In the News

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.

Sacramentans No. 12 for work-life balance (Sacramento Business Journal)

Sacramento falls in between being stressed out and laid back in a national survey of 25 cities measuring life balance.  The capital city ranked 12th among the 25 cities surveyed in the Princess Cruises Life Balance Barometer, conducted by Harris Interactive. The results were released Wednesday.

The millennial friendly employers (Calgary Herald)

“The middle generation of Xers are very interested in work-life balance and flexibility and we talk to them about our ‘work styles’ program where you can work from home. When you are talking about the next generation of millennials, they want meaningful work.”

Return mission (Boston Globe)

Though home with children today, more college-educated women are planning to relaunch careers, this time with a new perspective…All are worried “about the B-word: balance,’’ Kulow said. Even though relaunchers often make for more stable, loyal, and enthusiastic employees, she said, there is still a serious confidence gap on the part of mothers who fear they can’t compete in the job market.

Women outpacing men as small business owners (The Globe and Mail)

Aimée Israel, CEO of LifeSpeak, a Toronto-based work-life balance consultancy firm, who also made the Profit W100 list, says there is a simple reason for the growing number of self-employed women in Canada.  “I think that has to do a little bit with women feeling more liberated to stray off the traditional path and maybe look at opportunities outside of the corporate environment combined with more creativity, more passion around what they’re doing and also looking for more flexibility,” she says.

Half of fathers do not take paternity leave, study says (The Independent)

A report published today suggests that more men are giving up the battle for a better work-life balance. Almost half of fathers fail to take up their right to two weeks’ paternity leave.  Research published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission also reveals that two out of five men are afraid to ask for flexible working arrangements because they think it would harm their career prospects. They fear their commitment to their job would be questioned and it would negatively affect their chance of promotion.

Working fathers want more time with their children too, says report (Guardian)

Research conducted by the EHRC shows many fathers are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend at work and the amount of time they spend with their children. Some 54% of fathers with children under one felt they were not devoting enough time to them, while 42% of fathers felt they were not able to spend enough time with their children.  The report also found 62% of fathers thought that, in general, fathers should spend more time caring for their children. The research confirmed fathers are working long hours, with six out of 10 working more than 40 hours a week.

Special Report: Balancing Act (Government Executive)

Sophisticated technology has allowed more employees to work remotely, but its ubiquity also makes it tougher to draw a distinct line between work and life outside of work. More two-income households have increased job opportunities for women and men and provided a greater sense of financial stability. At the same time, working families face thorny and expensive decisions when it comes to obtaining care for their children or aging parents.

New perspectives on the work/(life) conundrum (CNet News)

“You are what you do,” German philosopher Immanuel Kant contended long before we started talking about Work/Life balance. Having always been an idealistic concoction most fervently promoted by those biased towards Life, this balance wouldn’t even need to be promoted if it were indeed a battle of equal powers. It isn’t. Work has invaded every single aspect of our lives, and it has infiltrated our society Mafia-style: controlling and demanding every hour of our lives without appearing to do so.

Work/ life balance good for the bank balance (Managment Today – UK)

Ownership loses its luster: Physicians less likely to go solo (American Medical News)

There is also an increasing desire among physicians for a balance between work and home life, which can be much harder to maintain in a small practice.

Mireille Guiliano: Why French Women Don’t Get Fired (Time)

Women have excellent degrees and experience, but we are afraid we aren’t good enough because we have such high expectations. You must of course find your passion, but quality of life should take precedence over your work life.

Viva, says St-Pierre, is an employee wellness program based on prevention, awareness and employee support.  “It promotes healthy lifestyle habits through a three-pronged approach: physical activity, nutrition and work-life balance. Employees have access to coaching by health-care professionals, such as a kinesiologist or a dietitian and we have health fairs and workshops.”  In addition, there is an on-site gym, flexible work arrangements that feature Friday afternoons off and the Viva internal website that offers wellness information.

Two Hillsborough teachers, one job, plenty of benefits (St. Peterburgh Times)

Job sharing is not a widespread trend, but it isn’t as rare as some might think.  In 2008, the Families and Work Institute found that of 1,100 companies surveyed nationwide, 31 percent offered job sharing…Deer Park Elementary principal Lou Cerreta welcomed the idea for Piper and Velez, who came back to work in August. The Hillsborough County School Board outlines job sharing in its manual.  “There are things we do to reach an even balance,” said Cerreta, who has had two other sets of teachers share jobs in the past.

In the Blogs

http://www.engageemployees.org/what-kinds-of-workplace-flexibility-are-successful-in-lower-wage-jobs

What kinds of workplace flexibility are successful in lower wage jobs? (Engage Employees)

Workplace flexibility has long been seen as mainly the province of middle and upper wage workers, but a recent report by Corporate Voices for Working Families looked into the potential benefits of flexible scheduling for lower-wage employees (those who earn $10 per hour or less than $20,000 annually, which they estimate at more than 25 percent of the US workforce and growing)…The following case studies presented some interesting findings:

Meaning Over Money; How Companies Can Add Value to Entry-Level Positions (ERE.net)

Gone are the days of working until 2am and giving up a life outside of work.  Instead, people are looking for a healthy work/life balance and are altering their job searches to do so.  So when you snag that perfect recent grad, be flexible with their schedules.   This is not to say you should let them come into work late every Monday morning, but if they have a dentist appointment, let them work from home if their position supports it.  By complying with your employees needs, I promise you they will return the favor.

What It’s Like To Be Back at Work (Slate:  Freaky Fortnight)

The final revelation—the last one, I promise—of Freaky Fortnight is that men should speak up about family stuff, too. I am extremely fortunate at Slate to have a flexible and family-friendly office, but I heard from dads who work in clock-watching, ultracompetitive, family-hostile places. They would like to spend more time working from home, helping out at home, and simply being around—but can’t. Some office cultures are unredeemable, but it shouldn’t hurt to make it known that hey, there’s this other side of my life that’s important, too. The more of us that do that, the less freaky a dad at the playground on a Tuesday morning will seem.

Balance? What balance? (London Free Press blog)

The report presented about 10,000 comments culled from a survey of more than 31,000 Canadians. Here are a few that, I think, are particularly relevant in light of the current workplace stresses:

Voice of Experience: Lucy Reed, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration Group, Freshfields (The Glass Hammer)

Still, that didn’t mean that balancing work-life was easy. “When my son and daughter would complain about my work, say that they wished I could pick them up at school or something similar, I’d tell them that I would love to but had to work. I always, always told them I work because I really like my work and I’m really good at my work. And I would tell them I loved them more of course. I made it a point never to say that I regretted work, because my mother so often regretted not working.” Having said that, she adds: “I was lucky not to have children with special needs or major work-family conflicts, I managed to miss only 1 birthday in 39 child-years. And we were protective of family dinners.”

Boys Worry About These Things, too (Afrogeek Mom & Dad)

I told him what I usually tell students, usually female students, when this question comes up–balancing a career I love and family I adore is really hard work.  It takes a lot of deliberate planning to make sure all the demands on my time are being met, more or less, adequately, but, at the end of the day, it’s a good life.  A hectic, often disorganized life, but I good one.

Third of Hong Kong considering new job for better lifestyle (M&C)

About 30 per cent of employees in Hong Kong are considering changing jobs to improve their work-life balance, a survey by a non-governmental organization found.

Why don’t more dads work part-time? (Guardian)

Some fathers aren’t waiting for a reform to parental leave to make their dream of doing more childcare a reality. Two years ago Rob, 44, went part time as a newspaper sub-editor. Now he spends Mondays and Tuesdays with the children while his partner Jo, who works in adult education, looks after them on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. But this arrangement is unusual: the Office for National Statistics report, Focus on Gender, found that at the start of 2008, 38% of women with dependent children worked part-time, compared with only 4% of men with dependent children.

“A Woman’s Nation” Demands Workplace Flexibility (Huffington Post)

The struggle to balance work and home life is experienced by millions of working Americans across professions and income levels. Yet it is almost always painted as an individual problem that each employee or family must face alone.  We believe there must be a broader structural response – a societal movement toward policies and practices that allow employees to succeed in the workplace while also fulfilling serious personal and family responsibilities. We believe now is the time to develop a comprehensive workplace flexibility policy that meets the needs of both employers and families.

Woot! 23 Million Employed by Women-Owned Businesses (Momsrising.org)

Many are asking, “Are you surprised by how quickly the number of women-owned businesses has been growing?” Our answer?  Well, no.  Moms know that the general lack of workplace flexibility, family leave, sick days, and affordable and high quality childcare in most companies can make worklife balance a nightmare.  Plus the fact that women are paid 77 cents to a man’s dollar,3 and moms are paid just 73 cents to a man’s dollar is a strong incentive for business ownership.4  So, we’re not surprised that many women are taking their education and skills to Main Streets and boardrooms across our nation to do it their own way.  In fact, women-owned businesses are more likely to offer supportive, family-friendly benefits like flex-time, family leave, sick days, and profit sharing!

Profiles In Travel Management: Nokia Policy Balances Work, Life, Savings (BTN Online)

When developing the new policy, the travel team also wanted to make changes based on the company’s commitment to employee work/life balance. The travel team gathered input and advice from 20 to 30 frequent travelers and senior managers from various departments around the world, including corporate security, human resources and sales and marketing. Perry said some employees felt they were forced to travel, and the policy overhaul was an avenue to address that.   “Now, we’ve empowered people to question that and say, you know what, I realize you’ve scheduled that meeting on Monday in Finland, but my kids have a ball game on Saturday, and I don’t want to leave town on Saturday to arrive Sunday for a Monday meeting. Can’t we do this over Halo, or make the meeting on a Wednesday or two or three weeks from now? I can book in advance, save some money and be there when it works for my work/life balance,” Perry said.

Seven Ways To Motivate Yourself While Working From Home (Work Life Play)

Find a balance between your work, life and play where you’re meeting all your deadlines but you don’t have to work long hours in order to so and you can maintain a busy social life. A work-life balance and a happy and motivated employee are equally important whether you’re working in an external office orworking from home.

So long, farewell, and happy trails to all of you! (bnet)

I’ve seen that being effective at work is about more than making lists, that flexibility can improve productivity when it comes to your workday (or your mindset), and that a job is, well, just a job.

Events

On Monday, October 19, 2009, the Center for American Progress held an all-day event to present The Shriver Report.  While all of it was interesting.  The “Business Unusual:  Business’ Response to the New American Workforce” part of the recorded event is a good resource.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

It is very hard to concentrate on last week’s news in the work-life happiness sphere with so much going on last weekend and today thanks to the Shriver Report.  I’m not a fan of the title – it wasn’t “Man’s Nation” before and should not be “Woman’s Nation” now.  It should be how to make work work for all…men, women, parents, non-parents.  But how wonderful to see this issue being discussed all over the news, TV, radio and blogosphere! Of course you’ll see lots more here on this topic early and often.  But first things first…the weekly digest of news from last week:

In the News

Healthy work-life balance can improve company performance (Personnel Today)

Businesses earn 20% more from their staff if they have a healthy work-life balance, according to new research from talent development firm Morgan Redwood.

