Archive for the 'Overwork' Category

Vacations–Who Needs Them?

Judi Casey November 4th, 2009

This blog by our Director/Principal Investigator Judi Casey originally ran on The Huffington Post on October 27, 2009.

Summer vacation season is over and we have definitely moved into fall. As we celebrated National Work and Family Month this October, I wanted to look back to see if workers took vacations this summer, identify the benefits of vacations and discuss the status of vacations in the U.S. Vacations are a critical work-family issue as they provide an opportunity to relax, reconnect with the important people in our lives, and have time to pursue our personal passions.

A poll conducted from August 1-September 11, 2009 on the Sloan Work and Family Research Network website found the following among 74 respondents:

Are you taking vacation time this summer?

Yes, I am taking the time that I desire ….. 23%

Yes, but I am taking less time than I want to ….. 30%

No, I don’t have the money for vacation this year ….. 27%

No, I’m too busy at work ….. 14%

No, I am afraid that it will put my job at risk ….. 7%

So, what does this tell us? Granted, this is a small, rather unscientific sample, but only about a quarter of respondents took the time that they wanted. Another 30% took some time, but wish that they could have taken more. Just under half (48%) did not take vacation time because they didn’t have the money, were too busy, or were afraid that it would put their jobs at risk. Half of the respondents did take some time off, but almost half did not. Should we be concerned?

An interesting article by David Rock in Psychology Today found that if you are a knowledge worker who thinks for work, there are benefits to a break. He reports that time away from a problem allows you to get unstuck from your typical way of viewing situations and promotes new perspectives. Research also finds that we are more effective at solving difficult problems when our minds are less cluttered, which is more likely to occur if we get our heads out of work — for example, by taking a vacation.

A new report by the Families and Work Institute, “The State of Health in the American Workforce,” found a decrease over the past 6 years in the number of employees indicating that their overall health is “excellent” (from 34 to 28%). Co-author Ellen Galinsky says, ” …organizations can promote wellness by monitoring overwork and providing and encouraging employees to take their vacations.” Other indicators of poorer health include more stress, clinical depression, difficulty sleeping, and medical conditions such as high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. Read more here.

Author Joe Robinson echoes these findings in his book, Work to Live. People who take vacations are less likely to have heart attacks or other illnesses compared to those who don’t take vacations. “But it only starts to work that way when you take at least a two-week block of time,” says Robinson. A long weekend or a few days off doesn’t promote better health; we need a chunk of time off to reap positive health benefits.

Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is an outlier around vacation time with 137 countries (including all industrialized nations) mandating a minimum of 4 weeks of paid vacation time. In the U.S., there are no laws requiring employees to have any paid vacation time so employers offer paid vacation time at their discretion. As noted by Julie Weber here on the Work and Family Blog,

“The Center for Economic and Policy Research reports that about one fourth of the U.S. workforce has no paid vacation in the course of their work year. Part-time workers, low-income earners, and workers in small establishments (fewer than 100 workers) are less likely to receive paid vacation and paid holidays, and when they do, these workers receive fewer paid days off.”

Thankfully, there has been some recent attention in the U.S. to mandating vacation time. In May of this year, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduced the Paid Vacation Act of 2009, which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to require that employers provide a minimum of 1 week of paid annual leave to employees at companies with at least 100 employees. Advocates of the bill note that vacations are important for family well-being as well as for improving workplace productivity.

Vacations — who needs them? We all do! What is it going to take to move us from a nation of overworked, unhealthy, stressed out Americans with no time to relax, explore our passions or engage with our families? Of course, we have to start by taking care of ourselves as much as that is realistic given our financial and employment situations these days. We definitely need to prioritize taking vacation time, but this can’t just be an individual responsibility. Supervisors and managers have to support our efforts to take a vacation, so we can return to work as more productive and healthier contributors.

Employers have to support the use — not just the availability — of vacation time. This requires changing the culture of the workplace and moving our thinking from vacation as a burden for the work team and for the organization to an opportunity for employees to recharge so they’ll return to work more creative and engaged.

The Declining Health of the American Worker

Featured Guest Blogger November 2nd, 2009

Maggie Jackson is an award-winning author and journalist known for her penetrating coverage of U.S. social issues. She writes the popular “Balancing Acts” column in the Sunday Boston Globe, and her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Gastronomica, and on National Public Radio. Her latest book, Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, details the steep costs of our current epidemic deficits of attention while revealing the astonishing scientific discoveries that can help us rekindle our powers of focus in a world of speed and overload. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

We connect with millions of people across the globe, yet we have trouble sitting down to share a meal with those we love. We’re often so busy being “productive” that we wind up racing right past the important moments in life.

