Corporate Voices for Working Families

A newly released report published today by the Council of Economic Advisers gives a very good overview of the major demographic changes that have occurred in America in the past half century, the current state of workplace flexibility, and outlines the economic benefits workplace flexibility policies offer to businesses and society.

The report, titled “Work-Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexibility,” was released at the start of the White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility. The Forum was organized by the White House Council on Women and Girls to allow the President and the First Lady to learn from leaders in business, labor, and policy experts how various sectors of the economy make the workplace work for American families and businesses in the 21^st Century. Corporate Voices for Working Families played a leading role in helping to plan and organize this Forum over the past several weeks, and Donna Klein, Corporate Voices’ executive chair and founder, was included in the small group that met at the White House for this Forum.

Among the notable demographic trends the report cites are: women now comprise nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and in nearly half of all households, all adults are working. As the elderly are living longer, more workers are finding themselves being caregivers to a person over age 50, and more working adults are going back to school while working at the same time. Clearly, today’s working families are facing a much bigger challenge balancing work and family obligations than the workforce of the 1960s.

Although many employers have adapted to the changing American workforce, a cultural shift has not yet occurred in the business community as a whole over the benefits of workplace flexibility. Many employers still think of it as a benefit or a perk, and do not think of it in terms of a talent management and retention tool. The report says that over half of employers say they allow flexibility in working hours, however less than one third of full-time workers report having flexible work hours. This may be due to differences in data collection, or the fact that employees are unaware of what their employers will allow.

The report, which cites Corporate Voices’ studies on workplace flexibility widely, also states that less-skilled workers have less workplace flexibility options than more highly skilled workers. Corporate Voices believes that flexibility promotes worker productivity and engagement with hourly as well as professional workers, and has recently published toolkits for both workers and managers to use as a guide to implement and request flexible workplace arrangements.

In terms of the benefits of workplace flexibility, the evidence suggests that encouraging more companies to offer flexibility options can potentially boost productivity, improve morale, and benefit the economy as a whole. Companies can benefit by reduced absenteeism, lower turnover, and helping to improve worker health and productivity while at work. Society can also benefit by having more productive workers, and flexibility policies can help incorporate people into the workforce that may have not been able to join before, due to physical disabilities or other reasons. And a larger workforce means a larger tax base.

While many companies still think of flexibility as a benefit that will incur a cost to implement without any corresponding returns on investment, only information sharing and a campaign to educate the business community can help turn the tide toward a more life-friendly 21^st Century workplace.

What skills and qualities will be necessary for the leaders of the future? To thrive in a world of vulnerability, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity–or a “Vuca” world, as Bob Johansen of the Institute for the Future calls it–leaders will need at least ten new skills to thrive, throwing old paradigms out the window and shaking the current foundations of leadership.

Drawing from the latest ten-year forecast, Johansen argues that leaders who can combine vision, agility, understanding, and clarity can survive in a world of extreme uncertainty. The ten critical leadership skills he outlines in a new book, Leaders Make the Future are:

Dilemma Flipping: Can you turn problems that can’t be solved into opportunities?

Bio-empathy: How well do you learn from and apply the principles of nature in your leadership?

Constructive Depolarizing: Can you constructively depolarize tense situations and help people from different cultures work together?

Immersive Learning Ability: Can you immerse yourself in a different-from-you physical and online world and learn from them?

Maker Instinct: Do you have an instinct to build, or create new things?

Clarity: Can you see through confusion and contradictions to a future that others cannot yet see?

Quiet Transparency: Are you open and authentic abut what matters to you, without advertising yourself?

Rapid Prototyping: Are you willing to fail quickly, often, and cheaply to learn and build success later on?

Smart Mob Organizing: How adept are you at bringing together and nurturing purposeful business or social change networks through intelligent use of electronic media?

Commons Creating: Can you stimulate and grow assets that can benefit others and allow for greater competition?

Johansen discussed these qualities at the 2010 WorkLife Conference sponsored by The Conference Board and the Families and Work Institute on March 25-26. This year’s theme was Leading in the “New Normal” Economy: How Employers and Employees Can Thrive Now and in the Future. Speakers at the conference made clear that the future of work and life will be defined by an increasing amount of complexity, choice, flexibility, and customization. The business community and the workforce will no longer be defined by rigid hierarchies, leaders will need to adopt more specialized skills to deal with uncertainty, and the workforce will experience a shift towards more flexibility in the way work gets done.

As part of the WorkLife Conference, Corporate Voices sponsored an evening reception panel that featured Terrell McSweeny, domestic policy advisor to Vice President Biden, and deputy assistant to President Obama. McSweeny gave an overview of the work the Middle Class Task Force has done to address issues facing working families in America.

In a report on NPR’s Marketplace today, Jennifer Ludden gave the first in a three-part series discussing flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and creative solutions employers are finding to create work-life balance for their employees.

The piece, titled “More Employers Make Room for Work-Life Balance,” illustrates examples of how local employers are raising productivity and engendering employee loyalty and retention by allowing them flexibility in where and when they work. She describes one local Northern Virginia software company, List Innovative Solutions, that has 100 employees. In 16 years of business, the owner, Katie Sleep, has had a 95 percent retention rate, mainly due to the flexibility the firm offers.

For those with families and personal obligations outside of work, flexibility becomes ever more attractive, and even more important in some cases than compensation.

“Work cannot be everything,” Sleep says. “People who have their lives are far better workers.”

Increasingly, flexible work arrangements are becoming more common, as the business community responds to the needs of changing demographics. Today, women hold half the jobs in the U.S., and need flexible work arrangements to be able to manage the multiple demands of both family and work.

Luckily, today’s communications technology makes it possible for people to telecommute without sacrificing productivity. People can now work and communicate from home, in transit, or from a remote location, tearing down the traditional barriers of the workplace.

Indeed, some say that we are experiencing something like another industrial revolution, although this time it is a “work/time revolution.” While U.S. labor laws are still suited for the workforce of the 1960s, the business community and civil society are leading the way toward a new era of work.

Corporate Voices for Working Families advocates for flexible workplace arrangements as a beneficial talent management tool. Studies show that FWAs help create a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. Corporate Voices recently released two toolkits– one for managers and one for employees– offering helpful and practical tips and guides on how to implement or request a flexible workplace program, how to manage a dispersed team, and other useful practices.

Do you enjoy a flexible workplace arrangement or do you know of a company considering implementing a flexibility program? Feel free to share your views  of FWAs here.