Telework Rules (Government Exec)

Finding ways to allow employees to work outside the office is a hot trend in federal government. Whether it’s to ensure that employees can perform their jobs during an emergency, foster a healthier balance between their personal and professional lives, or acknowledge the changing work styles as a result of technology, for the most part, agencies are embracing telework. But as some are learning, even programs designed to enhance workplace flexibility need rules to make them successful.

Delta wins award for workplace flexibility (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

Delta cited some new policies it adopted almost two years ago to address specific needs of individual work groups:

A work-at-home program for Reservations Sales, giving call center employees company computers and phones in their homes to allow them to assist customers on flexible schedules.

Flexible shift opportunities for employees in many areas, with generous swapping and shift-trading policies, compressed work weeks with paid personal time off and personal leaves of absence.

A corporate telecommuting program for eligible employees, which gives them tools to work from home when necessary.

In the Blogs

One Year Later–Flexible Downsizing and Hard Choices Post-Recession, Pre-Recovery (Fast Company blog)

In March 2009, the nationally representative Work+Life Fit Reality Check survey found that 66% of full-time employees said work life flexibility in their organization stayed the same, and 19% said it actually increased.  Only 13% said it had decreased.  A couple of months later, Families and Work Institute released a nationally representative study of employers that reported an even more positive picture.  FWI found that 81% of employers reported maintaining the workplace flexibility they had, and 13% were increasing what they offered.

‘Mompreneurs’ find healthy work-life balance in entrepreneurship’s flexibility (NEBS blog)

The last 20 years have seen a 200 percent increase in the number of women-owned Canadian small businesses, while the number of self-employed Canadian women has been rising in the past two decades and now stands at approximately one-third of all self-employed workers, Industry Canada reports.  This growth is likely fueled by “lifestylers” – Canadian small business owners that choose entrepreneurship not for its growth opportunities but as a way to have a healthier work-life balance.

Flex Your Leadership Muscles with Workplace Flexibility (Venture Pad)

At the organizational level, leadership agility manifests itself in things like workplace flexibility programs. When you provide employees with options such as flexible hours, telecommuting and compressed workweeks, it gives them some control over their work environment while creating the sense of engagement they crave.

The Growing Burden of Workloads in the Workplace (Huffington Post)

As we celebrate National Work and Family Month, it’s important to consider how to begin tackling workload, which is the biggest barrier facing organizations that are committed to workplace flexibility and work-life effectiveness as a win/win business strategy.

Flu Season Shows the Need for Workplace Flexibility (New America Voices)

The swine flu draws attention for the critical need for more workplace flexibility for American businesses. Workplace flexibility is a concept that gives workers flexibility in the how, where and the quantity of hours they work.  Now is the time for a national conversation and effort to increase that flexibility. Flexible work arrangements such as telework can allow workers to be productive when they are not able to be in the office.  During the swine flu epidemic, it is likely that many workers will be sick enough that they will need to stay away from work, if only to keep their coworkers from being impacted, but they will be well enough to complete substantive work. Or many will be healthy themselves, but they will be needed at home to help care for a family member or a child. Schools across the nation will identify potentially sick children and many will have to stay at home for a week or more, so their working parents will be stuck at home.

It’s National Work & Family Month. Do you know where your balance is? (NW Jobs)

Among the usual pleas for flex time for working parents, improved telework plans to prevent the spread of swine flu, and ample vacation time for our overstressed workforce were a couple of atypical tips that caught my eye:

Press Releases

AAUW Provides Policy Recommendations for a True ‘Woman’s Nation’

October Declared National Work and Family Month U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Pass Resolutions

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Vanessa Williams Chimes In For Charity (South Florida Times)

Responding to an audience question regarding how she manages family life in the world of show business, Williams said she checks her children’s school calendar early in the year and alerts her management to plan around important school events.  Having a strong support system is also helpful, she said, adding that having her mother nearby, (her mother still lives in the actress’ childhood home) is essential.

Forget work life balance and mix it up instead (Mirror – UK)

People are ditching the idea of balancing life and work in favour of simply blending it all together.

Madeleine Albright on work/life balance (Miami Herald)

In regard to work/life balance, Albright said: “There are no easy choices. Every woman’s middle name is guilt.”  Albright thinks women CEOs need to make it comfortable for other women to balance work and family and  to understand that sometimes a mom can’t be in two places at once.

It’s Not Hooky if the Boss Understands (Kansas City Star)

Sixty-three percent of employers surveyed recently by CareerBuilder.com said they allowed employees to use paid sick days for “mental health days.”

Women-owned businesses seek ways to grow (Miami Herald)

Women still are starting businesses at a faster rate than men. But only 3 percent of the 10 million women-owned businesses in the country have been able to break through the million-dollar revenue barrier, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. That’s an insanely small percentage. Six percent of men-owned businesses are clearing the $1 million mark.  Business experts believe many of the same factors that spark females to start a company are holding them back from expanding, for example work/life balance. Like Melwani, most still have many other demands on their time, particularly at home and in the community. And, there haven’t been a lot of role models, so many lack confidence or desire to make a leap.

Overworked Aussies need a break – unions (The Australian)

As South Australia enjoyed the Labour Day public holiday today, SA Unions secretary Janet Giles said the longer hours being forced on many workers were seriously threatening the work-life balance.  “We pride ourselves on our strong work ethic, but evidence shows that longer hours of hard slog actually make us less productive and this is having a flow-on effect economically and socially,” she said.

In the Blogs

Peaceful Revolution: Facing Up to the Consequences of Paying Lip Service to the “Work/Life” Agenda (Huffington Post)

And this carries over into workplace policies. We may entitle the policy “work/life,” but what we really mean is “work/family,” and what gets pride of place even in this group are parents. How can we expect employees to behave in a collegial way towards each other if our workplace practices endorse a hierarchy of “needs”?

Getting Away From It All. Now – Part 1 (Motivia)

For sure, there were several work-related lessons. Including that even though it was hard to relinquish control, on some level I demonstrated that I controlled my work instead of the other way around.  The vacation – in this case a beach vacation – gave me needed balance. It also gave me the opportunity to remember there is more to life than work, and I used that chance to make some important decisions affecting other areas of my life.  When I got back to work, I got a warm welcome. My newfound energy was contagious. I got back into the swing of things with more fire and gusto. Asked how my vacation was, I piped that “If vacation can have this kind of effect, bring them on!”

The Work/Life Balance and HR Happy Hour (Renegade HR)

And as for work and life being distinct and separate… Do you stop thinking about work at five (or whenever your shift ends)? Do you stop thinking about your family and friends when you go in to work?  I prefer to think of work and life as a blend. The key to being happy at work and in life is to find the right blend of the two. The lines are blurring, with telecommuting, flexible work arrangements, and the controversial results only work environment (ROWE).

Workforce Strategy: Workplace flexibility (Work Fanatic)

In a recession based culture that is driving more results with less resources, the need for the company to leverage their current work force is required.  This will need a fresh look at the obstacles and challenges that will be faced when aligning with the company’s objectives.  Work force strategy is a critical component of that strategy and flexibility will continue to rise as technology drives collaboration.  Companies need to continue to execute on strategies that allow for flexibility, and employees are required to show their employers the benefits when those concessions are given.

Workplace Flexibility and Working Mothers (Biz Momentum)

Workplace Flexibility is increasingly becoming an important tool in the arsenal of smart businesses to stay competitive and retain employees. In a recent study it was found that over 60% of working mothers are considering leaving the workforce and starting home based businesses.

#25d – Will Business Celebrate, or Tolerate, Our Daughters? (HotMamas)

What if we don’t have the hours to invest, so we’re not going to be as successful?  The truth is, I think this could hold true in large corporations. Clearly all is not solved as indicated in this Washington Post Magazine chat on work life balance.  I’d like to believe it’s different, and this Boston Globe article indicates positive trends, but my fear is that flex-time and other such workers are tolerated, not celebrated.

Chapter 477 A  Seesaw (Book Hunter’s Holiday)

Life is choice.  I see my life and work not as a “balance” to be negotiated nor as a “juggling act” but as a see-saw. My family and my books both get my attention. Sometimes the focus is necessarily on one thing over the other (hence the see-saw), but in general family gets first priority. That’s my choice and that’s the main reason my business is in my home. I know my choice might not work for every working mother, but the see-saw analogy best describes the way I integrate my work and my family.

Working at Home  – Putting Your Family First (The Work At Home Woman)

The whole reason I decided to work from home in the first place was so that I could be spend time with my precious daughter!  Since then I have made some modifications to help me create a better work-life balance…

Working on this upcoming story already had me thinking about my own decision to leave the laboratory. My choice didn’t come down to a line in the sand between career and family. I was single throughout graduate school and defended my dissertation shortly before my 30th birthday. But those issues colored my decision. By the time I finished my Ph.D., I sensed a culture of inflexibility.  I realized that I didn’t want to feel locked into lab work, and I wanted to be able to pursue other creative interests, and, yes, eventually have a family. Did those desires make me a less capable scientist? Absolutely not, but conventional wisdom would say that I didn’t want it “bad enough.” If I had sensed more flexibility– an environment more compatible with my personal goals–  would I have considered staying in research? I don’t know.

Aussie Sexism Gives Work/Life Balance No Chance (babble Australia)

Unfortunately, my boss had other ideas. When I asked whether I could go part-time, I got a flat refusal. And the working from home? Ditto. With a chuckle thrown in to underline the preposterous nature of my request, he smiled stiffly and said it wasn’t fair on everyone else for someone to get ‘preferential treatment’ and ’special dispensation simply because you decided to have children.’  I was speechless. To cover the awkward silence, my boss then hit me with his best shot: ‘Of course, you can always resign if you feel that mothering is more important than work. It would probably be the best thing for all involved, come to think of it. You women can’t have it all, you know! That’s what your predecessor decided in the end. Of her own accord, I might add.’

Yes, WaPo, Many Women are Choosing to Stay-at-Home (Independent Women’s Forum)

It appears that “a solid majority of Americans (75%)” support the idea that women can enjoy opportunities outside of their traditional role in the home.  But despite this support, the report finds that many women “remain conflicted about the competing roles they play at work and at home.”

15 Tips for a Better Work-Life Balance (Savvy Sugar)

Staying on top of your A-game and maintaining a healthy work-life balance can feel like an oxymoron. Most of us experience an uneven pull between our social lives and work commitments, which isn’t surprising considering the current economy and fact that employees everywhere are working overtime to show they’re an indispensable part of the team. Nevertheless, it’s important to establish a healthy harmony between your job and personal life. This doesn’t just mean working overtime to please your boss and boyfriend, it means creating a balance of time spent working, playing, and pleasing yourself.

