Posts Tagged Work-Life-Balance
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The Business Case for Flex
At State Street Corp., a multinational financial services provider, we view flexible work arrangements as a strategic tool for achieving business objectives and employee engagement. In 2009, we created an executive committee to strengthen our ability to recruit and retain top talent. One of the findings: the necessity of having tools…
May 4, 2012
| in Trends
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#NextChat: Why You Can No Longer Say “No” to #Workflex
As the 2012 National Study of Employers (NSE) suggests, workplace flexibility is replacing the one-size-fits-all, 9-to-5 way of working in a growing number of organizations. What’s motivating companies to consider new ways of making work “work?” And what impact does giving employees more choice…
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We Know Next Weekly Recap, March 19th- 23rd
In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next this week. According to a survey on injuries in the workplace, where researchers examined the risks of occupational injury in terms of socio-demographic factors, employment characteristics and organizational factors, injury risk increased 37 percent for employees…
March 23, 2012
| in Trends
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Telework Week 2012 Encourages More Work from Home
The second annual Telework Week, taking place March 5-9, 2012, encourages businesses, government agencies and individuals to telecommute. Individuals and organizations can visit Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership, to calculate potential commuter cost and environmental savings and to pledge to telework. "According to a recent report by The Texas Transportation Institute,…
March 5, 2012
| in Workplace
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“Advocating” for Workplace Flexibility
Over the years, I have been involved in several trench advocacy campaigns on issues related to workplace flexibility. Whether it was responding to a Department of Labor request for information on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, garnering support for SHRM’s efforts to clarify the…
March 5, 2012 | in Workplace
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The Age of Digital – Creating a Better Work-Life Balance and Higher Productivity
We are entering a new digital era, an era in which people are connecting with content and with brands through multiple screens – through their PCs, TVs, smartphones, and tablets. 2011 marked an exciting year for the digital media industry and signaled an even more momentous year ahead with…
February 28, 2012 | in Trends
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Save Your Staff, Improve Your Business
After four years of financial struggles and layoffs at Rosemont Center Inc., annual employee turnover had soared from 41 percent to 72 percent. Our Columbus, Ohio, mental health and social services agency bled with each loss of a dedicated staffer. Board members reluctantly acknowledged the hemorrhaging in terms of quality of service…
January 12, 2012
| in Workforce
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The Practice of Retirement May Become Extinct
Is it possible the practice of retirement for hard-working employees could be disappearing from America’s social landscape? The concept of retirement has been the ability to relax and enter a phase of life where you pick and choose your activities, vacation with your spouse, volunteer at a local…
January 9, 2012 | in Workforce
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How’s Life? Report Measures Well-Being
Having a job is a critical element of well-being. It provides a sense of identity and offers a way for socialization and connection—key components of contentment. So say the findings in a new publication called How’s Life. Published recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and…
December 14, 2011
| in Workforce
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Work-Life Balance Starts with HR
I saw Jack Welch speak at the 2009 Society for Human Resource Management's annual conference in New Orleans. Welch delivered the opening speech for the conference and completely dissed the idea of work-life balance for women in corporate America. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Welch…
December 7, 2011 | in Workplace
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Workplace Flexibility: What are YOU doing?
Workplace flexibility initiatives are moving more workers out of cubicles and into home offices. This can represent meaningful cost savings for companies, reduced stress for employees and higher productivity. The challenge for management is to keep these isolated employees working well together. How are you devising ways to make…
December 1, 2011 | in Workplace
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Executive Book Club: November 2011
At Motorola, Inc., designers, engineers, and manufacturing experts are linked in a single production function that spans Chicago, Frankfurt, Singapore, and Beijing. This work takes advantage of the most qualified talent in the world and continues literally around the clock. In terms of innovation and accelerated speed-to-market, the old ways…
November 30, 2011 | in Workplace
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U.S. Employers Urged to Embrace Veterans; Report Details Innovative Ways
Employers need to step up and rally around the nation’s military community by enhancing efforts to attract, recruit, support and retain veterans and their families in a proactive manner so all can better meet their responsibilities at home and at work. That was the message that Col. David…
November 16, 2011
| in Workforce
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The Key to Happiness: What Researchers Say
What makes people happy? Many people, including HR professionals, spend their lives trying to find the answer. But their brains play tricks on them when they try to imagine what the future holds, said Harvard University psychology professor Dan Gilbert, who gave the closing address Nov. 10, 2011, at the Work-Life Focus: 2012…
November 15, 2011
| in Workforce
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Today’s Managers Must Be Connectors
By Shirley Davis and Lisa Horn, Co-Project Directors, SHRM’s Workplace Flexibility Initiative The first joint SHRM and Families and Work Institute work-life conference is next week in Washington, D.C. The conference — Work-Life Focus: 2012 and Beyond/Workplace Effectiveness Strategies that Work — promises to…
November 7, 2011 | in Workplace
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Tina Tchen to Address Work-Life Conference
Executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls to speak; new conference by SHRM and FWI to share best practices and research on workplace flexibility The executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, Tina Tchen, has joined the…
November 2, 2011
| in Workplace
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‘Male Mystique’ Puts Name to Conflict
Men in the United States—especially those in two-income families who are fathers and working 50 or more hours a week—are experiencing the kind of work/family conflict that women long have felt, according to a study, The New Male Mystique. Researchers Ellen Galinsky, Kerstin…
October 25, 2011
| in Workforce
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Business Success and Making Sacrifices
One of the sessions I really enjoyed at this year’s SHRM Annual Conference in Las Vegas was presented by Sue Meisinger, former CEO of SHRM, on the “10 Things Your CEO Will Never Tell You, But HR Needs to Know.” If you missed the session&hellip…
October 24, 2011 | in Workforce
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Work/Life Balance – Are we Kidding Ourselves?
