Life Meets Work Blog

Knowledge@Wharton posted a comprehensive piece on layoff alternatives.   The author discussed the impact of layoffs and the driving forces behind them.  While larger companies often bow to the pressure of stakeholders, smaller firms have more flexibility and can do more shifting, saving money and talent.

Despite the opinion of one Wharton professor cited in the piece–”If you have a choice between a 10% wage cut and laying off 10% of the work force, why on earth would you choose the latter?”—the author recognizes there are no easy decisions when cost cutting is required:

“In the end, companies need to balance what’s best for their employees while making sure the company remains viable in tough times.”

Here’s how some companies featured in the story are (or have in the past) making ends meet:

• City of Atlanta, 2008 – 10% cut in hours for city employees
• People Link, 2008 – employees decided to voluntarily cut hours
• Megavolt, 2008 – temporarily move employees to other business units; 10 hour reduction/week
• Cisco Systems, 2001 — allowed employees to take sabbaticals at 1/3 their salary.
• Voluntary pay cuts in exchange for deferred compensation (vacation, stock)
• Voluntary layoffs
• Voluntary retirements

And here’s a snapshot of the costs of a layoff:

• Morale issues for all staff
• Unemployment insurance premiums
• Severance packages
• Outplacement services
• Risk of litigation
• Hiring / training costs to ramp back up

More on staffing issues in a tough economy at the Life Meets Work main site.

Posted by Jaime

We just finished our first national study examining Americans’ attitudes on flexible work on the role of government in work/life issues. Here’s one key finding: Both employers (63%) and workers (78%) support the Working Families Flexibility Act.

The act (S. 2419 has been referred to the Senate Committee of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) would give every worker the right to request job flexibility and would require employers to respond to the request.

This kind of legislation is already in place in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the U.K. Lessons learned: It didn’t create a new protected class of citizens and it didn’t open the floodgates with requests for flexible work. It simply encouraged more companies to develop win-win scenarios for themselves and their employees.

In this day and age, it often doesn’t matter when or where we work. It’s productivity and results that matter. Best Buy is reaping rewards with its results-only workplaces, and companies like Deloitte are saving millions in turnover costs.

Read the bill for yourself and tell us what you think.

We’ll review more findings and discuss the implications at our free webinar at 1:00 CST on Tuesday, October 28.

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

Sarah Palin is facing some criticism for seeking a high-profile, high-obligation job while she has a young infant at home. Criticisms like those are unjust as they are unfairly leveled at women and not men.

The feminist movement earned women the right to choose career or family or career and family. Likewise, it earned men the same options.

When Palin was elected governor of Alaska last year, the Anchorage Daily News indicated her husband was taking a leave from his job to spend more time with the kids.

“At home, [Todd] Palin takes care of the cooking, the bills and other domestic paperwork, in addition to driving the kids to extracurricular activities like basketball and soccer, according to his wife.

“He can go on just an hour or two of sleep a night. He says, ‘I can sleep when I die,’ ” said Sarah Palin. “There is no way I could have done this job without his tremendous contributions to the home life. He’s able to keep it organized, like a well-oiled machine.”

This weekend, Andrea Kay, syndicated column for Gannett, pointed out that more men are requesting paternity leave. She cited statistics that showed 71% of fathers with a child under age five took paternity leave when it was offered.

Kay writes in defense of the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 5781) currently before the Senate. It would provide federal workers entitled to FMLA leave with four weeks of paid parental leave. President Bush threatened to veto this legislation in June, just before it passed the house.

“If we are to retain the best workers whose priorities include quality of life and being a hands-on parent, a serious look at alternative working options is in order,” Kay writes. “It’s not just a woman’s issue or a man’s issue. It’s a business issue.”

That’s right. It’s not just a woman’s issue.

For information on shared parenting models visit Equally Shared Parenting and the Third Path Institute.

Posted by Jaime

Our Returning to Work news feed picked up two different Babies-At-Work stories last week. This small credit union did it and so did this multi-million dollar ad firm.

Not familiar with Babies-At-Work policies? Basically, new parents are allowed to bring their infants with them to the workplace—usually until the babies are mobile. This isn’t an on-site childcare arrangement. Parents care for the infants and work at the same time.

Advocates suggest it’s an effective way to retain talent, foster employee teamwork and boost morale. It can even build customer loyalty. The credit union (above) regularly receives positive customer comments on the practice.

Will this be a growing trend? Judging by other recent media coverage (“Bringing Up Babies at Work” – Boston Globe; “Bringing Babies to Work” – Time, and “The Littlest Cubicle Warriors” – People) we think it will be.

More info at: Babies in the Workplace and the Parenting in the Workplace Institute.

Posted by Jaime