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flexibility in the workplace

did you know?

Workers of all ages and ranks - even executives in Fortune 500 Companies - say they want more flexibility and would prefer it to a pay increase.

wise words we heard

The juiciest carrot to dangle for prospective employees is not cash; it's flexibility.

The building blocks of the custom-fit workplace are flexible work arrangements that allow employees to create a work-life fit while successfully meeting the needs of their employers. Alternative scheduling, flexible hours, compressed work weeks, reduced workload, part-time, job-sharing, and working virtually are some of the best known options.

You probably already know someone who takes advantage of such an option: a nurse who works four ten-hour shifts each week, an administrator who negotiated a 32-hour reduced schedule, or a salesperson who telecommutes. These common flexible work arrangements affect when, how, and where we work and are critical pieces of the custom-fit workplace.

Advice for Employers

Even small changes in an employee's schedule add up to large improvements in people's lives, such as letting a dad start work at 9 am instead of 8:30 so he can drop his child off at daycare.

Examine any rigid scheduling traditions. Don't let tradition block you from making changes that will make your workforce more able to manage the dual demands of job and life.

Work with your employees to determine schedules that work for them and the company. Seek win-win solutions.

Advice for Workers

When making a case for a flexible work arrangement, cite the business benefits of worker loyalty, decreased absenteeism, even improved health. (See Studies and Research)

Work with your employer to determine a flexibility strategy that works for both you and the company.

Honor your commitment. If your employer allows you to start work at 9am instead of 8:30, don't push your time out to 9:05 or 9:15 without making prior arrangements. If you work from home one day each week, make sure that day is productive.

blogging on flexibility in the workplace

“Snowtober” Highlights the Importance of Family-Friendly Workplace Policies

Submitted by Michelle Noehren on Mon, 2011-11-07 05:00

Not that I needed another reason to be grateful for many of the workplace benefits my current employer provides but I can’t help but be incredibly thankful that during Connecticut’s “snowtober” as it’s being called, my employer has allowed several of her employees the ability to work from home, be flexible with our work hours and has even said we can bring our children into the office if need be.

If you haven’t heard, Connecticut (and surrounding states), got hit hard by a snow storm right before Halloween. Most of the state has been without power for 7 days now, and our neighborhoods look like a tornado blew through and knocked all the trees (and power lines) down. Considering it’s hovering around 20-30 degrees at night, the fact that we have no heat in our home means I’m camped out at my parents’ house, who fortunately do have power and heat. I’m even more fortunate that I’m allowed to work remotely until power is restored in my area.

Parents in the Park: Occupy Wall Street, Work-Family Conflict and the 99%

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Phoebe Taubman on Thu, 2011-10-27 04:00

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been sweeping the globe and captivating the media this month. With the message “We are the 99%,” American protesters are drawing attention to the frustrating growth of income inequality in the United States. Here in New York, working families have joined the protests, and parents are working together to highlight the many struggles of today’s families, such as the rapidly rising costs of health care and child care. On Columbus Day, many children visited Zuccotti Park, the movement’s home base just a few blocks away from A Better Balance’s office. Based on the continuing interest of New York families, Parents for Occupy Wall Street also held a family sleepover in the park last weekend.

My National Work and Family Month Flashback

Submitted by Kristin Maschka on Tue, 2011-10-25 04:00

Every October, National Work and Family Month gives me flashbacks.

When I became pregnant, I was a manager at a high-tech company. My job was at least fifty hours a week and, given a recent merger, would now include coast-to-coast travel. With my husband working crazy hours as a new associate at a law firm, we knew something had to give.

No problem, I’m a valued employee. I’ll just propose a part-time schedule for myself. So I did my homework and put together a proposal to go part-time based purely on business reasons. Doing my best to hide my queasy stomach, I flew to the East Coast and met with my new boss. I pointed out the advantages of having me part-time on the West Coast and hiring someone else part-time on the East Coast: lower travel costs, someone available in person in both locations, and the ability to hire two people with complementary skill sets and experience for the same money.

Building a Grassroots Movement: Taking Workplace Flexibility From Private to Public

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Kathleen Christensen on Fri, 2011-10-21 04:00

By now it should come as no surprise to anyone to hear that American parents are struggling to meet the conflicting demands of their jobs and their families. As the field of work-life research has grown over the past two decades, we’ve seen hundreds of studies showing that structural changes in the American family and the way that we work have led to unprecedented work-life conflict for all of us.

