Archive for the 'Telework' Category

Flexible Work and Disaster Planning: Dancing with New Partners

Featured Guest Blogger September 21st, 2009

Sandy Burud, Ph.D., is a researcher, consultant and author on human capital and work-life. She is the Chief Strategy Officer for FlexPaths, a flexibility-focused software platform for employers and employment portal for individuals. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

If we are to see truly flexible workplaces anytime soon,  it’s important that we get beyond our own circles and collaborate with new partners whose interests align with ours. I’d like to see us pay more attention to business continuity planners.

It’s easy to superficially add ‘business continuity’ to the list of advantages brought by flexible workplaces — businesses can continue operating in an emergency if teams are skilled at flexible work. But as I read more deeply about it, I find some gems that make my eyes pop out. One in five US businesses suffers a disaster that causes it to cease operations for a time. Of course there are the big ones — earthquakes, tornadoes, horrific man-made disasters, but did you know the scale? Seventy-five of them in 2008, says FEMA. And, 43% of companies that go through a severe crisis never open their doors again; another 29% fail within 2 years. Add to that the day-to-day, basement-flooding variety that may not put a company out of business but still throws a big kink into productivity, and it’s clear why disaster plans need to be taken seriously.

Disaster plans typically involve paying to reserve alternative space in which to operate in the event of a disaster. Ah, but if people are already equipped, trained, and comfortable working from home or some alternate workplace (that serves lattes), it means those costs are avoided and can be added to the plus column of direct savings (aka ‘hard dollars’) from flexible work. Put that in your flexibility ROI analysis! I certainly added it to our white paper on the business case for workplace flexibility public policies: Flexible Work: In Whose Best Interest?

The real kicker, though, is this: we proponents of flexibility struggle to get businesses to ‘offer’ flex. As disaster planners see that teams who can work on the spur of the moment from anywhere, anytime can literally save the business, the disaster planners have begun to do something we have not. They have begun to require (yes, I said ‘require’) that teams (individuals, managers, and executives) practice working flexibly on a regular basis. Otherwise, the reasoning goes, people will not remember the access codes, know the tricks for sharing documents, etc. — all the things that are critical to smoothly functioning in an emergency.

When the disaster planning team says, ‘you will do this’….everyone listens. Now that’s a partner.

Results of Network Polls: Paid Sick Leave and Telework

Judi Casey August 5th, 2009

We asked “What is your experience with telework?” for our Network poll from May 19-June 25, 2009. Forty-seven percent indicated that they “occasionally work remotely,” while 23% noted that they ”work remotely several days a week.” Twelve percent indicated that “I wish that I could work remotely but my employer does not support this,“ while 10% “work remotely every day.” Eight percent of the 73 respondents reported that “my job is not suited for telework.”

For more on telework, see the Topic Page, the Effective Workplace Series, the Policy Briefing Series, and the Fact Sheet.

From June 26 - July 31, 2009, we asked “When you or a family member is sick, who do you think should provide your pay when you stay home from work (please select all that apply)?” Of the 63 people that responded, 41% said “my employer” while 11% said, “my employer, but not if it’s a small business.” Twenty-four percent indicated “my local government, state or country,” and 22% replied, “no one, it’s my responsibility.” One person commented, “Assuming I can work from home–and why not?–my employer should pay.” For more on paid sick leave, see our Topic Page, Policy Brief, Mini-Brief, Fact Sheet, and our Network News interview with Sherry Leiwant.

Our current poll asks “Are you taking vacation time this summer?” Please answer on our home page or on our blog; thank you!

Swine Flu and Work-Family

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?

What’s New in Work and Family?

Karen Corday May 8th, 2009

New from the Network:

New, free work-family content on the web:

Flexibility for the Road

Featured Guest Blogger April 20th, 2009

Thursday Bram is the author of the forthcoming book, Working Your Way Around the World. She has also written extensively about productivity and entrepreneurship at such sites as Stepcase, Lifehack, and her own Thursday Bram.com. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

Balancing work and a home life is enough for some of us to meet our ambitions at life. But when your goals don’t look like a classic climb up the company ladder, flexibility can make all the difference in how well you’re able to balance everything. When your plans include different geographic locations, flexibility become the only option.

The idea of a location independent lifestyle — the ability to take your work with you and head wherever you want — is becoming increasingly popular. With it, though, comes new questions about work-life balance. If your entire office is your laptop, how do you leave it behind at the end of the day? If you’re exploring a whole new city, or even a country, every few months, how can you guarantee that your work gets done?

One answer to these questions is simple flexibility. If you can be flexible about your current schedule, your ability to handle both your work commitments and your ‘home’ life won’t vary from a French bistro to a Thai internet cafe.

Hand in hand with that flexibility, though, you’ll need certain other skills. The ability to make a schedule (and stick to it) takes on an added level of importance when your biggest client is located in Eastern Standard Time and you’re ten hours ahead. Even with the amazing communications that technology has made possible, no one will be willing to get out of bed to get you the numbers you need.