I’m thinking about time because I just wrote one of my “Balancing Acts” columns in the Globe on the declining health of the American worker. Our experience of time is a key to understanding how we can gain a better quality of life, with deeper human connections.

The new report by the Families and Work Institute shows that too many of us are fat, sick, sleepless and inactive. Just 28 percent of U.S. workers say their health is excellent, down from 34 percent six years ago. Workers in poor health are less likely to be loyal, engaged and satisfied with their jobs, the findings show.

Why are we so unhealthy? Certainly, many of us don’t exercise or eat right, and at the heart of these poor habits is often a time drought. About 60 percent feel they don’t have time for themselves, and an equal number report a lack of time for a partner or spouse. Chillingly, 75 percent report not having enough time with their children.

Moreover, those who most often don’t have enough time for the important people in their lives report poorer health – more depression, higher stress, more minor health problems. Nearly half of people who often or very often don’t have time for family and friends show signs of depression, compared with a third of those who sometimes feel this kind of time famine.

Vacations boost health, too. People with paid vacation time are less depressed and stressed than those without any paid holidays. The longer the vacation taken, the more likely a worker is to show few minor health problems. Still, 40 percent of workers don’t take all their vacation time, and the longest vacation taken on average in 2008 was nine days.

I believe that as a result of the mechanization of the Industrial and Digital Ages, we now pattern ourselves after our machinery. We seem to believe that we can be 24/7 beings, who interact in snippets and tweets, measuring our worth quantitatively. This collective adoration of the machine changes our experience of time, and squeezes the serendipity, mystery, and poetry out of our lives. And it just might be killing us, too.

What’s New From the Network?

Karen Corday June 19th, 2009

New from the Network:

New, free work and family content online:

‘Tis a Gift to be Free

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!

Top Ten Trends in Work-Life and Work-Family

Judi Casey November 5th, 2008

I was recently asked, “What are the current trends in work-life and work-family?” Reviewing the resources we’ve added, examined or blogged about on the Sloan Network, I developed the following list. In addition, I’ve provided Sloan Network resources and other sources for more information.

1.    Aging Workforce and Older Workers
We are redefining retirement as older workers continue to work into their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s for financial, personal and career reasons. Some demographics indicate that there will not be sufficient younger workers to replace exiting older workers in many industries. As average life expectancy continues to increase, many are physically able to work longer. A few resources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

2.    Family Caregiving
Family caregiving issues are paramount, including elder care, sandwich generation, child care and family responsibility discrimination.

3.    Green Practices
There is growing attention to being environmentally conscious or “green” with increased implementation of four-day work weeks and telework. Initiatives previously viewed as work-family are now being reframed as environmental. A ten-hour work day with Fridays off can be great for some employees and employers, but may be a work-family nightmare for others. Additional resources here and here.

4.    Military Families
Managing work and family responsibilities is particularly difficult for military families, with nearly 1.8 million children living in military families. Challenges include frequent moves, school disruptions, financial strain and family separation.

5.    Multigenerational Workforce
Emphasis has been placed on understanding the multigenerational workforce, with attention to matching employee needs with workplace benefits and work styles— some say that younger workers do not want to work like older workers and have a different vision of a satisfying work environment. A few resources: 1, 2.

6.    Overworked or Underemployed?

Although some workers can’t find enough work, many professional workers complain of overwork with long hours and little time for healthy behaviors such as exercise or family dinners. Reports indicate that workers are reluctant to take needed sick days, and may not use all their allotted vacation time or work while away. A few resources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

7.    Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities
The number of families affected, the stress on family relationships, and the impediments to workforce participation are considerable. One in seven children under age 18, or approximately 10.2 million children in the U.S., have special health care needs. Nearly 14% of parents caring for children with special health care needs spend more than 10 hours per week coordinating child care. Employers and community resources must do their part to better support these working parents and their families. Resources: 1, 2

8.    Talent Management to Keep the Keepers
Increasing employee engagement is a high priority to improve productivity and morale, as well as recruit and retain key talent. Innovative employers have introduced programs such as sabbaticals or extended leave time, mass career customization, lactation rooms for breastfeeding or even bringing your baby to work. A few Encyclopedia Entries: 1, 2

9.    Technology Affects Work Life Balance
Realizing how technology (email, Blackberry, etc.) impacts our work-family lives has led to a blending between work and home boundaries in a 24/7 global economy. What are your work hours when your team is in the U.K., the U.S., Spain and Australia? Is it OK to turn off  your Blackberry after dinner? What does the 21st century workplace look like?  A few resources: 1, 2

10.    Wellness and Health Care Costs
Rising health care costs have pushed employers to pay attention to employee wellness, since healthy employees have lower health care costs. Efforts include on-site fitness or yoga, health assessments, paid sick days and incentives to promote healthy behavior. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) continues to have a profound impact on employees.