Work-Life Balance…Debunked! (CIO Unplugged)

We all go through life encountering a fair amount of tilt. The abundance of balls we’re juggling come crashing to the floor because we can’t manage them all. The contemporary word for the phenomenon today is “balance.” Stores carry dozens of books on the subject, and magazines print oodles of articles trying to help us live balanced lives and avoid a tilt scenario.  As CIOs, our careers are demanding and change is a common constant. Yet families are our support and our hobbies provide fulfillment and, thus, both deserve our time. We desire to perform well in all aspects of life. It’s how we’re wired.

How We Have Failed Working Families, And What We Can Do About It (Huffington Post)

When Michelle Obama attended the Corporate Voices for Working Families Annual Meeting in early May, she talked about the importance of work-life programs to working families and to the competitiveness of American business.  As we celebrate Work & Family Month during October, one of the points that Mrs. Obama made remains all too evident: There is an imbalance that exists for working families that allows people to fulfill their roles as employees, but not as parents.

The New Emphasis on Fatherhood (Corporate Voices for Working Families)

Moreover, far from being just a “woman’s issue,” work and family issues are now “men’s” issues. According to the Families and Work Institute, more men (59%) than women (45%) in dual-income households report serious work and family conflicts. More men than women struggle with work family balance. That is a significant shift and one that I’m not sure most Americans would guess.

Working from Home – Tips to balancing work and home life (Internet Business)

Balancing your work and home life with a regular 9 to 5 is hard enough, doing it when you work from home is FAR more challenging. You will find that operating a home business will bring to light many new challenges. Some of the best advice I can offer is contained right here.

Events

Learn how to achieve a work/life balance

Galway, Ireland on October 21

The free event will coincide with Health and Safety Week 2009. It will feature presentations by psychologist and Stress Management Ireland founder, Karen Belshaw on achieving a work/life balance in stressful times, managing change/communication by Derek McKay, managing director of Adare Human Resource Management, and on leadership in a challenging environment by former Irish national cricket coach and leading motivational speaker, Adrian Birrell.

Live Webcast: Workplace Flexibility as a Business Strategy
Friday, October 23, 2009
1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT / 5:00 PM GMT

Technologies have made the old 9-to-5 office routine dispensable, while employees increasingly insist it is undesirable. They would trade dollars for work flexibility to achieve a more balanced life. Featuring Katty Kay author of “Womenomics”

Wharton Women in Business Conference celebrates watershed year in women’s admissions

The Wharton Women in Business Conference, “Unprecedented Times, Unprecedented Women,” will celebrate its 11th anniversary Friday, October 9, 2009 at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia.  This year’s WWIB Conference will feature a range of panel discussions on such topics as entrepreneurship, global careers, top female financial leaders’ views on the financial crisis, and work/life balance.

Live in Balance comes to Bondi by Nicky Arthur

When: Saturday 10 October 2009, 10.45 am – 3.00 pm  Where: Bondi Pavilion, Seagull Room

Live in Balance is an interactive workshop to help re-program your lifestyle from chaos to balance and is designed around Nicky’s philosophy that anyone can be motivated, inspired and challenged to make positive, sustainable changes in their life they just usually need a hand to get started.

Press Releases

Career Life Connection News and Events

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 dot 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.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Working Better project: An equal future (The Guardian – UK)

All of us – mothers and fathers, carers and older people – need to balance our working lives with our other responsibilities. Even young people are aware of these considerations: in a 2008 survey of Oxbridge graduates, a majority in every sector said they would prioritise work-life balance when thinking about their career.  The challenge for government and for employers is to take advantage of these changes by showing a real commitment to flexible working.  Only then will we be able to capitalise on the full diversity of talent available to us in 21st-century Britain.

Australia grants $1.69 million to help small business be more family friendly (The Gov Monitor)

Research shows that family-friendly workplaces are more productive, harmonious, have less staff turnover and attract the most talented staff.  However, a survey published recently by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that in 80 per cent of Australian working families, at least one parent said they struggled to achieve a work-life balance.

MEI Technologies an AARP ‘best employer’ (New Mexico Business Weekly)

MEI has established an Associates Program to identify and hire senior level engineers, scientists, specialists and management, many of whom are retired from NASA, the Department of Defense and academic institutions. The company matches those recruits with positions and clients, who will especially benefit from their high levels of expertise.  “In realizing that the work-life balance, benefits and workload issues for these valuable experts differs from that of entry-level employees, MEI established the Associates Program,” Muñiz said. “We are honored that our work to improve the quality of life for professionals over 50 has received this prestigious recognition.”

The Mommy Option: 1 in 4 Moms Stay-at-Home (Mother Jones)

Yesterday, the Census Bureau released its new report on stay-at-home moms, one that’s now being hailed as proving the myth of the “opt-out revolution.” The opt-out theory goes like this: high wage earning, highly educated women land promising and high paying jobs, only to leave them once they have babies. The trend has been debated, and now, if you believe The Washington Post, has been debunked.  This is seen as either a good thing, read: women are able to balance work and motherhood and carry on doing both without having to make tough choices to leave or give up parenting. Work/life balance problem solved, strong feminists can have their job, and baby too. Or, the report’s results are actually much more complicated than that and mean that women who want to choose to stay home can’t now for a host of reasons, that those who do have little choice in the matter (many of whom are also feminists, and all of whom are feminine), that more women are actually just losing their jobs, and that the data doesn’t capture the true state of stay-at-home motherhood.

Is the U.S. a family-friendly nation? (Seattle PI)

Almost three-quarters of American women with kids under 18 work – that’s some 25 million moms! For the sake of the families that depend on them financially and emotionally, it should be a given that our workplaces have policies that support women in being productive workers and great mothers: flexible work options, affordable child care, and paid maternity leave and sick days. The grim truth is that the average worker puts in nearly 2,000 hours per year, which is up more than 36 hours – almost a whole workweek! – since 1990. Employers and the government have the power to create and support policies that will allow us to be the best workers and the best parents. Change is coming – in some places more quickly than others. Here, the legislation, companies, and people dedicated to improving our days, plus a look at how far we still have to go, and how to get there together.

Why Half of Idahoans May Not Follow Flu Advice (Public News Service)

“If they don’t have any vacation time, or anything like that to use, then they should go without pay? Who can do that? It’s not doable for most people.”  Wade’s group has been pushing for paid-leave policies to help Idaho families find work-life balance. Many small businesses are traditionally against such policies because of financial concerns.  Idaho State AFL-CIO president Dave Whaley says employers may want to revisit their ‘paid time-off for sickness policies’ to protect their bottom lines as flu spreads.  “It’s a benefit to not only the employee, but the employer, to be able to continue to operate without having a major swine flu outbreak in their employment.”  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises staying home until flu-related fever has naturally subsided for 24 hours, which can be between seven and 10 days from the onset of symptoms.

Author: ‘Remarkable’ women leaders have balance (Cincinnati.com)

According to a new book, the key difference may be that women at the top all have one thing in common: They have found ways to be happy in their professional and personal life, which seems to give them that extra something needed to succeed.

Nowhere to Go But Home Alone (Washington Post)

Lynne Casper, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California who studies the phenomenon of latchkey kids, remembers attending a congressional briefing on workplace issues.  “We were talking about the need for society to start addressing workplace flexibility and work and family balance, and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton said: ‘We’ve been talking about this for 20 years. Why doesn’t it ever get any better?’ ” Casper recalled. “Most of the structure of our workplace in this country has been in place since the Fair Labor Standards Act of the 1930s. But we’ve shifted from single-earner to dual-earner families. We’ve shifted from a manufacturing to a 24/7 service economy. As we’ve shifted, the things that were set up no longer work.”

True HR Cannot Be Outsourced (South Carolina News)

Panelist Scott Cave, KFR Services Inc. discussed the challenge of creating workplace flexibility. By offering flexible work schedules, telecommuting opportunities and child care support, Cave acknowledged how these practices helped cut costs and produce zero percent turnover with his company.

Work-life balance is key (Medicine Hat News)

Results of a recent survey conducted with close to 1,000 employees in Alberta show that 91 per cent said having a good work-life balance rated as a four or five to them. However, only 44 per cent said they currently have a good balance between their work and other aspects of their lives. Thirty-eight per cent of employees surveyed said they had voluntarily decreased the number of hours they work in an effort to improve their work-life balance.

The In-Flight Menace: Wireless Chatter (New York Times)

Series of articles on technology and work-life balance

Doing Right By Customers (Multichannel News)

Cox’s management believes that happy employees mean satisfied customers. The company has long been an advocate of work/life balance and career planning as a way of promoting and supporting its staffers. Cox was one of the first companies in the industry to provide on-site day care for CSRs and it’s an active proponent of telecommuting. About 17% of the company’s Spanish-language care staff in Arizona works from home, according to Herrera.  “Our department has grown quite a bit in recent years and finding desks and office space is always hard,” he said. “The ability to have some care agents work from home has alleviated that to a degree. It’s also good for the environment and provides a good work/life balance.”

Top Small Workplaces 2009 (Wall Street Journal)

But other companies view things differently. For them, a commitment to employees’ well-being and development in times like these can pay off handsomely—both now and in the future. Companies with low turnover and high employee satisfaction and engagement are better positioned to save money and devise innovative ways to navigate the crisis. And they set up the company to do even better when the economy turns around.  For the third year in a row, The Wall Street Journal teamed up with Winning Workplaces, an Evanston, Ill., nonprofit that helps small and midsize companies create better work environments, to identify 15 small employers who have built some of the most exemplary, innovative workplaces.

The Balancing Act of 2009 might unbalance budgets (Zanesville Times Recorder)

Health care reform has the center stage, but the impact of the balancing act of 2009 shouldn’t be overlooked. Introduced in June by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, of California, the bill proposes to consolidate various workplace flexibility bills into one major piece of legislation that collectively will pose major implications for employers, both large and small.

More Shop Talk at the Inc. 500 (New York Times)

This convention is a study in contradictions…About the only common denominator I can think of is that everyone here wants something better. Some want better income, some more work-life balance, some to be better bosses, some to better serve their customers, and some more satisfaction in what they do.

In the Blogs

Work-Life Extravanaganza (Work. Life. Balance)

Thought provoking article with author’s take on a very busy week in work-life balance and women’s issues

Employees want gossip breaks and dating service at work (Employee Benefits)

In addition the report illustrated that freedom and personalised hours are the key to workplace happiness with over 40% of all workers citing flexible and summer working hours as the most desirable benefits – ahead of financial bonuses.  Helen Whitton, deputy chair of the Work Life Balance Trust, said: “Workers are demanding more perks to keep them motivated – especially given the economic challenges of the last couple of years. The research shows it’s not always about money but about achieving a better work life balance with the call for more flexible working hours across British businesses stronger than ever.