The ability to follow through on your commitments is equally crucial. More and more families are going on extended trips for months at a time; if you’ve promised your son or daughter that you’re going to go explore the local castle or historical ruins, it’s time to put the laptop away. Choosing to take your loved ones on the adventure of a lifetime may be expensive enough that you need to work along the way, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t experience the thrills of exploration just the same.

It’s worth noting that depending on what parts of the world are on your itinerary, you may find yourself in a culture with very different ideas of work-life balance than your own. It’s rare to find a place where people work as many hours as the U.S. — and you may not need to work quite so many hours to still successfully travel.

In the end, even the ability to consider making your career mobile takes a certain level of mental flexibility. We all tend to start out thinking that the way we have been working is the only option. Even when we actually get on the road, it’s hard to shake the idea that we have to be at our desks from 9 to 5. But that flexibility is worth it. Thinking up new ways in which you can get the most out of your work and your life, in balance, only helps you reach other goals, like packing up and heading to South America.

Are You a Cloudworker?

Judi Casey February 25th, 2009

According to Telework Trendlines 2009, “the number of U.S. employees who worked remotely at least one day per month increased 39% the past two years, from approximately 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008. The sum of all teleworkers — employees, contractors and business owners — has risen 17% from 28.7 million in 2006 to 33.7 million in 2008.”

The Sloan Network Work and Family Glossary defines telework as:

“A subset of alternative work options where work is conducted at an off-site location and the employee uses telecommunications technology, including computers, video, and telephone systems, fax machines and high-speed hook-ups for data transfers” (Kossek, 2003).

“Work, esp. at home, communicating electronically with one’s employer, etc., by computer, fax, and telephone” (Social Networks, 2002).

“Working outside of the conventional workplace and communicating by means of communications or computer based technology” (Bailey & Kurland, 2002).

While advances in technology and concerns about the environment have made it more desirable and easier to be a telecommuter, the terms telework and telecommuter may have become a little outdated. As more people work from home, optimal productivity requires tools and skills to manage collaborations between remote workers and workers located at company offices.

Plantronics, a manufacturer and marketer of lightweight communications headset products, recently sponsored a contest to replace the word telecommuter. The winner was “cloudworker” submitted by Venkatesh Rao, a blogger and a scientist at Xerox, who said that a cloudworker is “somebody who uses on-demand technology and collaboration tools, such as unified communications, to work anywhere and anytime, and uses the resulting freedom to enable a my-size-fits-me career path and lifestyle. The metaphor of the cloud extends well beyond cloud computing and software as service applications to include work environments, distributed teams, and communication tools.” Other words considered were Wirerider, Technomad, Mobiworker, Outfielders, OmniWorker, Remoter, NetWorker, Netouin and Mesher.

More information can be found about Telework on our Telework Topic Page, Fact Sheet, Effective Workplace Series, and Encyclopedia Entry.

Recent Sloan Network Poll Shows How Working Families Handle Dependent Care Issues and Unexpected Weather

Julie Schwartz Weber February 23rd, 2009

This winter has been a rough one here in the Northeast, with unrelenting snow, downed electrical wires, icy roads, and of course, inevitably, snow days. Such weather can wreak havoc with one’s work-family juggle, and led us to poll you, our readers, as to how do you (or those you know) manage dependent care in an unexpected weather situation?

The results are now in:

  • 43% of you indicated that you stay home when unexpected weather hits;
  • 27% of you ask family members to help out with the dependent care so that you can go to work;
  • Another 20% of you revealed that you swap with your spouse, or take turns going to work or staying home to care for dependents;
  • 5% of you state that your babysitter helps out;
  • Another 3% ask a neighbor or a friend to watch over your dependents (again, so you can go to work); and, finally,
  • 2% of you indicated that you have back-up care.

For many jobs, telecommuting may be a good option on days when the weather keeps you home. It’s also clear that having a local support system makes coping that much easier, as is the case for any work-family balance issue.

Please take a moment and answer our new poll: Have you ever used the Family and Medical Leave Act?

Has Technology Improved or Complicated Your Work-Family Balance?

Judi Casey December 26th, 2008

We recently asked our visitors (11/6–11/21/08) if technology has improved or complicated their work-family balance.  I was surprised to learn that 51% of our small sample (N=29) indicated that technology had improved their work-family balance, whereas 41% reported that technology had complicated their work-family balance.  Less than 8% indicated no change.

We’ve previously discussed this issue on our blog asking whether technology helps fathers to achieve work-family balance as well as learning about research on how technology impacts our ability to focus and be connected with one another. Recently, I discussed the top trends in work-life and included the blurring of work and family boundaries due to technology.

Technology is also discussed in two Work and Family Encyclopedia Entries, Boundary and Border Theory and Work-Family Integration as well as Historical Perspective on Social Change.

