» Network Home

Featured Guest Blogger August 10th, 2009

Charlene DeCesare is a freelance Life Balance Strategist and the Senior Director of Tuition Programs at College Coach, a division of Bright Horizons Family Solutions.

Studies have shown that a large majority of working adults do not complete degrees within six years, while many don’t finish at all. At first blush, this may seem unbelievable, but given the challenges of juggling work, family and education, it really shouldn’t be surprising.

Many years ago, I decided to pursue my MBA using my employer’s tuition assistance program.  At first it seemed that navigating the process around this “benefit” might actually require an MBA!  However, I figured it all out eventually.  Accepted by my school of choice and approved by my manager, I started classes.

As luck would have it, my second semester gave way to my first trimester…of pregnancy. The challenge of balancing work and life (literally) grew exponentially. Childcare was an issue both day and night, depending on my husband’s schedule as well as my own. Business travel sometimes meant missing classes in addition to missing my family. Lactation arrangements were now needed at work, on the road, and at school. As each semester came and went, I made difficult choices in order to feel successful as a mom, an employee, and when I could fit it in, a student. Nine years, a new job and two more children later, I finally completed my degree.

Today, working adult learners face similar challenges of managing work, family, and school. Furthermore, each area’s demands are compounded and mirrored against the next. As if the process wasn’t convoluted enough for me when I attended graduate school, the educational landscape is even more complex today. Whereas aspiring students once had to compete for acceptance into college, many schools are now competing for students –- especially the working adult demographic. Because of this, the availability and diversity of distance learning options is growing at a rapid rate. Yet, aggressive marketing is no longer limited to online for-profit institutions. More and more “traditional” schools are launching programs specifically targeted to employees. All of this makes the decision making process much more complicated and potentially very time consuming. As we know, time is the most precious commodity for those of us trying to “do it all.”

In addition, employees must have awkward conversations with managers who are conflicted between meeting budget goals and helping employees meet their personal and education goals. To compound the problem, many employers still have policies and processes that are overly difficult to navigate for the employee and equally difficult for the organization to administer.  This can actually create a perceived disincentive to participate.

In the United States, 85% of companies offer some sort of tuition assistance program. There is no question that the benefit is offered with good intentions. However, the goal for the more forward-thinking employer is to build that bridge between what they intend and what employees actually experience. This includes creating a culture that encourages education and work/life balance while also providing support at the individual level.
Support is not only about funding. It’s about providing resources during the decision-making process and throughout the educational journey as the inevitable issues arise. This kind of support not only increases the likelihood that our working adult learners will complete degrees, but that they will stay with the employer who funded that educational journey.  That’s a true benefit for all involved.

• Child Care , Organizations , Scheduling , Workplace
• Comments(2)

Featured Guest Blogger June 29th, 2009

In 2008, Christina Barlowe founded LifeWork Alliance. The organization was formed to address the paradigm shift that is reshaping today’s workforce. The mission is to institute and promote open dialogue between organizations and working parents. Nearly two decades of professional corporate experience, coupled with an MBA and a Masters in Social Work, form the well-rounded skill set necessary to head the innovative organization that is LifeWork Alliance. Christina has a four-year-old son and a newly adopted little boy who have reshaped her life and been her source of inspiration. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

I had this bright idea about how I would build a life with my partner and how things would become bigger and better as our careers grew and our family grew. Sure, I would work, but I would be able to scale back during those tender early years for my children, because of course my husband’s career would be blossoming. And then it happened– 2007, that is.  Most people didn’t speak the word “recession” until late 2008. For those of us in the New York area, however, the decline in stability and rise in fear happened about a year in advance. My husband lost his job, as many people did, and we saw it as the opportunity that would allow us to explore other options for him and for us. We quickly discovered a few problems with this plan: 1) We still needed to pay the mortgage as we were “exploring,” and 2) Things become increasingly harder at home because our usual roles had changed greatly. As much as we like to think that we are not gender role-specific in this day and age, it is a simple fact of conditioning that we still are bound to these roles, however loosely. We have slowly adapted to me being the primary breadwinner and he being the primary caregiver. Sure, there is jealously and resentment and even envy at times from both sides.

What has been more challenging than either one of these roles, though, have been the roles within the marriage. Who are we now? It is clearly different that what we were when we married and what we imagined we would become. Do we like these new people? Do we have a choice? I have found that communication, as clichéd as it sounds, is the key to mental and emotional survival in these circumstances. My husband is a wonderful father, and men in general are more involved with their children today than they were in the past, which is a blessing for all involved. Even if there are new rules that have been bestowed upon us in this new economy, the rules will always shift. It is an individual’s ability to adapt to those new roles; that is the necessary skill for survival.