What Your Firm’s Future Leaders Want-Believe It or Not (Leagle)

Flexibility is key – but so is hard work. What Ryan likes to term life-work balance (instead of work-life balance) is most important to young staff, and the three staff CPAs on the panel are no exception.  However, owners will be very pleased to learn of the strong sense of responsibility these staff have for making sure they do their jobs well and their appreciation for flexible opportunities at their firms. These three are as far away as you can get from the Millennial stereotypes of demanded freedoms and little responsibility.

The Balance of Parenthood (Cribsheet)

I was driving home this morning  from “Parents Day at Preschool” thinking about how  fortunate I was to have a work situation where I could take the morning off to be Ben’s special guest in class.

100 All-Time Best Ways to Hack Your Workday (Career Overview)

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of alarm clocks, commutes, meetings, office politics and dead-end jobs, but life doesn’t have to be that way all. Here, we’ve revealed 100 of the all-time best lifehacks for your workday, which will keep you motivated, productive and energized each week.

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

While there were many similarities between the private sector and academia, there was one striking difference. Workplace flexibility in private industry still focuses primarily on scheduling flexibility (e.g., flex time, compressed workweeks, job sharing, part-time work or teleworking). By contrast, higher education institutions are working hard to provide career flexibility and the need to offer:

Smart Working: Avoid Burnout and Get Your Work-Life Balance Back (Network Solutions)

However, as a business owner, the business is always calling for something – one more email, working on Sunday afternoon to do the books, write this proposal, etc. Since you are where the buck stops you are usually the one that has to do the task. Often, new entrepreneurs feel the pressure to do everything and do it now. The lines of when you are working, especially if your office is located at home is trying and you must have the discipline to separate them. If you don’t do this, there is one end result…Burnout.

Work Limits May Boost Productivity (IT Business Edge)

We talk a lot about finding the right work-life balance, but hardly anyone seems to be doing it.  The recession hasn’t helped, since layoffs ratchet up anxiety about keeping a job, no matter how stressful. Earlier this year, I wrote about a CareerBuilder survey that found 35 percent of peopledidn’t plan to take a vacation this year, with 20 percent of them citing anxiety as the reason.  Maybe it’s time to rethink the whole “work more to get ahead” or, in the case of the current economy “work more to stay employed” ethos. A new Harvard Business School study found thatmaking workaholics take some time off improved their performance.

Remote Control (AM Law Daily)

What does this mean for law firms? It is time to eliminate “face time” as the measurement of dedication and commitment. Big corner offices with senior partners in them are status symbols of the past. (And it is costly real estate, to boot, that smart firms would be wise to give up.) Hours devoted to a commute are no longer signs of commitment, but the tipping point in attempts at work/life balance. And the new reality is this: Clients don’t care where the work gets done.  They just want it done as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.  The time is now. The message is clear. Law firms need to step out of the 1950s and into the new world where the place from which someone works does not define success or commitment.

National Work & Family Month – The New Emphasis on Fatherhood (Huffington Post)

Moreover, far from being just a “woman’s issue,” work and family issues are now “men’s” issues. According to the Families and Work Institute, more men (59%) than women (45%) in dual-income households report serious work and family conflicts. More men than women struggle with work family balance. That is a significant shift and one that I’m not sure most Americans would guess.

BigLaw: Above the Law Editor Elie Mystal on the Future of the AmLaw 200 (Techno Lawyer Blog)

The balance of power has shifted and firm managers know it. Now is not the time when associates should complain of cancelled vacations or lack of quality time with the kids. Will the “lifestyle” concept return? Absolutely. Once the economy turns, associates will wonder how reasonable it is to bill 3,200 hours a year and remain a functioning member of society. Right now, “lifestyle” means “having a job.” Jones Day touts that the fact that they haven’t had layoffs — that’s their definition of lifestyle. When people don’t expect to be fired on a daily basis, we’ll get back to some of these other lifestyle concerns.

To find out more, I asked CAS Careers Coach, Paresh Damani, a few questions about life, the Universe and everything else career related….”I think people would like more of a work life balance now. With the credit crunch and high flying banking and financial services jobs taking a hit, people are realising there is more to life than making money.”

Since I joined Percona, my work/life balance has changed. I used to work eight-hour days and go home, period. Now I find it’s sometimes difficult to keep good boundaries between work and the rest of my life. I also found that 8 hours in my new job left me much more tired than 8 in my old job. I’ve had to really work hard to understand what changed and how to keep this more in balance, and I’ve gotten help from a number of other people. In the end, a deep examination of my habits was necessary. After all that work, I thought it might be helpful to share the results with others.

And in the left corner we have the working mum… and in the right corner the stay at home mum. Let the fight begin! (Mums Path)

I’ve done pretty much every combination of the mum and work thing over the years – working, not working, childminders, day nurseries and self employed work at home mum (WAHM).  I guess that’s why I find it futile to take sides on the ever popular debate. Because each of them have their pressures, stresses, loves and hates in different ways and in different combinations.

Interviews with Generation Y: Mary Jane Kelly (SarahDaviesrss)

Flexibility and work-life balance are very important to young people, especially those who have family and volunteer commitments. Creative work arrangements appeal to bright, involved employees who have a lot going on outside of work, and there are some great models of how value increases when employees have more freedom and input about their work environment. For most tech jobs, flextime and working from home are easy to arrange with the right tech solution. It’s different for each organization, of course, but I think that in a lot of cases, especially for highly skilled, self-motivated employee bases, the added performance, decreased overturn, and increased project morale gained by keeping employees happy would probably more than offset the overhead.

Events

Marquette alumnae business leaders to discuss work-life balance

Four Marquette University alumnae business leaders will lead a luncheon panel titled “The CEO of Everything: Marquette Women Balancing Careers and Families” Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 11:30 a.m. in the third-floor ballroom of the Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Press Releases

Generation Y Speaks Up to Reject Entitlement Label

“The survey results suggest this generation aspires to a very different work environment and reward system from their parents’ generation,” said Jodi Shanoff, Vice President, Angus Reid Strategies. “These young people have a strong sense of self and boundaries. They expect recognition and reward based on their contribution and they place great importance on achieving a work-life balance.”  While more than half expect competitive pay and benefits from their employment, money is not the top immediate or long-term goal for many of these young people. Forty-three per cent want a job to advance their career now and 61 per cent identify work-life balance as their long-term career goal, followed by meaningful and challenging work (57%) and job security (43%).

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.

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.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

The news comes early this week as I’m shutting the laptop down and enjoying some family time.  I am loving the “Out of Office” response I’m crafting in my mind.  It will be something like: “Yes, I will have access to email…but no, I’m not going to be checking it.  A decision made partly from reading a WSJ article on how working less is working better, partly because I need a work/life makeover and partly because I’m just not that important.”

The WSJ article in my mind tops this week’s news about work/life and so it is in the top position.  Enjoy the weekend all…unplug, tune out to work, tune in to personal interests and re-charge.  I’ll jump back into the rat race on Wednesday…see you then.

In the News

If You Need to Work Better, Maybe Try Working Less (WSJ)

After years of working on and off throughout most weekends, I was trying a new approach by taking off at least one entire day every weekend this month, away from reporting, writing and all other work. Early on, I hated it. As simple as it seemed, sticking to a time-off plan stressed me out at first. What I didn’t see right away was that my little test was forcing me to improve the way I work.

Swineflu Causes Headache for Small Businesses (WSJ)

The spread of swine flu should also make owners think about allowing employees to telecommute. That’s particularly important when an employee needs to stay home to care for a sick child. But an owner should not be asking someone who’s sick to log in to work from home.

Valassis honored for workplace flexibility (Hometown Life)

As a winner, Valassis ranks in the top 20 percent of employers nationally in terms of flexible work programs, policies and culture.

BC-US Best Selling Books – USA Today (Google News)

11. “What Happy Working Mothers Know: How New Findings in Positive Psychology Can Lead to a Healthy and Happy Work/Life Balance” by Cathy L. Greenberg, Barrett S. Avigdor (Wiley) (NF-H)

Feds eye workplace models of Google, Facebook (ComputerWorld)

Another key goal for Berry is improving telecommuting to help foster a greater work-life balance and improve the government’s attractiveness as an employer. Telecommuting is already widely used at the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM.  The U.S. recently estimated that it has about 103,000 telecommuters or about 5.24% of its workforce. OPM may be one of the leaders in fostering this. Berry told attendees at a telework conference today that security-clearance background investigators, about 2,500 federal employees alone, are working remotely.  Berry believes telework improves productivity and credited it with helping the federal government reduce the time needed to conduct a security clearance investigation from about one year to 37 days.

Work relationships: Be a better executive mate (Canadian Business)

One of the biggest challenges executive spouses face is coping with anger and resentment stemming from the demands of their partner’s work. Too many late nights and last-minute trips and too much e-mailing at the dinner table can take its toll. Studies show it’s important to nip these things in the bud — not only for personal reasons, but for professional ones, too. According to a 2006 report on work-life balance from Minneapolis-based Life Innovations, “employees who enjoy relational health at home, in their marriage and among their peers, are more productive and make better leaders.”

Bayer honored again as a top company for working mothers (Daily Record)

“Bayer places a priority on work-life balance and this includes providing initiatives and programs that allow working parents to succeed on the job and at home,” said Greg Babe, Bayer president and CEO.

Families stressed trying to juggle work-life: ABS (Sydney Morning Herald)

Extra work hours and weekend shifts are cutting into family life and leaving many working parents feeling pressed for time, the latest social trend statistics show…In 80 per cent of the families at least one parent said they always felt pressed for time ‘‘trying to achieve a work-life balance’’.

Family-Friendly Work Policies Take a Hit (New York Times)

Working Mother magazine has released its 24th annual list of “100 Best Companies” today, with a dose of controversy on the side.  One question hovering over the recession was whether family-friendly policies would take it on the chin, and the advances of the past decade or more would prove to be just a luxury rather than a foundational change.  Carol Evans, president of of Working Mother Media, says that the answer is a definite maybe. On average, companies are cutting their flexibility policies, she said, but those most committed to “best practices” like flex-time, telecommuting, job sharing and on-site lactation rooms, were holding fast.

‘Work hum’ of texts, e–mails and phone calls is turning us into corporate slaves at home (Walesonline)

IT WAS once the work-life balance that got scientists and health experts hot under the collar.  But now it is the “work hum” invading family life with an endless stream of text messages, e-mails and phone calls.

Work-life balance is key (Medicine Hat News)

Results of a recent survey conducted with close to 1,000 employees in Alberta show that 91 per cent said having a good work-life balance rated as a four or five to them. However, only 44 per cent said they currently have a good balance between their work and other aspects of their lives. Thirty-eight per cent of employees surveyed said they had voluntarily decreased the number of hours they work in an effort to improve their work-life balance.   Creating good work-life balance is the responsibility of both individual employees and their employers. Stressed and overworked employees are more likely to make mistakes, take sick-days off, be short-tempered with co-workers and customers and may be more prone to accidents on the job.

