to do (CNN)

According to the report, one of the biggest predictors of feeling healthy is a balance between work and personal life. “If someone has difficulty with this balance,” says Endlich, “then they’re going to be cutting back wherever they can,” including on important components of a healthy lifestyle, like getting enough sleep, shopping for and preparing healthy food, and exercising.

Zappos CEO Hsieh: How to build a company culture that delivers happiness (VentureBeat)

A lot of other companies talk about figuring out work-life balance. For most companies, that implies that work must suck so you need a life on the outside. At Zappos, we’re more focused on creating a lifestyle.

In the Blogs

Workplace Flexibility: An Issue for Both Genders (Young Women Misbehavin’)

To build on “A Woman’s Nation” the cover story of last week’s Time Magazine entitled “The American Woman” included a poll that asked men and women their thoughts and opinions on a whole host of issues.  Included in the poll was a question around whether businesses have done enough for modern families.  The poll found that “Eighty-four percent of Americans agree (53% strongly) that businesses haven’t done enough to address the needs of modern families. Asked what would have to change to make it easier to balance work and marriage and children, 54% of women and 49% of men said more-flexible work hours or schedules; 15% of women and 17% of men said more paid time off; and 13% of women and 12% of men said better or more day-care options.”

Fancy a four day working week? (Manchester Confidential)

The success of the trial of a 10/4 week (that’s working 10 hours a day, four days a week) initially received stalemate feedback from workers in the state, with only 52 per cent in favour, but by the end of the year this figure had risen to 82 per cent. The experiment also proved favourable when it came to the governor’s state issues. Utah saved around $5m in total during the trial which included $500,000 less to heat and cool buildings and $250,000 less in janitorial services.

Employees target better work-life balance (Ashdown Group)

A study by telecoms firm O2 has found that 71 per cent of workers think Britons have reassessed what makes them happy because of the recession.  It also suggested that people are less willing to sacrifice their home lives for monetary rewards, with 58 per cent of respondents stating they would choose to earn less cash if they could work for a firm which gives them time to pursue their own interests.

Work-Life Balance? The Mantra That Balances What Matters (Huffington Post)

Balance is about identity. It’s knowing who you are and what matters most so that you honor your priorities in the way you want and need to honor them. We sacrifice so much of ourselves to things that don’t matter.  The mantra isn’t “Work life balance.” It’s, “I know what matters and I honor that truth.”

Speakers Highlight Research Studies On Health Benefits of Workplace Flexibility (Twiga Foundation)

Looking at the health characteristics of workers in relation to the openness of supervisors, Berkman found that those workers whose supervisors were more open and creative regarding workplace flexibility were less likely to exhibit risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol. Workers whose supervisors were less flexible, meanwhile, were more than twice as likely to exhibit those factors, Berkman said.

California: An Example of State Action on Workplace Flexibility (Huffinton Post)

Five years ago, California became the first state in the nation to provide wage replacement to workers who take time for family and care giving responsibilities. Since October is National Work & Family Month, we should note of this important anniversary. I hope that light can be shined on the importance of creative public policy to help workers balance their lives through workplace flexibility.

Work/Life Balance Is Not a Woman’s Issue (The American Prospect)

Men need family-friendly workplaces, too. So why is this issue framed as something only mothers should care about?

For all of our progress on framing the issue, however, one challenge remains largely unmet. We have yet to figure out a way to tag these issues as critical to both women and men. We have to stop using “work/life balance” as coded language for “working-mom stress.” Despite ample evidence that men are served by investing more time and energy outside the workplace and “coming out” as fathers while in it, there are very few men who are taking on this issue in a substantive, political way.

Prepare your work flow for a snow day (lifehacker)

Don’t let a snow day—or any other kind of inclement weather day—throw your work week out of whack. A little bit of preparation and planning can ensure a snow day is a fun chance to work from home instead of a headache that follows you through the rest of the month. The following advice would serve you well all year long, but especially when a winter storm could keep you home bound.

As Europeans struggle with work/life balance, British Airways offers flights to business travellers (Emportal)

With more than a third of Europeans working an average of 50 hours a week₁, it’s not surprising that almost half (43 per cent) have a work/life balance that falls short of making them happy, according to a British Airways survey of 6,000 Europeans (commissioned by YouGov₁).

The Art of Productive Laziness (BestManagmentArticles.com)

Lazy does not mean Stupid. No I really mean that we should all adopt a more focused approach to project management and to exercise our efforts where it really matters, rather than rushing around like busy, busy bees involving ourselves in unimportant, non-critical activities that others can better address, or indeed that do not need addressing at all in some cases.
Science behind the laziness – being focused

Management in the Bravo generation (JoonAng Daily)

For Bravos (Gen. Y), work life is considered part of life as a whole. Having more free time and improving their quality of life are their main goals, rather than sacrificing their personal life for the sake of the company. The survey results showed that only 48 percent of Bravos felt a sense of ownership of their company, compared to 73 percent for the previous generation. In addition, the “work-life balance” is an important standard that they adhere to when choosing a job.

Some things to know if you want it all (livemint.com)

These days, everyone makes work-life balance decisions—from working mothers and fathers to single people. Work-life balance means making choices and trade-offs and living with their consequences. It’s that simple, and that complex.  Just remember, you are not in this alone. Your company also feels the impact of your choices and actions. With that in mind, let’s take a work-life balance reality check from your boss’s point of view.

Work-Life Tip Sheet for a Successful Workplace (Corporate Voices for Working Families)

Throughout October – National Work & Family Month – we have been looking at a variety of issues and topics affecting working families. Deborah Frett, CEO of the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, recently wrote an article for The Huffington Post that makes suggestions to help all workplaces become more aware and in touch with their employees. “The Work-Life Tip Sheet: 10 Steps to a Successful Workplace” features flexibility,  an important aspect of Corporate Voices’ work, as one key to developing a successful workplace:

Motivational Speaker Bureau Speaker Spotlight 0708 (The Raleigh 10)

The Water Coolers are a musical comedy troupe who portray the Working Class in corporate America. Do you ever feel like you have got all your eggs in one basket, six balls in the air, 2 kids waiting to be picked up from soccer practice, and 7000 emails to return? Well gather ’round. THE WATER COOLERS™ delivers a high-powered, laugh-out-loud combination of sketch comedy and music about what we go through just making each day happen – life, work, kids, husbands, wives, travel, technology – and trying to balance them all…more on Corporate Entertainers and Musical Comedy Group, The Water Coolers

Vacation days around the world (Americablog)

Last week I spent a few days in Copenhagen for business and was quite interested in their work-life balance attitudes. Many arrived at the office earlier than I wake up in the morning but they also were heading out by 3PM or 4PM….Danes were very keen to strike a comfortable work-home balance.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

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.

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.