Custom-Fit Workplace Blog Carnival: Discussion on Best Practices that are a Win-Win for Employers and Employees
Posted August 31st, 2010 by Joan Blades**Scroll down to the comments section to see the conversation from our 9/2/2010 evening blog chat. And of course, you can still join the conversation by asking questions and typing your comments in the comment box. Hit “Submit Comment” and join our Q&A!**
Have you been there? Frustrated that it’s nearly impossible to excel at work (and home!) because the structure of your workplace doesn’t fit your life?
Too many of us are banging our heads against the wall these days.
Despite the workplace crunch that many of us face, there’s good news. An increasing body of research shows that flexible, custom-fit workplace practices help people excel both at work and at home, while also helping businesses boost the bottom line.
To get the word out about this new research, as well as to fan the fire of a national conversation on the topic, MomsRising co-founder, Joan Blades, and Nanette Fondas, MomsRising executive blog editor, have written a new book called The Custom-Fit Workplace. In coordination with the publication of the book, today MomsRising is launching our blog carnival to highlight posts and articles from around the Web that describe the many ways businesses can make a shift toward maximizing productivity and make everyone’s lives better.
Good workplace practices will help America become a family-friendly nation, while improving employer bottom lines and efficiency. And we need them! Our public policies are stuck in the 1950s, despite the fact that we have a modern labor force now that’s 50% women. But discrimination against mothers is also cultural. Even though study after study has shown that mothers are great workers, most individual workplaces and businesses fail to meet the needs of families in how work itself is structured.
This blog carnival kicks off a national social media discussion about rethinking work, workplace practices and structures, and how families, workers and employers can thrive in the changing work worlds of the 21st century. Check out the links below and leave your thoughts in the comments below! We look forward to hearing from you.
Why “Fit” Matters and Makes a Big, Meaningful Difference, Cali Williams Yost
The Dignity of Work: Transforming the One-Size-Fits-All Workhouse into a Custom-Fit Workplace, Robert Fuller
Start Up A Conversation in Your Community!, Jessica Glenn
Back To Work? Not So Fast…, John de Graaf
Unions and the Four Hour Work Week, Jenya Cassidy
Organizational flexibility fosters employee creativity and commitment, Gabriela Melano, Ed.D
Help Create A Babies-At-Work World, Carla Moquin
At Last: A Win-Win for Employers and Employees, Barbara Miller
U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce: Understanding the Needs of Working Women and Their Families, Andrea Lindemann
Not All Moms Want to Work Less, Laura Vanderkam
How to Avoid the No.1 Cause of “Death” in Your Organization- the Death of Motivation, Ian Blei
But That’s Impossible!, Joan C. Williams
Work Life Policy: Pipedream or Practical?, Judy Martin
We’re Not Asking For The Moon, Chrysula Winegar
The Best-Kept Secret?, Sue Bingham
Does Flex Time Lead to Better Health?, New York Times blogs, Tara Parker-Pope
Building a Flexible Workplace, Catalyst.org writing at WomensMedia.com
Obamas tout benefits of a flexible workplace, Washington Post, Joe Davidson
The advantages of having a flexible workplace, The Times (UK), Alison Maitland
A flexible workplace is a happier, healthier workplace, Huffington Post, Annie Toro
Making My Job Work For Me, Working Moms Against, Guilt, Cara
Telecommuting During Tough Times, New York Times Motherlode blog
Benefits of Virtual Employees, Newborn Rodeo
Unravelling the myths of job sharing, Management Issues, Nic Paton
Study: The Unexpected Benefits of Telecommuting, Bnet.com, Dave Johnson
The Benefits of Working from Home, WorkAwesome.com, Ana da Silva
Bringing Your Baby to Work, New York Times Motherlode blog, Lisa Belkin
Jailed for Taking Kids to Jury Duty, New York Times Motherlode blog, Lisa Belkin
Bringing Babies to Work, Time.com, Tiffany Sharples
Parents Discover Babies in the Workplace Gaining Acceptance, Workforce.com, Jessica Marquez
Day care’s new frontier: Your baby at your desk, USA Today, Stephanie Armour
Bringing Up Baby at Work – Babies in the Workplace, Women Issues (About.com), Linda Lowen
The Not-for-Profit Lane, A Guide to Changing Lanes, Jane Jelenko
Mommy-Tracking at Goldman Sachs: A Disconnect Between Expectations and Reality, The Mama Bee
Growing Industry Helps Moms Relaunch Careers, Alternet, Kara Alaimo
One-Third of Women Fleeing the Workforce, Forbes, Jenna Goudreau
Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE) in the US Capitol, Your (Wo)man in Washington
Smashing the Clock, BusinessWeek, Michelle Conlin
Best Buy’s Results Oriented Work Environment, a Workplace Revolution in the Making, Don Loper
Flexible Work in a Recession, New York Times Motherlode blog, Lisa Belkin
Read His Lips: Workplace Flex Not A Women’s Issue, Women and Work, Morra Aarons-Mele
38 Comments
October 2, 2010 at 12:38 pm by Lori GilsonVery interesting article. I currently enjoy a career that is compatible with being a mom; but it has not always been this way.