Five tips for moms returning to the workplace (Wichita Eagle)

Workplace flexibility. The market may be tough, but some jobs today offer perks that most in the workforce wouldn’t have dreamed of in the past. Specifically, many employers are increasingly open to letting employees working remotely at least part of the time. The flexibility to work from home, or adjust your schedule on the fly, could be the difference between being able to take on a job or not, and at the very least it’ll ease some of the challenges of being a working mother.

Workplace flexibility critical: Gillard (Brisbane Times)

Flexibility in the workplace is critical for men and women to deal with family issues, Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says…”I think it’s very important that there is flexibility in the workplace to allow women and men to deal with family life issues,” Ms Gillard told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.  “Of course, our system allows people to bargain over the nature of the flexibility clause to make sure that it’s right for their business, their enterprise, their workplace.”She said the model flexibility clause had been adopted in a “vast majority” of workplace agreements.

Technology journalists are the ones to watch (The Guardian)

But technology journalists are often also the harbingers of what working life is going to be like. You may not like it. Mike Butcher, the editor of TechCrunch, a technology news blog, writes and updates the site from all over Europe. In January he wrote that he doesn’t have a work/life balance – “I have work/life hum.” It started after he got an iPhone, with its email, Twitter, Facebook, web browser, calendar, text messaging, voice recorder and – most importantly – permanent, unlimited data connection.

In the Blogs

100 Best Companies for Family Friendly Policies – Really? (MomsRising)

The bright side is that placement on this list is coveted by companies and has over the years made being seen as offering workplace flexibility a positive.  But could there be a darker side? Wonks wagging in Washington point to the number of advertising pages bought by some of those very companies whose names are on the list.  A personnel officer of one of the winners confided that while the policies are on the books, the corporate culture discourages employees actually implementing the “family-friendly” policies.  The survey, of companies with thousands of workers, records the percentage who have access to paid maternity and paternity leave, flexible scheduling, childcare, and sick- or back up child care.  Obviously this number could be much higher than those who actually utilize such programs.  Rather than serving as an inducement to encourage greater workplace responsiveness, could such listings be the result of corporate PR and publishers’ need for revenue?

Mom-Approved Client Development (The Fordyce Letter)

The take-away message, according to the magazine’s editors, is that “how, when, and where you work” is not as important as the quality of the work produced. In fact, a full 100% offer some sort of telecommuting or flextime schedule; 98% offer job-sharing; and 94% offer compressed workweeks.

Employee Health, Wellness– No Longer Optional Benefit, but Strategic Imperative (Fast Company Expert Blog)

Families and Work Institute (FWI) just released The State of Health in the American Workforce study.  The numbers are not only disturbing, but they are a real call to action for both individuals and employers.   The research shines a light on the paradox that working harder, faster, longer does more harm than good not only to our personal health and well being, but to business.   In the new work+life flex normal, employee health and wellness are not an “option,” they’re a strategic imperative.

Wellness is the Responsibility of Business as Well as Worker (Huffington Post)

On the bright side, employer policies fostering employee engagement and satisfaction are associated with better employee health. Examples of these policies include giving employees a say about how to do their jobs and providing flexible scheduling options. FWI finds that 38% of employees in workplaces that we classify as having “high overall effectiveness” (based on six measurable criteria: economic security, autonomy, work-life fit, job challenge and learning, supervisor task support and a climate of respect) report “excellent overall health.” By contrast, only 19% of employees in workplaces in the “low overall effectiveness” category report “excellent overall health.”

“100 Best Companies” for how long? (True/Slant Work.Life blog)

Though the “Best Companies” list is hardly comprehensive (companies sign-up voluntarily to participate in a self-reported survey), it does give us an idea of what’s out there in terms of flexibility and benefits at top companies. Don’t be scared off by the whole maternal focus either—if a company is flexible and generous with benefits for mothers, it’s likely flexible and generous with benefits for all employees. (Though not necessarily; and that’s one of the problems with focusing only on working mothers when it comes to work/life issues in the workplace). This year, 100 percent of the “Best Companies” offer telecommuting and flextime schedules to employees, 98 percent offer job-sharing, and 94 percent offer compressed workweeks.

Seeking balance in your life (Winning Strategies for Women)

Balance is a goal that seems to remain just out of reach unless you make it a priority. Early on in my career, I worked tirelessly without re-energizing myself. I felt that it was what I was ‘suppose’ to do. I let guilt drive many of those early decisions.  As I grew older (and I’d like to think wiser)- I began to see the whole picture more clearly. Balance is something that we control, and usually it either works smoothly or not based on our own strengths or weaknesses in managing our workload.

More Good News About Women, Balance and Happiness (Becky & Hollee)

Then we discussed how to balance family and work, and I snuck in a quick survey.  Here’s the good news: When I asked whether nurses today were better equipped to balance work and life than nurses 20 years ago, almost 80 percent said yes!

Work/Life balance (Modern Mom)

I have rarely talked about this, but now as I bury myself in this ModernMom community, I am realizing how many career moms are torn between the work/life balance…Some of us have to work; staying at home is not option.  Some of us want to work because it has many benefits for certain women.  Some of us are stay at home moms, which in my opinion is the HADREST job on the planet!  The question is, if you didn’t have to work, would you, and for what reasons?

Virtual Law Firms & Heritage Law (Heritage Law blog)

In addition to the business pressures on law firm management, large numbers of lawyers are choosing to leave the traditional law firm model.  A February 2007 cover story of California Lawyer magazine entitled, “We’re Outta Here: Why Women are Leaving Big Firms”  noted the serious issue of high attrition rates from the legal profession:  “The past few years have witnessed the highest levels of associate attrition ever documented, with an average annual attrition rate for both sexes of 19 percent, as recently reported by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education. Within five years of entering a firm, more than three-quarters of associates leave. Female associates were nearly twice as likely as males to depart to pursue a better work/life balance.”

A new age of talent management (Entitled)

The most interesting part to me was the discussion about what all three generations are looking for in a workplace, including greater flexibility, ability to achieve desired work/life balance and belong to teams that generate “meaningful and valued results – within their companies and, if possible, in the world at large.”

IT Salary Hikes and Attrition (Current IT Market . net)

The average retention rate, defined as percentage of employees retained out of the total employees as on March 31, 2008, improved to 85 per cent, from 79 per cent in 2008, the survey stated…Another key finding is that more employees are satisfied with the interest shown by their companies as well as their immediate seniors in helping them strike a work-life balance compared to last year.

Work life balance number one requested topic for Cincinnati businesswomen (Examiner.com)

Diane Long, Program Manager for Women Excel opened the WE Share event on work life balance by announcing that work life balance was the number one requested topic.  That announcement, coupled with the full room at the Cintas Center,  was no surprise for many of the Cincinnati businesswomen in attendance.

Work At Home – How To Increase Your Productivity & Success While Working At Home (Article Rumble)

Having a work-at-home business is increasingly become popular. Why? People are seeking ways to supplement their income and get a better work-life balance. People today prefer to be their own ‘boss’, and set their own work hours.  If you decide to work home, you will also need to be organized and disciplined so that you get a lot of work done. It is your sole responsibility to keep yourself motivated. It is very easy to be distracted while working at home, therefore it is important for you to have some guideline to follow while you work at home.

Press Releases

NEW FAMILIES AND WORK INSTITUTE STUDY REVEALS DECLINES IN THE HEALTH OF AMERICAN WORKFORCE

First Horizon Makes 15th Working Mother Best Companies Appearance

“We are excited to join the Hall of Fame and proud to be among the nation’s companies recognized for steadfastly supporting an employee-focused culture that understands the importance of balancing work and family,” said Bryan Jordan, First Horizon CEO. “We are particularly pleased with this recognition from Working Mother during a year in which economic times have been difficult for many families because that’s when support for the family in the workplace is even more important.”

Walker Named As One of the Consulting Industry’s Best Small Firms to Work For

Walker was specifically recognized in the areas of culture and work/life balance. Steve Walker attributes this to the deeply ingrained values instilled in the firm by its founder, Dorothy Walker.  “As leaders of a third-generation, family-owned business, my father and I have always understood the importance of culture and work/life balance, and have diligently worked to preserve the productive environment she built,” Walker said.

Abbott Again Honored for Offering One of the ‘Top 10′ Leading Workplaces

“We are pleased to be recognized again by Working Mother magazine for creating a workplace that inspires and empowers working parents to succeed in their careers and at home,” said Stephen Fussell, senior vice president, Human Resources, Abbott. “Abbott continues to invest in training and development, extensive benefits, workplace flexibility and health and wellness programs, which allow our colleagues to build extraordinary careers. We strive to put people and potential together better than other organizations.”

Censeo Consulting Group Named to Consulting Magazine’s ’2009 Best Small Firms to Work For’ List

Firm Ranks #2 for Corporate Culture and Employee Morale and Takes Top Spots in Career Development and Work/Life Balance

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.

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.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Recession Drives Women Back to the Work Force (New York Times)

Last February Trudi Foutts Loh felt compelled to find full-time work, some 20 years after she quit her job to care for her two children. Her job back then as a lawyer and three hours of daily commuting made balancing everything impossible.

Utah employers are recognized for workplace flexibility (ABC 4)

In a tough economy, working around your employees needs may not appear to be good business, but seven Utah employers have received a national award for doing just that. They say offering flexible work schedules, and allowing employees to work from home has never made more sense.

Flexible work tops agenda for crunch mums (Reuters)

Flexible working hours, homeworking opportunities and cover for emergencies or school holidays are the top concerns for working mothers, according to a British survey on Thursday.  The survey of 1,677 people by specialist employment advice website workingmums.co.uk showed that despite a tougher jobs climate, in which redundancies had risen dramatically during the recession, mothers clamored for a more malleable schedule.

Gap To Employees: Work Wherever, Whenever You Want (BusinessWeek)

Art Peck, president of Gap Outlet, a division of Gap Inc., in San Francisco, no longer hears about employees’ doctors’ appointments or parent-teacher conferences. And he couldn’t be happier. For the past year, Gap Outlet has piloted a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), the first major company to do so since Best Buy pioneered the practice six years ago. The pilot program included 137 headquarters employees and executives in merchandising, design, production, finance, HR and IT. Retail store employees are not eligible to participate.

New workplace laws failing Julia Gillard’s flexibility test (The Australian)

THE Rudd government has suffered a setback in its push to allow individual workers to secure more flexible working conditions, after Campbell’s Soup buckled to union opposition to Labor’s new workplace flexibility clause. In the first test of the flexibility of Labor’s workplace laws, Campbell’s dropped its bid to have its employees be able to strike individual flexible arrangements with the company, following a campaign by the left-wing Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

How to manage the work-life balance (Globe and Mail)

Work-life balance is especially challenging for entrepreneurs because the choice is theirs. When you’re in charge of how much or how little you do, how do you find the right balance?  Sure, there’s flexibility for personal time, but what about customer expectations? With current technology enabling people to work 24/7, must you always be available? And if you pull back, what’s the cost?  Incubator talked to three Toronto entrepreneurs, each with different priorities and solutions that work for them.