• Child Care , Definition of Family , Mothers and Fathers
• Comments(0)

Julie Schwartz Weber May 13th, 2009

Of late, our country and the rest of the world are confronting the realities of living with the possible global pandemic of swine flu. In America alone, as of May 4th, more than 1000 confirmed or probable cases of swine flu have been reported from 44 states. While the public health and medical considerations are rightfully getting a lot of air time, there are a host of work-family issues that emerge from this situation, including:

• Paid sick days:  The CDC, as well as state and local officials are asking workers and sick children suspected of contracting swine flu to stay home from work and school to prevent the possible spread of infection. However, with more than half of the country’s workers lacking a single paid sick day, and even more without time off to care for family members, including children, this request presents a potentially dire situation. Working families are forced to choose between adhering to a government public health mandate and staying home to care for their sick loved one or themselves or losing a paycheck — or even their job — by opting to stay home.Even if a particular employer or state has a paid sick days policy, or you happen to live in California or New Jersey, where paid family leave policies are being implemented, there are serious questions about whether these policies would provide coverage for healthy children whose school is closed due to a public health issue. Additionally, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act would likely not allow for even unpaid time off for most parents to care for children, as it mandates time off to care for a “seriously ill” child; here, most of the children staying home from school are well.
• Child care:   Under the direction of the President and public health officials, some schools have been closed due to children or staff within the school having swine flu.  While most recently the CDC recommends not closing schools “unless there is a magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school’s ability to function”, the fact that a possible pandemic did — and can again — lead to the closing of schools, triggers questions about child care. With most caregivers in the workplace, and few employers providing paid sick days and/or paid leave, how can parents take time off from work to tend to their children in the event of no school?

• Telework: Numerous people have highlighted the importance of employees, especially Federal Government employees, to be able to continue operations in the face of catastrophes, including pandemics. In the event that workplaces are closed for public health reasons, telecommuting becomes a viable, if not the only, solution for continuing operations. Moreover, for parents of healthy children home from school, telecommuting becomes one way to continue working while simultaneously securing their child’s safety and care.

• Child Care , Medical Leave , Mothers and Fathers , Policy , Sick Leave , Telework , Workplace
• Comments(0)

Featured Guest Blogger January 26th, 2009

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of job search. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

During the winter months, working parents can face a variety of situations regarding their children’s health. The cold weather helps speed up the process from the sniffles to a full-blown, debilitating cold. What do you do when the school nurse calls and needs you to come pick up your children?

Many employers realize that children are an employee’s top priority. As a parent, taking care of your children will always be the first concern. However, what’s a parent to do in these tough economic times when taking time off for your children could adversely affect your standing with the company?  What happens if there are other emergencies outside of your immediate family that may require your attention? There are a few things that can be done:

1. Speak with the Boss
   Let your boss know what is going on and what you are doing to remedy the situation.  Offer to work from home and stay in touch while your child gets better—there are many ways to rectify the situation. Being proactive in situations like this usually works out in your favor; if you are willing to tackle the difficult conversations head-on, your boss will often be willing to talk things through with you.

 

2. Take Turns with Your Spouse
   This is a good idea if you feel like you are the go-to parent for emergency pick ups. Employers might be understanding for a while, but eventually tire of you being the one who is always called to come to the rescue. Work things out with your spouse so that they take turns with you. Naturally, some days you may need to swap this duty if something particularly important is going on at work.

 

3. Have an Emergency Back-Up Plan
   While this isn’t going to always be an option, some of us know people who either don’t work or work from home, possibly with a flexible schedule. Perhaps on the days when it is most difficult for you to get away, you can rely on these people to pick up your sick child and take them home.  If you are able to do this, planning for the next couple of days will be far easier and your day will not be truncated.  Finish up your work for the day, inform your employer of your forthcoming absence, and prepare to work from home if necessary.

Many workers have to deal with these kinds of situations all of the time, so know that you’re not alone. Work with your employer and spouse to keep the lines of communication open.

• Child Care , Family Leave , Mothers and Fathers , Sick Leave , Workplace
• Comments(2)

Judi Casey January 2nd, 2009

As 2008 ends, it’s time to wrap up our efforts on work-family issues for employed parents caring for children with disabilities. We are thrilled by a recent article (part 1 of 2) in the Boston Globe highlighting these issues,and a recent letter to the editor that poignantly highlights the struggles of a working parent with three special needs children. Part 2 of this article focuses on creative employer initiatives to enhance success at home and at work for employees caring for children with disabilities.

