Life Meets Work Blog

As we say in Twitter, #fail to Forbes for fueling employee fears that telecommuting or other flexible work arrangements may put them on the chopping block for layoffs.

Its piece “Will Flextime Set You Up to be Laid Off?” gives one example of a telecommuter who lost his job when other in-office folk kept theirs.  The rest of the piece trades in generalities and telecommuting 101-type advice.

What we’ve really been hearing from employers is that they are bumping up against a utilization gap.  They still offer flex, but employees aren’t taking it.

Employees either aren’t aware their company offers flexibility, or they are afraid to take advantage of the benefits for fear of losing their job or missing out on a promotion.  (Thank you very little Forbes and Jack Welch.)

A new study from the Families and Work Institute suggests that those fears are (generally) unfounded. In examining the impact of the economic downturn on the American workplace, the FWI found an overwhelming majority of employers (94%) are maintaining or increasing workplace flexibility.

What’s more, 26% specifically used flexible workplace options – from reduced work weeks to telecommuting – to minimize the need for layoffs.

Come on Forbes!  Let’s give our employers a little credit.  They know times are hard and workers are stressed.  It’s more than bad retention policy to clamp down on flexible work options—it’s bad for productivity.

The Forbes piece even acknowledges that flexibility is key to getting things done:

“More than 20 years of documented data show that working remotely improves productivity, usually by double digits,” says Pat Katepoo, a flexible-work adviser and founder of WorkOptions, a resource for career professionals who want to negotiate flexible work arrangements. “People aren’t afraid of working hard. They just want to do it with more control.”

Forbes’ headline was incendiary.  Its advice, pedestrian.  Will someone report on the real statistics please?  Companies Offer Flex to Fight Recession. Sound good?  Nah, let’s just run with fear.  That sells.

Posted by Jaime

The Washington Post just ran a special piece about caring for elderly parents.

Some statistical highlights:

Men who turn 65 can anticipate 17 more years, and women 20 more.  Two-thirds of these seniors will need some form of long-term care.

Yet….fewer than 5% of the elderly live in institutions. And nursing home use has been falling for 20 years.

How is that possible? Families are stepping up to the plate.

Most of this care comes from women. Seven of every 10 adult children who help frail parents are daughters.

But don’t imagine these women are leaving the workforce in droves.  More than half of adult children who help elderly parents also work full time, and 10 percent part time.

The author writes, “Most caregivers with jobs report sometimes having to arrive late or leave early; smaller proportions take leaves, cut back to part-time schedules or turn down promotions. A few even give up their jobs.”

Employers have to ask themselves several questions then:

• How important are these caregivers (boomers with decades of experience) to the team?
• Is there an ROI in programs that help reduce their stress?
• What am I willing and able to do to keep them on board?

The answers?

• Very
• Yes
• ???

We can anticipate the answer to the first. These boomer caregivers are our knowledge transfer agents—the ones who understand big picture trends and customer relationships the best.

We know the answer to the second.  Mountains of stress management literature tells us unequivocally that sustained stress limits performance, leads to workplace turnover, and increases medical and insurance costs.

But the answer to the third is obviously much harder to arrive at as we must examine our own organizations. Where are we at culturally? Can our managers support these changes? Do we have the technology to change the way we work?

Change is hard. And there is no one-size-fits-all solution for workplace flexibility.

Can you offer flexible start and end times?
Okay, yeah. Easy.

What about work from home options one or two days a week? 
Yeah, I suppose.

What about fulltime telecommuting?
Oh. Hmm.

Would you support an extended family leave?
Sure, if we had to. But just how extended are we talking?

Could you transition these folks into consultant/contractor positions?
Gee…that would have huge implications.

We get it.  These aren’t easy questions to answer.  But they aren’t going to get any easier the longer you wait.  It only gets harder as the need increases and the time frame for implementation shrinks,

In the case of Life Meets Work boomer blogger Eileen Thompson, her company’s retirement policy prevents her from consulting for the company for six months post-retirement and only with executive VP level permission thereafter.

The reality? She’d have a far easier time contributing her “retirement” services to a competitor.

Is that what you want for your senior level staff? Of course not.

Is that what could happen if you don’t question and prepare. Of course, yes.