Work, Family and Technology

Julie Schwartz Weber October 29th, 2008

On Monday, October 6th, the Sloan Work and Family Research Network hosted its first Work-Family Thought Leaders Conference Series.   Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and Jessica DeGroot, President and Founder of the Third Path Institute joined Sloan Network affiliates and other guests to discuss the problem of distraction in our technology-laden, time-squeezed culture, its affects on our work and family lives, and practical measures that business leaders can adopt to reduce distraction in the workplace and at home.

Maggie began the discussion, outlining how our modern day, technology-driven culture impacts our work and family lives.  Maggie quickly noted that while technology can provide positive benefits, like easy instant access to information and people, technology also leads to lack of attention and focus in our work and home lives.  More particularly, in work, Maggie talked about how workers tasks are increasingly fragmented and interrupted, where on average, workers change tasks every three minutes.  This fragmentation/disruption results in less productivity, more stress, and less creativity.  Socially, too, Maggie notes that while people may be in touch with more people via technology, the quality and depth of the relationships is declining.

Jessica then followed up with some pragmatic solutions adopted by business leaders to keep distraction at bay in the workplace and at home.  These solutions included:

1)    Using technology strategically (E.g., a partner in a law firm opts to check email and voicemail at a set time each day, not as the messages arrive),
2)    Living with intentionality (E.g., a business employee chooses to hire another employee to whom specific tasks will be delegated so that the business employee can leave work at a regular hour), and
3)    Finding quiet time in which to do work and think (E.g. one client refuses to allow more than half of any day to be filled with meetings).

More information about Maggie Jackson and Jessica DeGroot is available on our site.

Stay tuned for our second Work-Family Thought Leaders Conference Series, scheduled for mid-January.

Book Review: CEO of Me

Featured Guest Blogger October 27th, 2008

Ariane Ollier-Malaterre is an Associate Professor of Management at Rouen School of Management and a Research Associate at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

I am a work-life researcher and an expatriate here in the U.S., in a dual-career marriage, with a young family (local) and elder care responsibilities (at a distance). I approached the book with the greatest expectations and was delighted to find new and insightful food for thought.

Based on hundreds of interviews in the U.S. and Canada, Kossek and Lautsch coin the concept of “flexstyle.” They define flexstyle both as a strategy to handle one’s life and an understanding of what is driving the relationships between one’s work and one’s life.

They identify 3 different “flexstyles”, each introduced with real-life vignettes:

  • Integrators physically and psychologically blend work and life;
  • Separators maintain barriers;
  • Volleyers switch back and forth between integration and separation. For volleyers, the very task of managing work and life is a “third major life task” in itself– probably familiar to many a scholar.

Flexstyles are not personal preferences; they are behaviors that stem both from personal preferences and the resources and constraints of the context, notably the degree of power and control over one’s life.They are a dynamic concept– major life changes require a re-examination of one’s flexstyle to ensure it fits well with the new circumstances and people.

Let me share with you two of my main take-aways from the book.

1. The book steps away from the mainstream idea that flexibility is all good and that flexible jobs automatically benefit employees. Flexibility can also be a trap and it requires monitoring, notably boundary work. Therefore, an “in control” and an “out of control” configuration occur for each flexstyle:

  • Integrators in control are “fusion lovers,” while they are “reactors” when not in control;
  • Separators are “firsters” (work or family first) or “captives”;
  • Volleyers are “quality timers” or “job warriors”.

2. The book provides a comprehensive coaching on how to achieve a better fit with one’s current environment. I found a good number of them that I, as a “quality timer,” had been experiencing in a fuzzy way before reading this book. Since they may apply to you, let me quote one of them: “Have separate work and personal email accounts and resist the urge to check work-related emails after your workday has ended.” For instance, I closed my mailbox while drafting this blog, so that I don’t compulsively hit the mailbox tab, which I recognize as a “destructive work pattern.”

Whether you are looking for an optimistic and constructive self-help book, or you are curious of great insights on the relationships between work and life, read this book!

