Life Meets Work Blog

Milwaukee, Wisconsin could be the third city in the nation to require its businesses to provide paid sick leave. San Francisco led the way in February ‘07, followed by the Washington D.C. in March ‘08. Milwaukee residents will vote on the issue November 4.

According to the referendum’s leading advocate, more than 77,000 workers would get paid sick leave as a new benefit.

If passed, the new ordinance would purportedly allow employees to use their sick days for themselves or a close family member and would cover illness as well as preventive care.

Debate wages on both sides, of course. Opponents say it would put undue burden on small businesses, force large businesses to increase benefits in branches outside Milwaukee, and discourage new business growth.

Advocates say it would level the playing field for businesses that already offer the benefit and that paid sick leave boosts the bottom line by fostering healthier workers.

Opponents argue demand should be driven by the marketplace and that such legislation belongs in the hands of state and national leadership, not local municipalities.

Should Government Get Involved?

Find out what Americans think of government involvement in work/life benefits like these by attending the Life Meets Work free webinar on October 28. We’ll reveal the results of a nationwide survey examining employer and employee attitudes toward flexible work and the role of government in work/life benefits.

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

A follow up to yesterday’s post. Seems the Chicago Tribune was reporting manufacturing labor shortages a month ago.

From the article:

LaVezzi’s workforce totals 75, up from 50 five years ago, and it is recruiting for five machinists, Kremer said.

Ideally, the company looks for workers with a minimum of five years experience, but increasingly it has been supplementing less experience with training, Kremer said. It also has an employee-referral program, offering workers $1,000 if they bring in a qualified employee for a highly skilled job.

Wages are competitive, with machinists’ jobs typically paying $70,000 to $100,000, Kremer said. Yet the candidate pool is slim because of a misperception that manufacturing is dead.

“We want to expand our customer base but we are pretty much at maximum capacity,” he said. “We can’t grow without good help.”

No, no you can’t.

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

In Bulletproof Your Job, author Viscusi suggests arriving at work early and leaving late. Not too early or too late, mind you—just five or ten minutes before and after your boss. After all, he writes, “much of what you need to do is create a perception that makes you more visible.”

Is he channeling George Costanza? (Seinfeld, season 7, episode 12)

Without increased productivity, such subterfuge will become apparent. Managers don’t want to be manipulated. Cut out the smoke and mirrors and focus on the work.

Ethics count.

Posted by Jaime

It goes without saying that you should be adding value at work. Unlike Viscusi who seems to believe that facetime = merit, it is those employees who contribute meaningfully to the bottom line who’ll be asked to stay.

Whatever your role, look for ways to quantify your results. Did you add 10 new customers last month, cut supply costs by 15%, or negotiate a new supplier discount? Measure your results, not your time. Demonstrate a results-oriented work style and you’ll earn lasting favor. Plus, you’ll have quality resume fodder in case new job interests come along.

Read about results-based job descriptions at the Life Meets Work main site.

Posted by Jaime

“You must understand your job is your most valuable asset, and your primary objective is to protect it,” Viscusi writes. And in a nod to Sun Tsu…”Work is war.”

When work becomes a battlefield and the primary objective is self-preservation, everyone suffers—including your employer. As competition increases, productivity decreases. As cooperation disappears, so does creativity as well as the valuable internal vetting that comes from debating and evaluating new ideas.

Ignore Viscusi. Be generous with the knowledge and information you have. Share contacts, new ideas, and resources. You can’t build a network without cooperation and you can’t build a career without a network.

Posted by Jaime

Attend seminars, keep up with market press, read the top bloggers in your industry, and try out the latest technologies. Smart, well-informed employees are always an asset. Even if your current employer can’t keep you, you’ll be well positioned for another opportunity.

Set yourself some goals (like these, for example):

• Find four industry blogs to visit daily and try to comment on at least one every week. You develop critical thinking skills when you process a post and respond with a relevant opinion.
• Subscribe to one print publication and set aside time to read it. Keep some reading material in the car and plan to arrive at meetings 5-10 minutes early. You’ll always be on time and you’ll have industry news top-of-mind.
• If you don’t already IM and text, find someone to communicate with—for the sake of learning.
• Get a page on LinkedIn, and try out Facebook and Twitter.

Make a habit of continuing education. If you are informed and capable, you’ll not only survive—you’ll thrive.

Posted by Jaime

With collapse in our financial sector and jobs on the line, some large name media outlets felt it was appropriate to give Stephen Viscusi’s new book Bulletproof Your Job some valuable press space.

Viscusi offers four rules for weathering a touch economy at work: Be Visible, Be Easy, Be Useful, Be Ready. Admittedly, there’s merit in many of Viscusi’s suggestions, such as be a mentor, dress well, and build your network.

Those are well and good, but unfortunately Viscusi peppers his book with reckless throwback suggestions like these:

“Don’t stay late, just stay later. Leaving a mere ten minutes after your boss has gone reinforces the impression that you’re the world’s most committed employee.”

“It doesn’t matter if your company pays for your health club membership or even provides an on-site health facility—that’s to make it look good, not to help you lower your cholesterol… admire those perks, brag about them to your friends, but don’t get caught using them.”

Apparently Viscusi doesn’t believe that having a good opinion of your employer or respect for your managers will get you anywhere. And the idea that companies offer wellness programs simply for PR purposes shows a concerning lack of corporate insight.

Viscusi provides some short-sighted suggestions to save a job. We wonder, though, whether some of his recommendations could do more harm than good.

In the next few posts, we’ll respond to more of Viscusi’s advice and offer suggestions to bulletproof your career.

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