Posted by Jaime

The U.S. declared a public health emergency over Swine Flu yesterday. In New York, where more than 100 school children are likely infected (following a recent trip to Mexico), Mayor Michael Bloomberg told citizens to stay home if they feel even slightly symptomatic.

Stay home if you feel sick – it’s not really meant as “take care of yourself and get well” kind of advice. It’s a serious mandate meant to prevent a flu pandemic.

As a nation, we’re not accustomed to staying home for a measly sore throat. So what does that mean in the face of a potential swine flu pandemic?  How will we maintain productivity and essential services when a few achy muscles are supposed to keep us away from the office?

Flu outbreaks don’t have to be disabling if companies are set up to telework. The federal government has long incorporated teleworking in its business continuity plans:

“By helping support a distributed workforce, telework is a tool for emergency planning at all levels - from snowstorms that close offices in a region for a day or two, to pandemic influenza that may affect operations over the course of weeks or even months.” (Source: telework.gov)

Even in the face of a global flu pandemic, business CAN continue if your employees are equipped to log-in remotely.  To be successful, your company should have a telework program with as many staffers as possible equipped to work from home. The best way to test your system is to use it as a routine course of business, to ensure all tools are operational.

Get more tips to prepare your business for a flu pandemic from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management at telework.gov.  Tailored workplace flexibility plans are also available from Life Meets Work.

Posted by Jaime

Workplace flexibility initiatives could ease financial strain on American seniors. So says think-tank Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.

The partnership just released a report called Living Longer on Less. It received national media coverage, including CBS News.  Among the key findings:

• Seventy-eight percent of all senior households are financially vulnerable when it comes to their ability to meet essential expenses and cover projected costs over their lifetimes.
• Housing: 45% of senior households spend nearly a third of their income on housing. 31% either rent or have no home equity to draw on in tough times.
• Healthcare: 40% of senior households spend more than 15% of their income on healthcare.
• Budgets: 1 in 3 senior households has no money whatsoever left over after meeting essential expenses.

Personal Action
The study’s authors called for action from working Americans to better prepare themselves for retirement. Though they are financially vulnerable, today’s seniors represent a best-case scenario of having reached retirement under stronger Social Security and better employer-based benefits.

Government Action
The authors also called on policy makers in Congress and in the Obama administration to strengthen the security of today’s seniors and to ensure that younger generations will experience long-term economic stability through their senior years. Such actions include:

• Strengthening Social Security.
• Increasing Asset Building Opportunities.
• Supporting Flexibility to Allow Americans to Work Longer and More Productively
• Addressing The Medicare Crisis
• Instituting Long-Term Care Insurance

Employer Action
Workplace flexibility will not only aide senior workers, but it will help overcome the predicted labor shortage.  According to the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College between 2002 and 2012 there will be a 1% increase in the labor force participation of people aged 20 to 24, a 12% increase in those 25 to 34, 10% increase among those 35 to 44, and a 10% decrease in those 45 to 54.

Providing flexible hours can help seniors with reduced stamina as well as those who would simply prefer to ease into retirement by working fewer hours.

Posted by Jaime

People age 50-plus are looking for options beyond retiring full-time.  Since the majority of companies are not embracing phased retirement yet, many are starting businesses on their own.

In fact, according to the Kauffman Foundation, Americans aged 55 to 64 form small businesses at the highest rate of any age group—28% higher than the adult average.

The SBA has recognized this trend and started a website just for 50+ entrepreneurs.

Here are some questions that would-be entrepreneurs should ask themselves:

1. How do you define business ownership?
2. What is your tolerance and capacity for risk?
3. What do you want out of your business in return?

Your answers will help determine whether a solo venture, start up, franchise, or a business acquisition is right for you.

Posted by Jaime.

Life Meets Work and Ask Liz Ryan have launched a survey to gauge opinions about the work/life issues affecting the everyday lives of American families.

Launched during National Work and Family Month (October), the survey is designed to capture the opinions of both American workers and employers regarding work/life challenges, flexible work programs, and the role of government in work/life policies.

The results of the survey will be revealed in a free webinar on October 28, 2008.

Posted by Jaime

In our ninth straight month of job cuts, employers slashed more jobs this September—159,000—than they have since 2003.

But while job cuts may be on the short-term agenda, many are still looking forward with concern to the post-boomer years and making plans to shore up their workforce now.