Happy Half-Birthday, Work and Family Blog

Judi Casey October 14th, 2008

Sloan Network Logo

Today marks the six-month anniversary of our Work and Family Blog and our 90th post! The Sloan Network bloggers have covered the gamut of topics from our first post on Paid Sick Leave to our most recent post on Take your Baby to Work. We have appreciated the opportunity to share our work-family thoughts with you, and we hope that the information has been useful to you in your work and lives. It’s great to hear your comments on our posts, so please, please give us as much feedback as possible.

In case you’ve missed these the first time, we have posted about our latest work-family Topic Pages, including Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities and Military Families. We have also covered a number of our existing focus areas in Family-Friendly Employers, Family Studies, Afterschool Care, Breastfeeding, Family Medical Leave Act, Gen Y, and those geared towards work, Overwork, Part-Time Work, Telework, Flexible Work Schedules in Small Businesses and Retirement.

A number of new issues have surfaced including an examination of the Pros and the Cons of a four-day work week. We reported on new trends for mothers, fathers, parents, grandparents and professors. We introduced an interactive entry with the Work-Life Quiz on Slide Share and linked to the highly useful Caregiver Database.

Politics is, of course, hot this year and we didn’t disappoint with a number of posts on the candidates, including work-family and work-life balance. We have blogged about our travels to many conferences including the National Conference of State Legislators and the WorldatWork Conference. We are privileged to have a number of guest bloggers, including A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center, The Lattice Group, and The National Partnership for Women & Families. Thanks to all of the contributors!

And finally, we had 22 posts on What’s New in Work and Family, which covered over 100 articles and updates.

What’s coming up in the next six months from the Sloan Network? More exciting and relevant posts including a behind the scenes look at our social media efforts, including our new Facebook page. Thank you for reading our blog and do please continue to comment– we love your feedback. If you have suggestions for topics or are interested in guest blogging, please contact us.

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Sex Discrimination and Fathers

Featured Guest Blogger July 25th, 2008

I almost didn’t want to write this post because the last post that I wrote dealt with Australian work-family policy…and I like to keep a nice variety. But, I can’t help it; I just thought this was too neat to pass up…

Australia’s federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has just announced her position on several work-family policies (paid maternity leave, women in leadership positions, and sexual harassment, to name a few) as a result of her “Listening Tour,” a 6-month venture across Australia speaking with over 1,000 people about their journey for gender equality. I found one of her post-tour agenda items particularly interesting. As it turns out, she finds herself in a great corner to advocate for gender equality in the workforce, specifically mentioning sex discrimination against working fathers.

While Broderick was once hired to promote women’s equality in the workforce, she recently stated that she wanted to strengthen the Sex Discrimination Act to penalize employers who stick family-friendly fathers on the “daddy track” by refusing to promote them. Fathers have reported that they are not seen as serious players when they “raise their hand” for flexible work schedules, as they are still seen as the breadwinners and as individuals who need to be more committed to their careers. They find that women are more easily granted leave for family time.

Currently, the law only protects fathers who have been fired , not those who have been put on the daddy track without the possibility of promotion. Broderick stated, “If there is one thing I could do to promote gender equality in this country it would be to better share paid and unpaid work between men and women…If we strengthen the family provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act, that will allow men to be more involved in their family and women to be more involved in paid work.”

The opposition states that workers who put more into their careers should rightfully get more out of them. Those employees who take more time off should consider career advancement more of a luxury than a right.

We say, keep the discussion going!

For more information from the Sloan Network on this topic, please see our:
• Class Activity featuring information on the Daddy Track
• Statistics about fathers and family leave
• Suggested Readings about fathers and work

Team Work Can Impact Overwork

Judi Casey July 23rd, 2008

A new report from WFD Consulting found that workers in their study spent an average of 52 hours per week at work, with more than 10 hours focused on low-value work. What is low value work? It is work that does not accomplish business goals and may include inefficient, repetitive processes. Study participants indicated several causes of overwork including insufficient staff, too much information, unexpected customer demands, unclear priorities and poor communication. Overwork results in negative outcomes for both employers (reduced productivity, lower work quality) and employees (stress and burnout).

However, the report goes on to say that a team based approach has been effective in reducing overwork and low value work. For example those who have utilized a team based approach report “65% improvement in team morale and 61% improvement in work process efficiency.” Do you think that your team could work together to reduce overwork and low-value work? How would you get started?

The Sloan Network has numerous resources on overwork including a Topic Page, Fact Sheet, Effective Workplace Series, a Network News interview on Team Resilience with Kay Campbell at GSK and others.

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