We’ve created a number of resources to provide high-quality credible information on this topic including our Executive Summary from the meeting, a Work and Family Encyclopedia entry on Disabilities and Work-Family Challenges: Parents Having Children with Special Health Care Needs, a Topic Page on Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities, an issue of the Effective Workplace Series on Employed Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities, a Fact Sheet on Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities and several blog entries: 1, 2, and 3.

Lastly, the December 2008 issue of the Network News features an interview with Eileen Brennan and Julie Rosenzweig of Portland State University on working parents caring for children with mental health disorders.

For 2009, the panel meeting will focus on Intended and Unintended Consequences of Work-Family Policy: Lessons through International Comparison. We will identify the intended and unintended outcomes of global work-family policy and consider four questions:

1. What explains the variations in the configuration of work-family policies at various levels of government?
2. What impact have these policies had on employees and their families?
3. What has been the effect of these policies on employers?
4. Given these observations and what we’ve learned to date, is there “one best model (or models)” from which to craft future state- and national-level work-family policy initiatives?

• Child Care , New on the Network , Policy , Research , Workplace
• Comments(2)

Julie Schwartz Weber November 12th, 2008

The time crunch— something most Americans experience on a regular basis— affects many aspects of American family life. Most recently, it has even led my spouse and me to rethink our gift giving policies to each other. Instead of finding and acquiring (e.g., buying) the “perfect” gifts for each other in line with one of our hobbies, interests, or passions, this year we are giving each other the gift of LEISURE TIME for self.

This shift in gift focus has grown out of an increased sense that our daily juggle, in which we voluntarily choose to care for our kids, our domestic sphere, and our jobs, is plain exhausting and leaves little room for leisure time for our individual selves. This sense of loss of time for self is reflected in a 2002 national survey, in which 55% of all employees noted that they did not have enough time for themselves. Working fathers reported spending only 1.3 hours a day and working mothers reported spending a mere .9 hours a day on themselves.

This lack of time for self makes sense when one considers:

1. 70% of all families with children are headed by two employed parents or by a single working parent;

2. The combined weekly hours of dual-earner couples with children has increased significantly over the past 25 years, from 81 to 91 hours;

3. Technology such as email, Blackberries, and computers enables us to work anytime and anywhere, and thus, for many, it is hard to be “off duty;”

4. The amount of time spent caring for and doing things with children on workdays has also increased over the past 25 years, from 5.2 hours a day in 1977 to 6.2 hours day in 2002.

So, for this holiday season ahead, especially in light of increased financial constraints, perhaps you want to join my husband and me and give gifts of leisure time to your partners and friends. Not only is it easy to give, but it is also inexpensive and greatly appreciated. It has become that “perfect” gift for adults in our home!

• Child Care , Mothers and Fathers , Overwork , Spillover
• Comments(0)

Judi Casey October 8th, 2008

Organizations that allow, and even encourage, working moms and dads to bring their babies to work are growing across the country. According to the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, “more than 100 organizations have successfully allowed babies in the workplace.” Typically, parents bring their babies to work until they are six to eight months old, or until they crawl.

Although many workers and managers in organizations are skeptical that this is a feasible arrangement, Carla Moquin reports that doubters often come around when they see the success of these programs. She provides numerous examples of this turnaround in her book, Babies@Work. She also notes that babies tend to be happier and more content, as they receive quick, responsive attention from their parent who does not want to disturb their co-workers or clients. A 2005 article based on the research of Mary Secret from Virginia Commonwealth University indicates that organizations were very positive about this arrangement.

This is a no or very low cost arrangement with benefits for employees, their babies, and employers. Employees may be able to return to work sooner, have lower child care costs, and may feel more loyal and committed to their employer due to this opportunity. Employers retain valued employees, and create a positive work culture with improved morale (babies are nice to have around).

For other articles about this topic, please go to the US News & World Report and the Christian Science Monitor. The blog “Working With Kids” has also written about this topic.

Does your workplace allow new parents to bring their babies to work? Would you be supportive of babies at the workplace?

• Child Care , Mothers and Fathers , Publications
• Comments(6)

Featured Guest Blogger October 6th, 2008

A dear friend of mine recently had a baby at just 27 weeks in her pregnancy; Olivia was due in October, but was born in July. We are happy to report that she is doing well, and that she should be home by the end of the year. The emotional rollercoaster of having a premature baby was just the beginning of a slew of challenges that my friends are facing now. Preemies bring up issues that I hadn’t thought of before— for example, their daughter will always be a bit older in time than she is in development. When she is one, she will likely not be walking as people might expect from a one-year-old. It makes complete sense, but again, I had never stopped to realize this challenge. Another issue that they faced was what to do about their maternity and paternity leaves, since they had a baby who was going to be in the NICU for over 5 months.