Such is the case in northeast Wisconsin, where layoffs are affecting area manufacturing families. In this region, manufacturing accounts for 24% of the work force and 30% of the income. So when area paper mills and machine shops shut down, people begin to feel concerned for the health of the region’s economy overall.

And plenty of area manufacturing leaders are concerned—but not about closing their doors. Despite layoffs at some companies, others are looking five to 10 years forward and hoping they’ll have enough skilled people to keep the machines going and stay competitive.

Paul Rauscher, owns EMT International, a small 80-person equipment manufacturer for the paper and printing industry. Rauscher believes a shortage of qualified workers poses the greatest future threat to his business—more than even foreign competition.

“We manufacturers have to get people, and especially young people, to realize that careers in manufacturing are good for their future and that many of the manufacturing jobs of today are high-tech and high pay,” he said in a Q&A with the local Green Bay Press Gazette.

Here’s what Rauscher observed about industry needs compared to output at the area’s regional technical college:

· CNC technicians – 40 openings – seven graduates

· Mechanical design – 85 openings – nine graduates

· Electro-mechanical technology – 75 openings – four graduates

Rauscher operates in an industry dominated by boomers, so it’s not just the lack of technical graduates that has him worried. It’s the not-so-distant day his workforce retires.

“I know of at least one mid-size manufacturing firm that expects to see about 50 percent of its work force retire in the next five to 10 years. A young person today can expect to see significant opportunities as companies begin to replace retired workers.”

Rauscher is starting his battle plan now. Step 1 - Get young people to enter his industry by promoting career potential.

We expect the following is also on his to-list: Step 2 - Keep boomers on the payroll longer through part-time and seasonal scheduling.

What are you doing now, to build your future workforce?

Posted by Jaime

This member of the Life Meets Work team works remotely from Titletown USA. (That’s Green Bay, Wisconsin for you non-football folk.)

I don’t know what the news coverage is like elsewhere in the country, but we’ve been all abuzz for weeks now over Brett Favre’s potential un-retirement conundrum.

Scot Herrick says Brett lost his personal identity in retirement. No doubt. It’s a challenge all successful careerists face: Who will you be absent the job?

One M&A firm I know asks its clients to sit down with a business psychologist before deciding to sell their companies. The reason, says CEO Scott Bushkie, is that when business owners don’t have a vision for retirement they wind up scared about the future. They start sabotaging the deal, make unreasonable requests, and sometimes flat out change their minds. In the end, everyone suffers—the company, the seller, and the seller’s family.

Sound familiar, Green Bay?

So what’s the takeaway for would-be retirees? Have a plan. Think about who you will be and how you’ll spend your time. And make sure you and your partner are on the same page. Will you volunteer? Spend more time with the grandkids? Take on a second career or “fun” job?

Like any good career plan, retirement is bound to be better with a few new goals. After all, you can only play so much golf.

Posted by Jaime

By 2010, about 64 million workers in the U.S. will be ready for retirement. That’s 40% of our workforce. Forty percent by 2010!

Thankfully, many of those workers won’t actually retire, just because they’re “of-age.“ According to an August 2007 survey of 50- to 65-year-old workers, approximately 29% of 55- to 59-year-olds plan to work beyond 65.

Cool. Now the job is to convince those employees to come work for you. Right? We’re all busy talking about boomer recruitment and flex time policies and temporary executive programs, aren’t we?

No, sadly, many of us aren’t. According to the Wall State Journal, older employees are still getting an uneasy welcome some places. And Working Longer, a new book from the Brookings Institute suggests why: Employers fear older workers “cost too much, lack current skills and don’t stick around long.”

Scot Herrick has a few interviewing tips for boomers over at the Cube Rules blog. Herrick suggest workers over come those negative perceptions by emphasizing skills, past job performance, and—above all—a willingness to learn. Whatever you do, you must not appear set in your ways.

So let me ask you this: Are employers willing to learn too? How about some tips to recruit and retain boomers? Here’s a start:

• Flexible scheduling and job sharing
• Telecommuting
• Contract or project work
• Phased retirement plans
• Cafeteria style benefit plans that include part-time workers
• Eldercare benefits
• Training to eliminate age-bias within company
• Company retiree network

For more ideas, download this 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Labor with Current Strategies to Employ and Retain Older Workers. Lots of great ideas including a snowbird program at CVS which transfers older workers south for the winter (along with plenty of customers). How innovative is that?!

Posted by Jaime