Tennis champion Kim Clijsters is proof we working mothers really can be superhuman (Daily Mail)

Inevitably, coverage has focused on the fact that Kim Clijsters is a mum – the first to win a Grand Slam tournament since Evonne Goolagong Cawley way back in 1980.  Certain male commentators seem to find it hard to believe that a woman who has so much as heated a bottle of formula can ever be more than an also-ran on a professional tennis court.  Notice that no one mentioned the possible impact of Roger Federer’s young twins on his surprise defeat in the men’s final. The popular view remains that becoming a parent drains ambition and ability from a woman, though a man remains as virile as ever, maybe more so.  That’s why women back at work after maternity leave can still find themselves put on the Mummy Track, a bumpy road to Nowhere.

However, 65 per cent feel that the values at their workplace are not in tune with their personal values and only one in four are convinced that work-life balance is possible.  That’s a warning sign for employers, said Toronto psychiatrist Irvin Wolkoff.

“If employees do not feel that they can balance their work and their personal priorities, such as their families, we are going to see more Canadians struggling with mental health issues,” Wolkoff said in a release.  “We are also going to face an employee base who are resentful, disengaged and stressed.”

Sarkozy attacks focus on economic growth (Guardian)

• French president urges more emphasis on quality of life – Arguing that gross domestic product (GDP) – the standard means of measuring a country’s economic growth – ignores other factors vital to the well-being of its population, the report proposes a new indicator which would be calculated with GDP but take into account a broader view.  A new indicator would look at issues such as environmental protection and work/life balance as well as economic output to rate a country’s ability to maintain the “sustainable” happiness of its inhabitants.

Wanted: work-life balance (Straits-Times)

In looking for a new job, she has added a criterion to her checklist: work-life balance. ‘The firm I join needs to be supportive of work-life balance and care about its employees’ well-being,’ she said. Increasingly, Singaporeans like Ms Lee are putting more emphasis on life beyond work.

In the Blogs

Seven Ways You Can Win the Battle to Control Your Own Life (The Huffington Post)

In the business environment, work-life effectiveness success is defined by measurable gains across seven clusters of people practices known as the work-life portfolio. 20 years of empirical research shows that an investment in any one of them provides a positive return, just like a financial portfolio, and investment in most or all of them yields a cumulative effect that all stakeholders prize: a more productive, engaged and healthier workforce. Ask any “employer of choice”–they know that the strongest weapon for this battlefield is a flexible leadership philosophy, but full battle gear requires a lot more than flexibility.

Whether you’re an employer or an employee, during National Work & Family Month, dedicate yourself to these seven principles of work-life effectiveness.

The Achiever (This Magic Moment)

Because that little girl and eventually that little boy… they’re watching everything we do and imitating it, now in play and later in life. So I have to finally get it right. The balance between accomplishment and fun. The science of rest. The art of living in the moment.

Work-life balance ‘most important equality issue’; pay second (Thomsons.com)

An equal rights questionnaire carried out by a leading employment organisation has found that work-life balance guidance is the most requested equality issue in the workplace.  In the TUC 2009 Equality Audit, it was found that 65 per cent of unions under the Trades Union Congress (TUC) umbrella were consulted over the matter, while women’s pay and reward alongside employee benefits polled second with 63 per cent.

State(s) Your Case (Life Meets Work)

The workplace flexibility storm has been brewing and we’re starting to hear some might loud thunderclaps…like these:  Two states are offering free telecommuting resources. Minnesota’s program is based on the ROWE (Results Only Work Environment). Connecticut’s program is outstanding, including what looks like a good deal of FREE consulting services.

Can you get FIRED for breast feeding at work? (Who’s The Boss?)

The bigger problem is that although this seems to be an issue of gender discrimination, it really relates to the larger problem of work-life balance, which is totally unrelated to gender. At some point in adult working lives, most of us will have personal challenges that may require us to alter our work shifts, take extra breaks, work from home, etc. This is true for both men and women.  Married or single.  Childless or breeders.  When companies recognize that we need work-life balance and accommodate those needs, the company will have a stronger, more productive, loyal workforce.

Work-life balance top priority for both men and women (Insider Media Group)

An issue that has been talked about for ages, but is only recently becoming more relevant in North America, is work-life balance. And those in the workforce are not the only ones sitting up and taking notice.  Many companies are implementing new measures such as holding information sessions for women looking to pursue careers in finance and even providing paternity leave (yes boys, keep reading as this is an issue for you too!).

How Technology Helps Attain Work-Life Balance! (Entertainment Journal)

The new-age employer understands these problems and since higher productivity is what interests them the most, they are willing to achieve this through ensuring work-life balance for their employees.  Such employers, who use technology to enhance working arrangements are looked at as better employers, and employees are more likely to experience job satisfaction and stay in the organization longer.

Press Release

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts (The White House)

Chai R. Feldblum, Nominee for Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - As Co-Director of Workplace Flexibility 2010, Feldblum has worked to advance flexible workplaces in a manner that works for employees and employers.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Chasing Elusive Work-Life Balance (Globe and Mail)

Can you have it all? Do you have to be there 24/7 for clients? Three entrepreneurs weigh in

Teachers with a good work-life balance produce higher-achieving pupils (HR Magazine)

Schools with staff who are satisfied in their jobs and are valued by managers produce higher achieving students, evidence from market research agency ORC suggests.

Goodman: Grateful to have a job (San Jose Mercury News)

The talk of work-life balance has fallen as fast as a 401(k). There is still a stigma attached to flextime and only half of workers get a single paid sick day. As Debra Ness of the National Partnership for Women and Families says, worried workers are “less likely to ask for benefits and less likely to use them if they have them.”  After the dot-com bubble burst, we got a jobless recovery. Will the Great Recession and the grateful worker end up with a benefit-less recovery?

AARP salutes 3 N.C. employers (News & Observer)

In compiling the list, the AARP looks at recruiting practices; training and educational opportunities; workplace flexibility in terms of scheduling, job sharing and phased retirement; retirement benefits; and work opportunities for retirees.

SC Johnson, Acuity make AARP ‘best’ list (The Business Journal of Milwaukee)

AARP said Acuity is committed to helping employees have a positive work-life balance. Changes based on employee opinion surveys include the construction of an on-site exercise facility and enhanced retirement training. Acuity has also worked to maintain a strong benefits package that includes perks such as unlimited, paid sick leave for employees unable to work because of an injury or illness. Acuity has also gone eight years without raising health care premiums.

Agency Executives Need to Get Out on Motorcycles More Often (Advertising Age)

The best agencies can be the best and still offer careers with balance. I don’t think that when you get older you are any less adept at the essential skills that once made you a star copywriter or planner. I just think that you get burned out and realize that there is more to life than selling consumer products. It’s time for agencies to create cultures that cultivate the balance. Because isn’t it the experiences outside the agency that inform the magic that happens within?

Five Steps for Achieving Work-life Balance (Asia One)

Working longer hours and E-mail make it hard to balance the demands on your time, particularly if you have family commitments. But having a meaningful career doesn’t mean sacrificing your personal life either. Achieving work-life balance isn’t that difficult.

Why Are You Not Like Me? The Generational Gap In The Workplace (Psychology Today)

The workplace is facing a generational adjustment of values, learning and working styles that will have a huge impact on how leaders think and act. Generation X and Generation Y will transform the nature of the workplace.

Launching a start-up and having a family life: It’s possible! (Venture Beat)
What will your epitaph say? – When our kids were babies I was still struggling to try to put the work/life balance in perspective.  Someone gave me a thought that I tried to live my live my life around.  He asked me, when you’re gone would you rather have your gravestone say, “He never missed a meeting.” Or one that said, “He was a great father.” Holding my two kids on my lap, it was a pretty easy decision.

How Gen Y and Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda (Diversity Inc)

Y’s and boomers value work/life balance and prioritize Flexibility and Remote Work. They are shedding Industrial Age conceptions of work and demanding control over when, where and how work gets done.

Flexibility could be vital for workplace productivity (HR Review – UK)

Flexibility and good employee communication are “vital” for a happy and productive workforce during the recession, one sector commentator has claimed.  Robert Janes, chair of judges for The National Business Awards, said that if a firm is facing budget challenges, the best course of acting was to be honest with staff as this could make it easier for them to face and meet these problems.

Is work taking over your life? (Metro News)
Poll show twice as many Canadians feel overworked this year over last

Hennepin Employees Try New Work Model (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

The results-oriented workplace model — where employees set their own schedules according to what they get done, rather than simply follow the clock — is said to be a hit with businesses eager to focus on tasks done rather than hours worked.   But is it good enough for government work? Hennepin County plans to find out.

Balancing Acts: If Not Now, When? (Inc)

If you allow a business, even a successful one, to dictate the terms of your life, you will always find reasons to delay making the big personal decisions — there’s the new branch that is just about to open, that merger on the horizon. When businesses survive and thrive, it’s the nature of the entrepreneur to keep expanding them.

Heavy workload biggest obstacle for women lawyers (The Kelowna Daily Courier)
A startling one-third of new women lawyers drop out of the profession within five years…The society says losing women lawyers is bad for the profession and it will only add to the expected shortage of lawyers in B.C. in the next decade as baby boomer-aged lawyers retire.

It’s about time (The Age – Australia)

Working parents fret about the hours they spend away from their children. But how do the kids feel about it? Amanda Woodard reports.

In the Blogs

The end of work-life balance? Long live work-life integration…(CSR Asia)

Work-life balance is dead and rapidly being replaced by the concept of work-life integration, if the number of articles and commentaries about the topic are to be believed. The “old” idea of work-life balance seems to imply that the two concepts are actually separate parts of someone’s existence. Whereas work-life integration is about seeing work as a part of improving one’s overall quality of life.

Thoughts on Work-Life Balance (Chandler Criminal Defense)

Being able to move around my schedule to be home was priceless. I didn’t have to ask anyone if I could take time off. I didn’t have to use any sick days or vacation time. Anyone who knows me in even the slightest personal capacity knows how much I love that dog. Personally caring for her in the comfort of her own home for the last days of her life was incredibly important to me. I don’t know if any firm would have given me that much flexibility to care for a pet.  Work decreased, but it never stopped altogether. I had filings to draft, interviews to conduct, and a jury trial the following week.

What Great Bosses Know about Work-Life Balance (Poynter)

During Labor Day week, it seems only fitting that we spend a little time on the topic of work-life balance. What do great bosses know about the struggle? Plenty, because many wrestle with it themselves.