[Reply]
Anita Reply:
October 4th, 2010 at 2:03 am
@Lori – Thanks for sharing your comment!
[Reply]
Thank you so much for highlighting this topic. I am so blessed to work from home and have an employer that genuinely values balance in the lives of it’s team members. But I know that most people are not as fortunate. I hope that as technology advances more parents can make it a reality for the benefit of their families and for their employers too.
[Reply]
September 3, 2010 at 4:36 pm by Pat KatepooThank you for a fresh source of inspiration and instruction for creating a custom work-life fit. I’ve taken a preview peek at your new book on Amazon and look forward to reading it in full.(And likely recommending it to my WorkOptions customers.)
[Reply]
September 2, 2010 at 11:23 pm by Nanette FondasHi everyone,
Thanks for all your questions and comments. Don’t forget to visit CustomFitWorkplace.org and check out the blogs and resources. You can also share your own story.
Nanette Fondas
[Reply]
September 2, 2010 at 10:22 pm by DonnaHi,
A friend just asked me this question. He works at a high pressure workplace and there was a qualified mom who applied for a position there, but she would have to arrive at 9 a.m. and leave work at 5 every day in order to pick up her children from childcare, while her other colleagues often worked from 8 in the morning till 8 at night dealing with very important issues that could not wait. They were resentful that they would have to pick up the slack for her custom fit. What should this friend do, if some people need to get in early and stay late to get the job done and this mom really has no flexibility to either come in early or stay late sometimes?
[Reply]
Nanette Fondas Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 pm
@Donna,
This particular job may not truly be a custom-fit for her. While over-working is not especially healthy for anyone, there are jobs that sometimes demand long hours and they are not a fit for everyone. A person can be qualified for a job yet it may not be an ideal fit. On the other hand, the employer needs to look seriously at the employees who are routinely working 12 hour days and ask, “Do we need to hire more personnel?” Asking all employees to over-work (instead of hiring) is a recipe for stress and burnout. That some people choose to do it does not mean it should be routinely expected of all.
As for the resentment your friend feels that someone else is working reasonable–and not extreme–hours, he or she might want to take a look at his or her own person-job fit and ask if it’s really working.
[Reply]
Is custom-fit a dynamic concept? That is, does it take into account that my challenge today as a new mom is not the same as when I become a pre-retiree?
[Reply]
Nanette Fondas Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
@Anita,
Absolutely, it is a dynamic concept. One reason we like the phrase “custom-fit” is because part of the customization has to do with the person’s personal life stage and the particular ways that can be leveraged at work. For instance, a pre-retiree can have a lot of knowledge and experience to offer a company, even if he or she cannot work the same number of hours as a younger worker. Phyllis Moen is a scholar that has written about this type of fit over the life course and how it changes. So, yes, it’s a dynamic concept, just like human beings over the course of their lives.
[Reply]
Can you tell me a bit more about the benefits of virtual work? I know what they are for me, but how about for my employer?
[Reply]
Joan Blades Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:05 pm
@, Ah to sing the praises of virtual work! A recent IBM study found that workers that could work virtually and flexibly didn’t experience work/life conflict until they hit 57 hours of work in a week traditional workers experienced conflict at 39 hours. AT&T NJ saved 5 million dollars in real estate costs due to going virtual. Virtual work is great for holding on to and attracting great workers too. So many benefits and I haven’t mentioned the environmental benefits!
[Reply]
Hi Angelika,
Well, we hope this book will be a step toward changing attitudes of employers. We hope that they begin to understand the need for change, because so many people need an improved work-life fit, because demographics call for it, as well as globalization. There is also a business case for it (see our Chapter 2) that is persuasive in terms of bottom line impacts. Laws can help–such as the one in England and Australia protecting a worker’s right to ask for flexibility–but also we need to create “demand” for custom-fit and other workplace practices.
I can also say, as a former professor of business and organization studies, that there has been a movement toward this: a movement toward “human relations” and high commitment workplaces and recognizing the whole person: worker, parent, citizen. Our book is a continuation of that tradition and one we hope will help to get a dialogue going and the “ears” of employers.
[Reply]
September 2, 2010 at 9:43 pm by AnonymousA lot of these questions are getting at a key point: Whose responsibility is all this change toward a more flexible, custom-fit workplace?
[Reply]
Anonymous Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Great question. Changing work place culture is easiest for the boss. They have the authority to set change in motion and support the change. That said often change starts because someone needed some flexibility because of a health issue or family responsibility. Managers discover that this flexibility actually helped productivity…and virtual work, flexible timing or even babies at work might then become available to everyone.
[Reply]
Nanette Fondas Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I would add that it is everyone’s responsibility: employees, bosses, companies, and even our political leaders. We need creative solutions to keep our country competitive and leading edge. American business has always been adaptable, entrepreneurial. As demographic and global challenges present new issues to business, I’m bullish that companies will respond and change.
[Reply]
I’m wondering what people’s plans are for changing attitudes of employers. There are plenty of laws protecting against, as in my example – pregnancy discrimination, but my lawsuit has been going for 2.5 years with no resolution in sight (and I have a very clear case with lots of physical evidence).
http://www.fightpregnancydiscrimination.org
[Reply]
Trackbacks
Leave a Comment