Since October is National Work and Family Month, it’s a good time to discuss work-flex. I love how Jason Seiden described “work/life balance” recently at Illinois SHRM: “We talk of it as something we separate by a slash and then hope we can balance…
October 20, 2011 | in Workplace
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SHRM: Workplace Flexibility Is ‘Business Imperative’
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) continued to push flexible workplace options as a business imperative during a congressional briefing that SHRM and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Inc. hosted Oct. 12, 2011, on Capitol Hill. “This is an issue whose time has come. It’s good for workers,…
October 17, 2011
| in Workplace
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The CEO’s Epitaph
Memo To: CEOs and Aspiring CEOs From: John Bell Re: Your CEO Epitaph If you are already in…
October 4, 2011 | in Workforce
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Eldercare: The New Childcare?
The U.S. is getting older. Americans are living longer, and there are more seniors in the workforce. That means more care-giving responsibilities for everyone. SHRM’s research shows that members feel two key demographic trends are the growth in the number of workers with eldercare responsibilities, and…
September 27, 2011 | in Workforce
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Life Meets Work
A few months ago I had the opportunity to coffee shop with an executive who, ironically, had decided to resign from her job the very same morning of our meeting (see my post about her decision: Resignation Day). It was bold decision and beginning of an entirely new chapter…
September 26, 2011 | in Workplace
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What Gen Y Women Want: Autonomy and Self-Direction
Generation Y women (born 1978-1994) are concerned about the impact that family and child care decisions will have on their long-term careers, according to a report by the Business and Professional Women's (BPW) Foundation, Gen Y Women in the Workplace. “In order for businesses to engage successfully with…
September 22, 2011
| in Workforce
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Benefits, Advancement Key to Worker Happiness, Report Says
An analysis of employee reviews for more than 250,000 large U.S. organizations reveals that a comprehensive benefit mix, opportunities for career advancement and work/life accommodation are top factors in workers' happiness, outpacing even salary. The 2011 analysis was conducted by CareerBliss, a career development website and online community. The analysis…
August 30, 2011
| in Workplace
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Work-Family Support Programs as a Strategic Human Resource Initiative: SHRM Foundation Research
Work-Family Support Programs as a Strategic Human Resource Initiative: A Meta-Analysis of Effects on Organizational Outcomes Funded: November 2008 Completed: September 2010 Wendy J. Casper, Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington Marcus M. Butts, Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington Executive Summary Is…
May 19, 2011
| in Workforce
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New Dads Reflect Generational Shift in Parenting Role
A large number of new fathers report having managers who are supportive about work/family issues, possibly reflecting a generational shift in the attitudes of low- to mid-level managers who can empathize with the challenge of balancing work and family. Often, though, any workplace flexibility fathers enjoy is handled informally…
May 19, 2011
| in Workforce
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Motherhood Costs More for Businesswomen
Not all upper-income occupations are the same when it comes to maternal leave: according to a new study, women with MBAs who take professional leave to raise their children are stomaching a greater blow to their income than women with medical degrees. The study, conducted by Harvard economics professors Claudia…
May 19, 2011
| in Workforce
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Pressure to Work: Employee Perspective
The following presentation, based on a portion of the results from a recent survey of U.S. workers, focuses on data related to the pressure, self-imposed or otherwise, that employees feel to stay connected to the workplace outside of traditional work hours or when they are away from the office…
May 13, 2011
| in Workforce
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Nonparents Want Work/Life Balance Too
Working parents and nonparents share similar opinions about work/life balance, according to the latest Adecco USA Workplace Insights survey, released June 9, 2008. But when asked if they have the same level of access to work/life benefits as their colleagues, only 44 percent of nonparents said they did, compared…
April 29, 2011
| in Workforce
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Caregivers in the ‘Sandwich Generation’ Face Double Worries
Being a member of the of the working “sandwich generation”—those raising children and serving as a caregiver for older relatives—comes with a steep emotional and financial price tag. New findings from MetLife’s 8th Annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends study quantify…
April 29, 2011
| in Workforce
