As October – National Work & Family Month – draws to a close, David Gray notes an important anniversary in an article on The Huffington Post. Five years ago, California became the first state to offer wage replacement to workers who take time off for family and care giving responsibilities. The piece, titled “California: An Example of State Action of Workplace Flexibility,” notes the importance of additional legislation that will allow employees to reconcile family needs with workplace demands.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
In 2004, California sought to meet these needs by using its disability insurance program to help fund wage replacement for workers who take time off to have a baby or care for a relative. Five years later, there are still many questions about the effectiveness of the California program. We don’t know if more workers took leave as a result of paid family leave. There are real questions of how other states or the federal government can afford wage replacement for time off in a great recession. We do know that very few workers took advantage of the program and that low-income workers were least likely to know about the program. Yet California acted and acted boldly, and more states should take notice.
Publications, research studies and toolkits on a host of other workforce readiness, flexibility, family economic stability, and work and family balance issues are also available on the Corporate Voices Web site.
By Allison Porton
October – National Work & Family Month – gives us an opportunity to discuss a variety of workplace issues affecting families. The importance of vacation time is the subject of a recent article on The Huffington Post. In “Vacations – Who Needs Them?” Judi Casey explores both the health and productivity benefits of vacation time for workers and the value in employers making paid vacation available and encouraging its use.
Here’s an excerpt from the post:
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.
Publications, research studies and toolkits on a host of other workforce readiness, flexibility, family economic stability, and work and family balance issues are also available on the Corporate Voices Web site.
By Allison Porton
Donna Klein is featured as a “Thought Leader” by Working Mother magazine on its Web site. Donna’s post is titled “Getting Managers to Say Yes to Flex.”
Here’s an excerpt:
Here are some tips from a comprehensive study of flexible work options conducted by Corporate Voices in conjunction with WFD Consulting:
- Describe your proposed flexible work arrangement. Be as specific as possible.
- Consider your job performance objectives. How will your proposed flexible work arrangement change your ability to meet those objectives?
- Think about how you currently approach your job. Who do you communicate with and how often? What deadlines do you have?
- Document how you will accomplish your job responsibilities and objectives on your proposed flexible work arrangement.
- Consider potential challenges your flexible work arrangement might raise for your co-workers, manager(s) and customers/clients. What are some potential solutions to these challenges?
- Develop clear and measurable goals/or milestones for success.
- Describe any additional equipment/expenses that your proposed flexible work arrangement might require.
- Describe any short- or long-term costs savings for the organization that might result from your new flexible work schedule.
- When starting a conversation with your manager about a flexible work arrangement:
- Arrange a specific time to talk – rather than mentioning your interest in a flexible work arrangement in passing.
- Remember that this is flexibility! Remain flexible and be willing to make changes that meet business needs.
- And when approaching your manager about a flexible work arrangement, always consider that this is a win-win situation – for you and for the organization.