The New Rules of Nine-to-Five – 13 Ways to Get a Flexible Work Schedule (Job Fair USA)

Imagine leaving your cubicle at any time of the day and working outside via a wireless campus your company has set up. If you worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, you could. If Utah-based Arup Laboratories were your employer, you’d work seven days on, seven days off — and still be considered full-time. Ever have days where you can’t seem to break away for lunch? NRG::Seattle forces you to. Every day around noon, the insurance company goes dark so that everyone must take an hour break for lunch. The goal: come back feeling recharged.

Why a Four-Day Work Week Will Be the Norm (Bedeviant.com)

What would you do with an extra day added to your weekend? Go fishing? Sleep in? Get some yard work done? How about work out? According to a recent article in Time, that’s what most of the Utah state employees mandated to take a four-day work week would do…I know of a few friends who have adopted this schedule and can attest that they are loving it.

Mothers Group To U.S. Senate: “We’re Trapped in the Last Century” (Insight New Mexico)

The National Association of Mothers’ Centers recently told a bipartisan U.S. Senate working group that a lack of flexibility in the workplace is punishing vast numbers of family caregivers in New Mexico and the rest of the country.

Is Work-Life Becoming More Intertwined? (workshifiting.com)

A theme that I heard repeatedly was that there’s no line between work and life now.  Workshifters have anytime access to work and the people they work with. I couldn’t help but ask myself, are we losing the “life” in work/life balance? Here are two different perspectives I heard from the small biz owners group

How employers are using schedule flexibility during recession (examiner.com)

One example of more schedule flexibility provided in the 2009 report was from Salt River Materials Group in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Employees can choose to reduce their workweek by 5 – 20% and or take unpaid leave without affecting their eligibility for benefits.

Labor Day – Everyday (Examiner.com)

A job shouldn’t suck all of your life-force from you leaving you with nothing to give yourself or your family when you get home from work.  But so many people believe that to be a contributing member of society you need to punch a clock and work from 9-5 every day.  But this shouldn’t be the case.

.

Press Release

New Book, “WOMEN WANT MORE,” Reveals How Companies Can Capture Their Share of the World’s Largest, Fastest-Growing Market

Consider the following findings of the BCG survey:

• As of 2006, about 71 percent of mothers in the United States were in the labor force
• Most — 56 percent — had children under one year old
• Yet, 88 percent of women are still responsible for grocery shopping
• 85 percent do most of the meal preparation
• 84 percent do the laundry
• 84 percent do the bulk of the cleaning
• 77 percent manage the tasks of household administration
• Nearly half of all women (47 percent) say that the big stress in their life is demands on their time
• 48 percent say that they feel pressure related to managing household finances and that it’s the major point of stress in their lives
• 45 percent of women say they don’t have “enough time for me”
• 38 percent say conflicting priorities cause stress

Career Life Connection News and Events

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Workers with aging parents need resources, flexibility (Business Lexington)

Approximately one in four households in the United States is involved in caring for an aging adult. Kentucky statistics reveal that 1 in 6 adults provide care for an older or disabled adult. Two-thirds of these adults work, and trends suggest this percentage will increase in years to come.

Business work/life balance part I (Psychology Today)

I think of work/life balance as being like a healthful and delicious meal. To create such a meal you must have the right combination of ingredients in just the right amounts. I believe there are six essential ingredients in work/life balance: personal, physical, professional, social, spiritual, and avocational. Which of these ingredients and their quantities you need is up to you. But if one or more of the ingredients that are important to you aren’t present in your life, your life can’t be balanced.

Bad Economy Hasn’t Changed Gen Y’s Desire For Work/Life Balance (BusinessWeek)

Apparently students still value work-life balance above all else when listing top characteristics of an ideal entry-level employer, placing it well above other factors such as salary and meaningful work.  This according to Tracy Lynn Drye, the Senior VP of Employer Branding & University Relations at Universum USA, the research firm BusinessWeek partners with for the student data portion of our Best Places to Launch a Career rankings.

How Do We Measure Whether Our Work/Life Programs Make Employees More Productive? (Workforce Management)

There are many ways to study the quality of work/life for employees at your company, and it is well worth the effort. Satisfaction with work/life is highly correlated with employee engagement, which in turn boosts productivity and retention. We recommend a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to study work/life.

Milwaukee employers honored for flexibility (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Fuel Milwaukee, the talent development arm of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, has announced that 16 regional companies are among the national winners of the 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility…Fuel Milwaukee noted greater participation in the program, despite the economic downturn. The number of award winners from the Milwaukee area rose from 11 a year ago.

“We also want to help our members learn how to balance their lives while leading successful careers in life insurance and financial services,” he continued. “As I have traveled the world visiting members, I have found becoming a ‘whole person’ is one of the most valued benefits of MDRT and we remain fully committed to it.”

Fear and Laboring in California (Reuters)

The statewide survey found that 51% of employed Californians are experiencing heavier workloads and 53% have less job security than they did before the
state's economic woes and recession took its toll...Three-quarters of Californians (75%) agreed that employers need to
make work/life balance more of a priority

Convergys call center accomodates workers’ needs (Kileen Daily Herald)

And once the employee lands at Convergys, they find a host of creative ways to foster flexibility. Employees who exhibit good work habits or go above and beyond the call of duty will be able to make their own schedules. And Haslam works hard to let his employees know it’s not the end of the world if they need to take a break to pick up a child from day care, for instance.

Afraid to take time off? Wisconsin Lawyer

Most of the law students I talked to were more interested in a healthy work-life balance. More experienced lawyers know all about making personal sacrifices to become professionally successful. It’s how many of them got to where they are today.  But many of today’s law school graduates see the world much differently. And while I’m as “old school” as anyone, I have to admit recent graduates might have the right idea.

More Canadians feel work is taking over their life (Financial Post)

A survey done on behalf of Everest College, conducted by Harris/Decima, had 78% of respondents saying it’s important to work less to have more time for one’s self, family and friends.  However, the same poll also had 34% saying that work dominates their lives. Almost as many – 31% – said that, as a result of the recent economic downturn, they are expected to put in longer hours at work for the same or less pay.  Another aspect pointing to a link between poor economic conditions and a population’s overall work-life balance is the fact that just 12% said work dominated their lives in a similar survey done a year ago.

Workplace Guidelines Released (Manufacturers’ Monthly – Australia)

The benefits of family-friendly workplaces, gender pay equity and good faith bargaining are among the issues canvassed in a series of new guidelines to help small to medium-size Australian businesses…The new guides cover Work & Family, Consultation & Co-operation, Individual Flexibility Arrangements, Employing Young Workers, Gender Pay Equity, Small Business, Workplace Privacy, Managing Under-performance, Effective Dispute Resolution and Improving Workplace Productivity in Bargaining.

Want good staff to stay? Balance life, work better (AsiaOne Business)

Findings by Deloitte show business leaders are increasingly focusing on staff turnover. Two-thirds are fearful of losing outstanding employees after the recession.  Work-life balance has become a deciding factor in employee job selection. More than half of the respondents surveyed by HR agency Robert Half and ACCA said they would take a job that paid less but had better work-life balance.

In the Blogs

Cash bonus swings the work-life balance for employers (Thompsons blog)

More than 25% of all companies in Singapore picked up a S$10,000 bonus by adopting flexible working arrangements in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Manpower.  That means S$5,750,000 in grants was paid out to 575 companies – 28% of the countries 2,053 companies that was an increase from 21% the year before.  To qualify for the payment, companies had to show they had put in place equipment or processes improving the work-life balance for staff.  One of the top indicators was changing systems to allow employees to work from home.

10 Tips for Managing Gen Y (The Glass Hammer)

Gen Ys believe they have more choice about work-life balance than previous generations, and if they don’t have it at your company they are likely to look for it elsewhere.

Knowing What’s Important (Key Group Consulting)

KEYGroup’s research team conducted a survey of more than 1,000 Millennials and asked them to rank the most important determinant of an attractive workplace. The results may surprise you.  Health benefits was listed as the highest-ranked factor followed by work-life balance, promotional opportunities and then salary.

Edelman’s HR Leader Realizes Sabbatical Benefits for Herself and Her Team (YourSabbatical.com)

By going on sabbatical, Smith stretched her team. “They knew that they had the opportunity to make some decisions themselves, as opposed to asking me what we should do. There were a few instances where they were tempted to call, but they didn’t. They talked it through as a team and solved problems together.”  When she mentioned to non-Edelman friends and acquaintances that she was on sabbatical, Smith realized the impact that having such a program has on Edelman’s brand as an employer. “I can’t tell you the number of people I encountered who said, ‘Oh my gosh, what company do you work for? Companies actually do that?’ It’s a huge statement about what kind of organization we are.”

4 Work/Life balance lessons we can learn from TV (Jobacle.com)

As a corporate-world escapee, artist, psychotherapist and freelance writer, I’d love to tell you that I’ve achieved this balance. Well, kind of. Has it been from years of diverse work experience, clinical training and vast amounts of self-help/biz-book reading? Nah, I’ve picked it up from watching too much TV – not brainy PBS-type TV, but sitcoms, reality shows, etc. Here’s what I’ve learned…

Reverse the female brain drain with workplace flexibility (Knowledge Network)

Somewhere around 42 percent of professional women voluntarily leave their careers, at least temporarily. And only 5 percent of highly qualified women looking to re-enter the workforce would consider working for the company they left. Organizations willing to rethink the traditional career model can reverse these trends and gain a competitive advantage…Unfortunately, the traditional workplace model does not allow for arc of career flexibility. Recruiters and employers remain suspicious of people who take time out. Continuous, full-time employment and long hours are still used to judge employee commitment and performance.

Inaugural list of top employers for working families in UK (Examiner.com)

The family-friendly organizations on the list have a reputation for helping to change the outcome for employees in the area of childcare, employee support and wellbeing.

Events

Cincinnati work life balance event to address one of top three challenges (Examiner.com)

“Finding and Keeping Your Balance”, a WE Share event, will take place on Thursday, September 17th at the Cintas Center.  WE Share events are intimate, roundtable discussions with some of Cincinnati’s most successful women business leaders.

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

(more…)

In the News

Survey to gauge parents, students’ work/life balance (Tri-City News)

A consortium of Canadian and U.S. universities is collaborating on an international survey to find out how parents of middle school-aged children are handling the work/life balance.  The goal is to provide information to governments, agencies and even middle schools to assist them in planning and policies for families.

Louisville-area employers recognized for ‘flexibility’ (Triangle Business Journal)

Twenty-one Louisville-area businesses have received the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility…According to a news release, examples of workplace flexibility included giving employees four Fridays off in the summer in lieu of raises, providing employees with information that helps them better manage finances and allows employees to work at home one or two days a week to save on commuting costs.

How can agencies get the most from their investments in telework programs? (Federal News Radio)

Radio show discussing how agencies can lower costs and increase employee productivity through virtual work options.

Work/Life Programs Thrive During the Recession (Diversity Inc)

“Being a flexible employer tends to pay off for the business.” Employer-based survey results, actual practices and several new bills support this notion advocated by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute.

