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Open Flexible Work

How Can You Tell if Workplace Flexibility is Working? Ask the Employees

March 1, 2011
Every clued-in business leader in America is now aware that workplace flexibility is a business imperative. Employees across all industries say their lives are increasingly complicated and the traditional workplace structure just doesn’t work for them anymore . They are demanding new options, so...

America's failure on part-time working - through the eyes of a British 'Mum' gone Stateside

March 1, 2011
A British Mum discusses pre-toddler tantrums and why the challenge of balancing work and life in the USA is so much harder than in the UK - and concludes that if government and business did more to encourage decent part-time job opportunities America would be a less divided society.

Two Different Realities About Workplace Flexibility

February 25, 2011
When Adele Diamond of the University of British Columbia wants to assess the brain development of young children, she often uses a task called the Day/Night Task. A child is shown a picture of night (a moon) and is supposed to say the opposite (day). Then he or she is shown a picture of day (a sun...

Restoring Dignity on the Job to Breastfeeding Mothers

February 24, 2011
By Galen Sherwin, Staff Attorney, ACLU Women's Rights Project Returning to work after having a new baby can pose real barriers for women who are breastfeeding. Consider the following real-life examples: When one employee returned from maternity leave, her employer criticized her for needing to...
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Number One Fan

February 22, 2011
When my grandchildren were younger, they were very involved in sports. And, of course, I was their number one fan. But their football games, wrestling matches and soccer scrimmages were often in the early afternoon, making it nearly impossible for someone working a typical job to attend. Lucky for me, I don’t work at a typical job. I was right there in the front row, cheering my grandchildren on.

Gaining a Competitive Edge in the Global Economy-- Using Flexibility with Hourly Workers and in Healthcare

February 22, 2011
Building on the momentum of last year's White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility , the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor held a National Dialogue on Workplace Flexibility in Pasadena, CA on Thursday, February 17 focusing on the unique challenges and solutions of using flexibility...

DOL Conference Points to Changes Coming to Work-Family

February 22, 2011
Last week I attended the Department of Labor’s conference to spark a National Dialogue on Workplace Flexibility, run by the Women’s Bureau and Department of Labor in California. The goal of this conference was to have a business-to-business discussion on workplace flexibility. Over 400 business,...

Helping the “Dagwood Sandwich” Generation

February 9, 2011
We often hear the term “sandwich generation.” This is a label coined by the media to describe adults caring for both their children and their elderly parents. They are in effect, sandwiched between two generations of their family. Within this group is a subset I like to call the Dagwood Sandwich Generation. Some of us are members of families that generally have children early in life rather than later. I’m a Dagwood. As a Dagwood, I have been very fortunate to have found employment with a forward-thinking company that provides flexible working arrangements for its associates. I have been the beneficiary of some type of flexible working structure since 1995. Johnson Storage & Moving’s custom-fit policies have benefited five generations of my family!

On the FMLA Anniversary, Let’s Focus on the Unmet Needs of Working Families

February 5, 2011
Cross-posted at the National Partnership for Women & Families . 18 years. That’s how long the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been in place. It was the first bill President Clinton signed into law and it remains one of the proudest accomplishments of his presidency. The FMLA is...

It's Because We Are Asking, Listening and Acting: Creating Workplaces for the 21st Century

February 3, 2011
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...

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