Lastly, Network News interviews explore technology issues such as Slowing Down to Look at “Busyness” and Distracted: The Erosion of Attention, which includes a graphic illustrating how mobile data and communication activities vary by age.

Check out our latest poll on the home page and blog home page!

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Work-Life Flexibility and the Recession: Core Business Strategy, Not an Unaffordable “Perk”

Featured Guest Blogger November 19th, 2008

Cali Williams Yost is the CEO and founder of Work + Life Fit, Inc., a consulting firm that brings together the best practices in work-life flexibility, change management and innovation to develop and implement breakthrough flexibility strategies tailored to the unique business goals and objectives of client organizations. She is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Work + Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You, the first guide to help individuals strategically manage their work-life fit in partnership with their employer, as well as an expert blogger for FastCompany. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

These are indeed interesting times. Should we even talk about work-life flexibility as we move into what looks like a deep and long recession? Is it relevant? Not only should we continue talking about work-life flexibility, but we must recognize that it’s more relevant today than it was even six months ago.

Flexibility in where, when and how work is done is a strategic lever that can help leaders and employees adapt in the face of change. It also achieves a broad-range of bottom line impacts that are critical not only to surviving but thriving during the current economic downturn, and beyond.

Unfortunately, the response I’m hearing from leaders in this environment is not that work-life flexibility is a powerful strategy in their tool kit to address business challenges. Most see it as a “perk” or nice thing to do in good times, but something they perhaps can no longer afford.

This “informal perk” mindset is not surprising given our findings in the CFO Perceptions of Work Life Flexibility study, a survey that Work + Life Fit, Inc. recently co-sponsored with BDO Seidman, a national professional services firm. This survey of a random sample of the country’s top 100 CFOs tested their perceptions of work-life flexibility. Good news: a majority of CFOs recognized a broad range of potential bottom line impacts that flexibility could achieve, including recruitment and retention; improved employee productivity; differentiation from competitors; minimizing environmental impact and reducing health care cost.

The bad news is that only 13 out of the 100 had a formal approach to flexibility in place and had a senior leadership team that perceived it to be a strategy for managing work, resources and talent. In other words, only 13% of the CFOs worked for organizations with the leadership understanding and organizational infrastructure to translate that awareness into action for bottom line results. The remaining 87 CFOs, or 87%, had no formal approach to flexibility in place and/or had a leadership team that saw flexibility as an informal “perk.” Not a powerful recipe for seeing and executing flexibility as a strategic lever.

While this “it’s a perk we can’t afford right now,” reaction isn’t surprising, it’s the wrong response to flexibility at the wrong time. Again, the business challenges presented by the recession provide an important opportunity to, once and for all, position or rebrand work-life flexibility for what it is…it’s not a benefit, program or perk. It’s a core business strategy with broad applications and impacts. How do we take advantage of this moment in time? Raise awareness.

Flexibly rethinking the way work is done, how life is managed, and business is run addresses many challenges facing organizations in a world where rapid change is the only constant. The innovative use of telecommuting, flexible scheduling, reduced hours, compressed workweeks, and contract workers is an effective way to achieve diverse business outcomes, some of which are shown in the graphic below:

Strategic Work + Life Flexibility

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: flexibility flexible)

Numerous examples of work life flexibility as a strategic lever can be found in the 2008 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work Work published by Families and Work Institute. The guide summarizes how the national When Work Works award winners, both big and small, apply flexibility for results:

  • Improving Customer Service: 1-800-Contacts has installed a telephone switching system that allows customer service reps can handle orders from home as needed.
  • Providing Non-monetary Rewards – Because of strict government salary guidelines, the Colorado Workforce Center offers flexibility to reward, attract talent.
  • Working better/smarter – After implementing an organization-wide flexibility strategy, Capital One reduced by almost one-third the amount of time it takes to get information to peers, and cut by almost one-quarter the time it takes to get information to managers.

Other corporate examples include:

  • Reducing Real Estate Overhead— Chorus, a software provider to the health care industry, shut down all of its offices and went virtual. The 35 employees and all of the full-time consultants work from home and the company saves an estimated $400,000 per year by getting rid of 15,000 square feet of office space.
  • Creative Downsizing, Beyond Traditional Layoffs—Sigma Group, a full-service advertising agency is offering sabbaticals and reducing hours to avoid layoffs, and according the head of HR employees have been more than willing to have more personal time and a reduced salary if it means they have a job.

Many leaders and organizations believe that flexibility is an unaffordable “perk,” but the economic downturn offers a unique opportunity to change their minds. Work-life flexibility is much more than a “nice thing to do,” or the “right thing to do.” It’s a strategic lever that addresses a broad range of business challenges that are particularly relevant in the current environment. Today, it’s the recession. Two years from now, it will be something else. The most adaptable and flexible organizations and individuals will not only survive, but thrive. Let’s start now.

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.

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