Unions Provide the Route For a Secure Future To Women and Their Families

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Carol Rosenblatt on Fri, 2011-09-23 04:00

This past Saturday, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) completed its 16th Biennial Convention. where we recommitted ourselves to those priorities that are so critical to working women and their families. The highest priority at our founding convention 37 years ago and now is JOBS! But when we talk about jobs we mean decent jobs at union wages, with union negotiated benefits and at union negotiated salaries: Jobs that will support a decent standard of life for women and their families.

Today labor and women are the focus of the twin attacks by the right wing – that are committed to taking back our hard won rights – whether in the form of reproductive rights or our right to a voice in the work place thru the collective bargaining process.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ”there are only two ways to bring about protection for workers…. legislation and unionization.”

“Up All Night” Is the Least of It

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Elizabeth Gedmark on Thu, 2011-09-22 04:00

Elizabeth Gedmark is a Law Fellow at A Better Balance.

NBC’s new comedy show, “Up All Night,” which premiered Wednesday night stars Christina Applegate as a working mother who has just come back to work after taking maternity leave. Her husband, played by Will Arnett, is a new stay-at-home Dad who recently left his job at a law firm. But watching this couple exhaustedly struggle with their new baby was actually a reminder that in the United States, in many ways, they are very lucky.

MomsRising Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month – ¡Con Mucho Gusto!

Submitted by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner on Wed, 2011-09-21 04:00

On the occasion of Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15, MomsRising is celebrating Latina mothers across the United States, ¡Con Mucho Gusto! (With great pleasure.) With a population of 50 million in the United States (1), Latinos have and will continue to contribute to our country in a myriad ways to our economy, our children’s education, and our culture. When Latino families thrive, we all benefit from their contributions whether through taxes to our economy, volunteer hours at our children’s schools, or multicultural events.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, MomsRising is hosting a blog carnival — ¡Con Mucho Gusto! — to recognize the many contributions of Latino parents who strive every day to make a better life for their children and to strengthen our country as a whole. We also want to renew our promise to help Hispanic families attain the American Dream as part of our mission to achieve economic security for all families in our country, to help all children acquire a healthy start in life, and to end civil and human rights abuses in the name of immigration enforcement.

Travel by mouse instead of jet?

Submitted by Bill McKibbin on Tue, 2011-09-13 04:00

On the list of paradoxes, not many beat flying around the world to give talks about climate change. I can justify my carbon footprint if I have to–with myself as the main moving part, we’ve managed to build 350.org into the first big global climate campaign, organizing what CNN has called the “most widespread…political activity in the planet’s history.” If you want to be active in every country on earth except North Korea, you better be prepared to fly.

But I’d rather not justify it, and I’d rather not fly. So in recent years I’ve learned to tell an increasing number of the people who ask me to speak (about ten a day, most days) that the only way I can “be” there is via skype video. I sit in my kitchen, turn on my Macbook Pro, line up the camera, and when the moment comes I talk. In this way I am able to say “Yes.” to speaking to a multiple of the people I could speak to if our only option was being physically present.

It’s not perfect. You don’t get the same kind of feedback from an audience that you do in person. I pride myself on trying to really communicate with audiences; something inherently falls away.

AllBusiness.com reports on the benefits of treating employees better

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Joan Blades on Tue, 2011-09-06 04:00

Labor Day marks the one year anniversary of the publication of The Custom-Fit Workplace. I regret to report that we have not yet transformed modern work culture. The good news, this Labor Day, is that allBusiness.com, a leading online resource for small business, featured a detailed article about Custom-Fit Work opportunities for Labor Day.
Read it and see if you can envision work norms that honor the lives of all workers.

Bottom line-

1. The modern workforce is vastly more diverse than the workforce of the 50s. Modern workers need job structures that better fit the realities of their lives.
2. The good news is, flexibility, telecommuting, non-linear career paths, and results based management are good for the bottom line as well as the workforce. Research backs this up.

Is Work-Life Balance An Economic Necessity?

flexibility in the workplace

Submitted by Joan C. Williams on Fri, 2011-09-02 04:00

Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0.

In the debate over work-life balance, there’s one argument we can’t seem to move past: Women have made a choice to have kids. Now they have to live with their decision and all of its consequences.

But this argument rests on an underlying assumption that, when challenged, just doesn’t hold up. If faced with a stark choice between work and family, the Jack Welches of the world seem to think women are going to choose family, while men are going to choose work. Otherwise the idea of a workforce that doesn’t need time off for childbearing doesn’t make sense. Kids need to come from somewhere. It follows, therefore, that the expectation is that women will “opt out” to raise families rather than pursue a career. (We’re not even going to talk about the opt-out debate in this post, as Joan’s been over that already.)