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Crib Notes: Babies at Work
When HR professional Terra Wells returned to work eight weeks after giving birth in 2008, baby Kaylee joined her. It was the business owner’s idea when it appeared that the birth of Wells’ first child would sideline her from the position she’d started just prior to…
April 22, 2011
| in Workplace
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Excessive Work Is Problematic for Some
Some might need to add “work less and relax more” to their list of New Year’s resolutions for 2011, a new survey suggests. According to a CareerBuilder survey of 3,067 U.S. workers employed full-time in nongovernment roles, nearly one in four respondents (24 percent) finds it hard to…
April 1, 2011
| in Workforce
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Work-life Interference: SHRM Foundation Research
Work-life Interference: Expanding our Measurement Conceptualization and Improving our Measurement This project was funded by a SHRM Foundation research grant. Funded: June 2008 Completed: June 2010 Ann Marie Ryan, Ph.D., Michigan State University Jessica Fandre, Doctoral Student, Michigan State University Elizabeth Oberlander, Doctoral Student, Michigan State…
March 24, 2011
| in Workplace
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Survey: Work/Life Balance Off-Kilter in US
Work/life balance is a problem in the United States, say 89 percent of 1,043 Americans in survey findings released September 1, 2010. And while more than two-thirds of 613 full- and part-time workers say they have adequate balance in their lives, the recession has upended that balance for 31 percent of workers. When that happens,…
March 24, 2011
| in Workforce
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Expert: Work/Life Initiatives Start At The Top
Influencing organizational leaders is the top priority in making lasting, effective organizational changes aimed at meeting the need of today’s workforce for flexibility, says Brad Harrington, director of Boston College Center for Work & Family. It must be part of a three-prong approach that includes helping individuals manage…
February 22, 2011
| in Workforce
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It’s Because We Are Asking, Listening and Acting: Creating Workplaces for the 21st Century
At a press conference on February 1, 2011 at the National Press Club announcing an unprecedented partnership between Families and Work Institute (FWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to create workplaces for the 21st century, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that when he…
February 22, 2011
| in Trends
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Survey: Done Right, Telework Ups Productivity, Job Satisfaction
A sound telecommuting strategy increases productivity, job satisfaction and work/life flexibility significantly, according to a recent survey conducted by a global Internet solutions company among its workforce. Conducted in late 2008 with 1,992 employees, Cisco Systems Inc. looked at commuting patterns, technology barriers, environmental impacts, work quality, productivity, employee satisfaction and…
February 7, 2011
| in Workplace
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Taking Time Off to the Bank
On the surface, a paid-time-off arrangement for granting leave may seem like a windfall just for employees: If they’ve accrued the time, they can take it without having to explain whether it’s a sick day or a vacation day. It’s the employee’s…
January 19, 2011
| in Workplace
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Flex Time Flourishes in Accounting Industry
As the peak season for the nation’s accounting firms begins, David Leeds’s team at Ernst & Young is once again bracing for two months of 60-hour weeks auditing the books of a major bank in Atlanta. In years past, those grueling weeks often fueled nasty marital…
January 19, 2011
| in Workplace
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Research Spotlight: Workplace Flexibility in the 21st Century, SHRM Staff
The quality of employees’ personal/family lives is positively affected as a result of implementing flexible work arrangements, according to two-thirds of HR professionals (68%). Another two-thirds (67%) of HR professionals believe implementation of formal flexible work arrangements has a positive impact on employee morale, job satisfaction and engagement.
January 19, 2011
| in Workplace
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Meeting the Needs of the Changing Workforce Survey Report
Changes all around us, including economic factors, are forcing organizations to re-evaluate the way they do business and develop alternative approaches to work. Findings from this research report reveal that the reasons that prompted organizations to offer flexible work arrangements (FWAs) range from requests from employees to organizational reasons and…
January 19, 2011
| in Trends
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Improving Work-Life Balance
Gap Outlet: Second Retailer Adopts Results-Only Work Environment Strategy Art Peck, president of Gap Outlet, a division of Gap Inc., in San Francisco, no longer hears about employees’ doctors’ appointments or parent-teacher conferences. And he couldn’t be happier. For the past year,…
March 16, 2010
| in Workforce