Given that 12% of births are premature (1 in 8 pregnancies), thousands of parents across the country will have to think about these questions: Should we take our leave after the birth of our child, or wait until she is ready to come home? Should we stagger our leaves so that one of us works while our baby is in the NICU, and the other works when she comes home? What do we do if we want to pump breast milk for our baby in the NICU? Will we be forced to leave our jobs due to our extended absence?

Talking through these issues with my friends left me speechless, as I couldn’t imagine having a baby in the NICU while facing financial and career overhauls. So, are workplaces supportive of this unique situation? In some cases yes, and in others, no; it’s up to the employer. In looking into this issue, I have discovered some workplaces that offer “compassionate leave” for such circumstances. Are governments helpful? Again, some are more than others. The EU is allotting additional maternity/paternity leave for premature births, but the United States does not.

We welcome your opinions or knowledge on this matter, as it is not something that the Network has examined yet, but it is an incredibly worthwhile topic.

• Breastfeeding , Child Care , Family Leave , Maternity/Paternity Leave , Medical Leave , Mothers and Fathers , Workplace
• Comments(3)

Judi Casey September 16th, 2008

The Sloan Work and Family Research Network today released an action plan generated from a panel meeting in May on Work-Family Issues for Employed Parents of Children with Disabilities. The Sloan Network hosts an annual think tank to promote active discussion and examine current research efforts, workplace best practices, and state public policy for important work-family issues.

To address the serious hardships faced by working parents caring for children with disabilities, the report makes two major recommendations: (1) Advance the knowledge base by conducting more extensive research, and (2) Increase the visibility of this issue for employers, policy makers, and the public. Given that one in seven children under age 18, or approximately 10.2 million children in the U.S., have special health care needs, the panel is pushing for additional research to increase understanding about the myriad issues experienced by working parents and their families. This panel urged the launching of a media campaign to inform employers, policy makers, and the public about the often-hidden issues facing working parents caring for children with disabilities.

The financial, physical, and emotional impact on parents, children, families, employees, and employers is staggering:

• Median household income is $38,332, compared to $48,936 for households raising children without disabilities, a $100 billion discrepancy in total earnings.

• Nearly 14% of parents caring for children with special health care needs spend more than 10 hours per week coordinating care, which can negatively affect their careers.

• Twenty-five percent of workers have chosen to cut back or stop working entirely, and one-quarter have been fired at least once due to the exceptional care demands of their children with disabilities.

Below are some new Network resources on Work-Family Issues for Employed Parents of Children with Disabilities:

1. Topic Page for Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities

2) Fact Sheet - compilation of statistics in a question and answer format

3) Encyclopedia Entry - Disabilities and Work-Family Challenges: Parents Having Children with Special Health Care Needs (2008)

What can be done to support working parents caring for children with disabilities? Are you or do you know families struggling with these issues? Will these resources help you in your work?

• Child Care , Dependent Care , Mothers and Fathers
• Comments(5)

Karen Corday August 22nd, 2008

New from the Network:

• New Topic Page: Parents Caring for Children With Disabilities, compiled by Jennifer Quinlan and advised by Eileen Brennan, Julie Rosenzweig, and Anna Malsch.
• New Work-Family Encyclopedia entry: Spousal Supports Provided by Employers, by Michelle Janning

Work and Family News Headlines:

• Working for Balance
  Starting September 1, PBS’s Nightly Business Report will launch a special and accompanying series on combating stress in the workplace.
• MBA Moms Most Likely to Opt Out
  Yahoo! Asia News reports on a recent study from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in which 28% of the 1,000 Harvard graduates who went on the get their MBAs reported being stay-at-home mothers, as opposed to 6% of the women with medical degrees and 21% of those with law degrees. A draft of the article is available in PDF format from one of the authors, Catherine Wolfram.

See our site for more!

Work and Family News from Around the Globe:

• Can Today’s Women Really Have it All?
  Simon Creer of the Belfast Telegraph interviews several Irish women about the ways in which they balance work and home.
• Working From Home: The Pros and Cons
  Paul Hill of the Eastern Daily Press discusses the positive and negative aspects of working at home, either as a business owner or as a telecommuting employee.

See our site for more!

• Child Care , New on the Network
• Comments(0)