The Sunday night e-mail check (Seattle Times)

On Sunday, a source I hadn’t been able to reach during the workweek for an article I’m writing about labor laws and work/life balance called. She’d just picked up my voice message and was calling from her vacation in the San Juans.  Amused by the irony, I posted as much on Twitter: “Just interviewed a work/life balance advocate. On a Sunday. She called me from her vacation.”

Working with Gen Y (The Star – Malaysia)

We want to live for more than work. We like to feel that we are living for more than just ourselves. Corporate social responsibility initiatives make a company more attractive to us, creating the perception that by not just living selfishly, employers are somehow better people.

In the Blogs

Making the Workplace Work for You (Napsnet)

Flexibility could be helpful in weathering a stormy economy. That’s the news from a new study by the Families and Work Institute (FWI), The Impact of the Recession on Employers, showing that 81 percent of U.S. employers are maintaining and 13 percent are increasing the flexibility they offer during the recession.

Is There a Future for Work/Life Balance? (ERE.net)

The concept of work and life being somehow distinct from each other is a recent construct. There was no work/life balance in the 17th, 18th, 19th, or for most of the 20th centuries. Work and life were integrated and no one would have even thought to separate out what portion of farm life, for example, was “life” and what portion was “work.” Wives and husbands and children worked together as family units, producing food, clothing, or operating a small family business. Roles were assumed and cast off as needed and whoever had the ability or skill needed at a particular time did what was needed to be done.

The Balancing Act (Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog)

I don’t have any advice in this regard, just the observation that achieving true balance does not seem realistic for someone in this position, particularly on a daily or even weekly basis.  That is not to say a law student with a family can’t have a productive career, do well in school, and have a happy home life.  Rather, I just suggest the term “balance” doesn’t seem to accurately capture my reality in managing these dynamic priorities.

Striking the Work-Life Balance Pays Off (Current Mom)

Having personally benefited from such a supportive environment, I’ve often asked myself –- somewhat guiltily –- whether it is fair to allow some employees flexibility that it seems others may not have.  But I always come back to the same answer: I would give this flexibility to any employee who needed it for whatever personal reason. That’s who I am, and the policies of the company, not to mention federal law in some cases, call for it. But also, it turns out it makes good business sense.

Momentum for telework and work life balance: balancing act of 2009 (Examiner.com)

The findings listed in the bill provide a snapshot into the new norm for families in America. In the segment of married families with children, in 2/3 of the families, both parents work full-time.  The number of mothers with children under the age of 18 that work full-time is 71%.  Further, the bill reports that 70% of employed parents say that they don’t have enough time with their children.  Parents reported that the primary obstacle preventing them from spending more physical activity time with their children is their work schedules.

Press Releases

Local Businesses Recognized for Workplace Flexibility and Effectiveness (Spokane, WA)

Littler Mendelson Recognized as a Leader in Female-Friendly Workplace Initiatives (San Francisco, CA)

Heritage Bank Named the Silver Award Winner of Washington’s Best Workplaces by Puget Sound Business Journal (Olympia, WA)

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

In the News

Salt Lake City Employers Featured in New Guide to Work-Life Balance (KCPW)

“The 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work” highlights several Salt Lake City employers among the 260 featured in the guide. Two-thirds of the employees in these businesses voted for their workplace for embracing policies that help them balance work with their personal lives. KCPW’s Elizabeth Ziegler spoke with Ellen Galinsky. President and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute, a New York City-based think tank that has authored the guide since 2005.

Indy law firm named 1 of most “women-friendly” (Indianaopolis Star)

The Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller has been named one of 50 most “women-friendly” firms in the country by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers.The organizations said that work-life balance has become a key recruiting and retention tool as law firms position themselves to survive the recession.

Andrews Kurth, Vinson & Elkins among best law firms for women (Houston Business Journal)

Perks include 18 weeks of paid maternity leave as well as the ability to work reduced hours….In addition, Working Mother liked that women hold four of five seats on the firm’s compensation committee.

My work-life balance problems (The Guardian – UK)

I have always been a proselytiser for working mothers. How could I not be? For four years in the 90s, I edited the Guardian’s women’s pages and launched the parents pages in G2. My mother ran several of her own businesses, and her mother, too, for a while. Work to me denoted independence, adventure, glamour and, of course, money. As long as I could afford to employ reliable childcare, why would I want to walk away from all of that?  It is only recently that I have been able to acknowledge that mixing work and children comes with its downsides.

National Work-Life Balance Awards (Australian Labor Party)

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, today launched the 2009-10 National Work-Life Balance awards.  This national initiative is part of the Rudd Government’s election commitment to help working families better balance their work and family responsibilities.  The National Work-Life Balance awards will recognise those businesses that have a demonstrated commitment to innovative family-friendly workplace practices.  The awards will also encourage businesses, large and small, to think about how they can better support parents in their workplace.

The secret to work-life balance (Armidale Express – Australia)

IT’S NOT selfish to put yourself first, insists nationally renowned expert on health and wellbeing, Petrea King.  “The greatest gift you can give to your family and your community is the gift of your own physical, emotional and spiritual health. Then you might be useful for something,” she said during a visit to Armidale…She noted that the only place you see this idea actively promoted is on aeroplanes.  “They say first put the mask on you, then on the children. They don’t say run around and put a mask on everyone else until you collapse.”

In the Blogs

Free Guide Available on Making Work Work (Acronym)

Aside from a steady expansion of telecommuting-telework programs to help employees reduce commuting costs, other recession-friendly practices are

- Giving employees four Fridays off in the summer in lieu of raises the organization cannot afford
- Creating funds to support their own employees or others in the community who are suffering during the recession
- Giving employees the option to take unlimited, unpaid personal time off during the downturn, while keeping full medical benefits and the right to return to their jobs
- Allowing employees greater scheduling flexibility if their spouse has lost a job or seen their hours reduced and the family needs to make changes
- Creating flex year and flex career programs
- Creating workflow coordinators to monitor overwork and developing wellness scorecards to promote wellness

Finding the Right Balance (PWC Connect)

Developing and maintaining a healthy work-life balancecan be tricky. On the other hand, one of the first things that I quickly discovered during my first interview with PwC is that a healthy work-life balance is a top priority. As part of this balance, I took advantage of the STOP/Flexible Time Away Program which allows employees to take time off. As a result, I just got back from a 3 week vacation in Greece!  Although achieving work-life balance is increasingly difficult, especially during busy season, PwC encourages both personal and professional development. Whether you choose not to do much business travel because of family commitments or you are looking for more ways to discover, like myself, and get the chance to travel across country as well as beyond the border, PwC provides access to flexible work arrangement that fits all needs.

How do smart employers make work “work” in a down economy? (MomsRising)

Smart employers are using flexible work options to manage through the recession—and help their employees manage. The organization I head, the Families and Work Institute, highlights 260 award-winning employers across the US using innovative approaches and practices including:

• Giving employees four Fridays off in the summer in lieu of raises the organization cannot afford
• Allowing employees to work at home 1-2 days a week to save on commuting costs
• Giving employees the option to take unlimited, unpaid personal time off during the downturn, while keeping full medical benefits and the right to return to their jobs
• Allowing employees greater scheduling flexibility if their spouse has lost a job or seen their hours reduced and the family needs to make changes
• Reassigning responsibilities when no hiring is possible
• Offering employees reduced hours or additional unpaid days off to avoid layoffs

Balancing life alongside deadlines (AAJA Voices)

Increasingly, the idea of taking care of oneself, of striking a balance between the professional and the personal life, is finding the way into programs at journalism conferences, including those of AAJA.  This year, sessions like “Eating on Deadline” and “Balancing Act: Working Parents” underscore the continued emphasis on “enriching the whole person,” said Frank Witsil, a copy editor for the Detroit Free Press and a co-chair for programming for this year’s convention.  Witsil can relate. He is still healing from a debilitating car accident a few years ago — one that occurred, he said, when he was “trying to work, pick up my son and drive at the same time.”

Santa Barbara’s Craving Balance Let’s You Set Your Own Rate (and Donate) (craving balance)

We’re talking about balance here, so we want to make it simple and turnkey,” said Gates. “The real reason we crave balance is that we want a life of purpose that benefits something bigger than ourselves. And as coaches, we want to walk the talk.”

Economy Driving More Work/Life Balance at Law Firms (Legal Blog Watch)

The article describes a bunch of changes at law firms, many of which are news to even someone like me who’s been tracking this issue since the start of my beat here at Legal Blog Watch. According to the article, of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women, nearly all offer reduced schedules to lawyers, while 62 percent offer full-time telecommuting, and 42 percent have written flexible-schedule policies. Still, I’m a little bit skeptical — and I wonder how many women are actually taking advantage of those full-time telecommuting options. The article doesn’t say.

Coaches – Manage Your Work Life Balance Effectively with Kirsten Beireis (ecademy.com)

What a great Stretch Your Mind And Body blog talk radio show today! We had the pleasure of hosting Kristen Beireis from Coaches Marketing Source and we discussed Work / Life balance – how it can easily get out of balance and some practical techniques for regaining the balance.  While I was listening to Kristen speak, I relived many of my experiences as a younger woman (and not so younger woman) when my life ‘got out of balance’. It happens so easily. Kristen gave some great pointers on what to look for as symptons of poor work / life balance:

Telecommuting News Summary 081009 (undress for success)

News and resources summary for those who telecommute, work from home, or are digital nomads.

BARRIERS TO ACHIEVING BALANCE (Finance, Business, Economy)

In Breaking Into the Boys’ Club 2009, we identify some traps women too often fall into when struggling to manage work, family and the rest of their lives. Whatever the particulars of your hectic life, here are some mistakes to avoid.

Relationships 101: How to maintain work, life balance (Examiner.com)

Consider a Merck Poll which asked participants to list three things that ‘will bring their lives more into balance.’ Here are the results.

1. Spending more time with family and friends.
2. Reducing stress.
3. Doing more to make a difference in their community.

Work Life Balance Tips (Travel Registered Nurse)

When you take away all of the ‘shoulds’, you begin to see how effective your internal compass really is. You have to stop ‘shoulding’ all over yourself if you hope to ever really find work life balance.

Work Life balance is still a myth for many people (Examiner.com)

Sixty percent of executives report working at least 50 hours per week, including the additional time they spend thinking about work, while 10% work more than 80 hours per week. This situation is even more intense for 92% of working women who go home after a full day of work and manage household and family responsibilities.

Press Releases

Sidley Austin LLP Named a Best Law Firm for Women by Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers for the Third Year in a Row

American InterContinental University Online Announces New Scholarship For Working Women

Smith Moore Leatherwood Selected as a Top Law Firm for Women

New Book Highlights 260 Ways Employers ‘Make Work Work’ in a Down Economy

Quarles & Brady: Named to Top 50 ‘Best Law Firms for Women’ List by Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube