Calling it a “watershed event,” the Pres- T he new report charges

Health Care Health groups vow to tackle runaway costs Many of the same groups that helped scuttle President Clinton’s initiative have told President Obama they want to play a positive role in reforming health care. erage. They want to end discrimination against sicker individuals and generally make insurance easier to get and more affordable. Obama has said a health care plan must be passed this year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s “quite certain” the House will see a floor debate on health-care legislation by next month. # 24901 DOW JONES, 5-11-09; SENIOR JOURNAL, 5-12-09; NEW YORK TIMES, 5-10-09; BLOOMBERG, 5-13-09 patients; at least 60% of quality measures haven’t improved for minorities in the past six years. # 24903 AGENCY FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY, 5-7-09 C alling it a “watershed event,” the President received pledges from groups like Health Net Inc., America’s Health Insurance Plans, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, PhRMA and the SEIU, which has taken a lead role. The groups have been meeting together and have sketched out a 10-year plan to slow the growth of health care spending by 1.5% a year, saving the U.S. more than $2 trillion. The cuts, they say, will come through greater efficiency, coordination and better technology. They’ll continue to meet and work on putting their plan together “in more specific terms,” said one member. And Congress is beginning to release some of its options for the future. Plans include giving employers sweeping new authority as well as tax credits and other subsidies to reward employees for healthy behavior, including better diet, more exercise and smoking cessation. And Finance Committee leaders have suggested they’ll curb premium pricing that discriminates against people in poor health, and streamline the process to make it easier for low- and moderateincome people to get help paying for covWFC Resources Newsbrief Sibelius says status quo is unsustainable Kathleen Sibelius, new Health and Human Services Secretary, challenged hospitals to heed the results of an alarming new study, saying we can’t Workers who went to work sick more wait to enact health care reform. than six times in a year were 74% he new report charges that patient more likely to have another sick spell safety measures are worse and many lasting more than two months, says aren’t getting the care they need. The a study of 12,000 Danish workers. New, long-term risks for going to work sick T 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities report found 40% of recommended care isn’t being received and only 40% of diabetic patients received the recommended three preventive exams in the past year. Only half of obese adults and children are given advice to exercise more and eat a healthy diet and 70% of adults with mood, anxiety or impulse disorders got either inadequate treatment or none at all. One in seven hospitalized Medicare patients experience one or more adverse events, and minority patients still get disproportionately poor care compared to Caucasian June 2009 C ompared to workers who stayed home when ill, they were 53% more likely to end up being out sick later on for at least two weeks. This study, by Claus Hansen, a researcher with Herning Hospital in Denmark, affirms an earlier one from the UK that found men who rated their health as poor but took no days off in a three-year period had twice the risk of a serious heart problem as those whose health was poor but took up to two weeks off in the same period (Newsbrief, 2-05). This new study comes at a time when many fear being laid off if they don’t show up, and with good reason. But A digest of the world’s work-life news Inside These Pages... Help to reform health care from an unlikely source (pg.1); the impact of poor schools tops that of the recession, says a report (pg.2); longer school hours may be one answer (pg.3); a little appreciation can boost engagement (pg.4); the new OPM head vows to make fed agencies work-life models (pg.5); an EEOC guide will help prevent caregiver discrimination (pg. 6); the deck is stacked against women earlier than we thought (pg.7); work on the company culture is never done (pg.8); smart office designs cut absenteeism (pg.9); Corporate Voices are heard in D.C. (pg. 10); and Chai Feldblum talks about Workplace Flexibility 2010. the message for employers is clear, says Hansen: Bodies need time to get better. And “while it is certainly best...to have as low rates of absence as possible, it might be a better investment” to encourage short absences when employees are ill. # 24903 REUTERS, 4-30-09 students in all age groups made greater gains than white students since 1973, but in comparison to 2004, only white students at age nine saw an increase in scores. Achievement gaps between races have narrowed, but whites still outscore black and Hispanic students by more than 20 points in most categories. # 24904 SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, 4-29-09 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4-29-09 The Future Workforce The Work-Life Newsbrief Salutes... Procter & Gamble On page 5 this month we report on a study that finds workers everywhere worry that their skills will be insufficient to sustain them. This company has the answer; its focus on training begins with onboarding and never stops. There’s a different college at every level, every department has its own “university,” and nearly 50 courses are offered to help staff attain a variety of skills. The idea is to expose them to new ideas and approaches, and help them master the skills they need for continued success. Successful it is. With more than $80 billion in sales, P&G is the market leader in everything from detergent to diapers (see pg. 8). Impact of poor schools tops that of recession “Report card” finds no gains for teenagers in reading or math The “Nation’s Report Card” says scores for U.S. high school students in reading and math are virtually unchanged in nearly four decades. The lagging performance of American schoolchildren, especially poor and minority students, has had a negative impact on the country that exceeds that of the current recession. B T Published by WFC Resources Inc. 5197 Beachside Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343 (800) 487-7898 (952) 936-7898 FAX (952) 935-0122 E-mail info@WFCResources.com 12 issues of the Work-Life Newsbrief Four issues of the Manager’s Quarterly Both $295 E-mail only $230 Int’l rate $345 Visit our Website at http://www.WFCResources.com Contact us for more information about the articles digested here. he report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test of results for kids 9, 13 and 17, says the two younger groups have made a little progress in those subjects – some called the progress significant. But on a zero-to-500-point scale, the score for 17year-olds was up just one point in reading and two points in math from 1971. The test was given to a sampling of 52,000 public and private school students early last year, and the results indicate that the gains made by younger students are “washing out” as they get older. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the reports “especially troubling.” Black and Hispanic eginning in the fall of 2008, researchers from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company reviewed federal and international tests and interviewed education researchers and economists. The resulting report points to the bleak disparities in test scores between poor and wealthy students, black and Hispanic and white children, Americans and students abroad, and between students of similar backgrounds educated in different parts of the country. If those achievement gaps were closed, says the report, the yearly GDP of the U.S. would be trillions of dollars higher, or $3 to $5 billion more per day. New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein discussed the report in a speech to the National Press Club, pointing to an analysis showing low-income black fourth graders from his city outperformed students in all other major urban districts in reading and came in second in math. That, he said, shows that the root cause 2 WFC Resources Newsbrief June 2009 A digest of the world’s work-life news of test-score disparities is not poverty or family circumstances but subpar teachers and principals. The report shows evidence that 24 countries over the past 20 years have significantly overhauled their educational systems and closed achievement gaps. These researchers say the trick is to share effective strategies. # 24908 THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4-23-09 NAT’L CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS, 4-28-09 Social Networking Engagement Different strokes for different generations Charter schools’ long hours bring results The recession has given social networking Websites a whole new reason for being – staying in touch with Three Minneapolis charter schools those they call their “alumni” – the are closing the achievement gap employees who have been laid off. among black, Hispanic and white ike graduates of the same college, children by stretching the school day. Yes, you’re fired, but please stay in touch Training and development will help younger Gen Xers be more engaged; older ones want supervisory roles. A new study finds the key to engagement is different for each generation. O A udriana Clifton, a student at KIPP Academy in downtown Minneapolis, started 5th grade last fall reading at a 2nd grade level. Now she’s closing in on her grade level and still making strides, attending school from early morning until 5:00 p.m. Schools around the country, including 26 in Massachusetts, are giving kids an extra hour or two of school each day and finding it makes a difference. In addition to the longer day, KIPP Academy holds school two Saturday mornings a month and three weeks during the summer. While some argue that longer days bring higher costs and the potential for burnout, proponents say it makes no sense to send students to an empty home in midafternoon when they could use the time to learn. Says one educator, “We’re operating on a school schedule that was created 200 years ago to meet the needs of farms and factories. That schedule is not meeting the needs today.” # 24909 STAR TRIBUNE, 5-10-09 L fired employees are being steered to social networks and urged to maintain ties. They’re invited to establish profiles and friend lists, share news and ideas with ex-colleagues, and participate on blogs and message boards. Company sites feature industry news and job leads, guide alums to reunions and company events, and even offer details on health insurance. They’re built by software firms like Conenza and SelectMinds, which runs networks for some 60 companies including KPMG, where 17,000 alumni now mingle with 22,000 employees. Some companies started their networks years ago when their purpose was to recruit talent. Now they have a different raison d’etre: to maintain the relationship with former talent who might be available for hire when the economy turns around. (If LinkedIn and Facebook are all that come to mind when you hear the term “social networks,” Googling it produced a list of nearly 150.) # 24907 BUSINESSWEEK, 5-4-09, pg.54 lder workers tend to be more engaged than younger, says the study, by MetLife Mature Market Institute in partnership with the Boston College Sloan Center on Aging & Work. And concentrating on keeping older staff engaged is important, since they relate best to the Baby Boomer customer base, responsible for the lion’s share of spending. The study found the highest levels of engagement in women, those without eldercare responsibilities, those in good physical and mental health, those with a positive self-perception and those having job security. Gen Y workers want flexibility to help them handle work-life issues, and younger Boomers are more engaged when they feel included. Says Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Sloan Center director, “Different factors ‘drive’ the levels of engagement of different groups.” And while there’s no single solution when engagement levels are low, training and development, workplace flexibility, compensation and benefits and relationships with supervisors are all important. One company studied shifted their culture from a focus on time to a focus on energy. Employees were provided with resources to help them strategically align their energy to be more successful both at home and at work. Wellness programs and a supportive workplace helped. # 24911 SLOAN CENTER ON AGING & WORK, 4-21-09 A digest of the world’s work-life news June 2009 WFC Resources Newsbrief 3 Worldwide study says appreciation is key Just showing appreciation for employees can boost engagement levels by as much as 30%, says a new study; every country places a high value on the power of recognition. T he study is described in a new book called The Carrot Principle, by O.C. Tanner executives Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick. “We’ve always known that appreciation positively affects employee engagement,” says Elton. Now they know that the same efforts to improve engagement will work across the globe. Employees in China and Russia, they found, value team recognition more highly than individual acclaim, and “the more modest British prefer private recognition from their boss,” says Gostick. The Global Recognition Study was conducted in 13 countries for Tanner by Towers Perrin, asking more than 10,000 employees about company communication, trust, opportunity and well-being. # 24912 NEWSLINE, 4-15-09 same. It will mean covering hundreds of thousands of women in lower paid jobs, they say, especially in hospitality and retail. This article says the action was welcomed by businesses as well, since the money, about $260 million a year, will come from taxpayers rather than individual employers. Parents will be able to either divide the leave between them or have one parent take it all – $543.78 per week, the federal minimum wage. Although same-sex parents weren’t mentioned specifically, a spokeswoman said they’ll also be eligible. # 24913 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU, 5-11-09 SYDNEY STAR OBSERVER, 5-12-09 of €1,800 for up to 14 months. In case it’s not confusing enough, one parent can take a maximum of 12 months, earning the next two months only if the other parent cares for the child during that time. # 24914 THE LOCAL, 4-24-09 In Europe, joblessness has a different impact Alfred Butt lost his factory job in Germany but that didn’t stop him from taking a Mediterranean vacation this winter; his life has changed little, thanks to generous jobless benefits. T Parental leave is eased in Germany Global Work-Life Australian workers win 30-year battle for paid parental leave Germany is making its parental leave more flexible during the recession; now parents can work part-time and spread their leave pay over a combined 28 months instead of 14. On January 1, 2011, Australia’s parents who earn up to $150,000 will be able to take 18 weeks of paid leave, making the U.S. the only holdout among developed nations. N T 4 he recession is delaying the program’s start, but the Australian Council of Trade Unions was “elated” just the WFC Resources Newsbrief ew mothers and fathers will now have some choices; they can work half days and still get half the parental leave pay provided by the government, spreading the total amount over twice as much time. New parents get 67% of their net salary if they decide to take time off or reduce their weekly schedules to a maximum of 30 hours per week. They can get a minimum of €300 and a maximum June 2009 he bulk of his salary will be paid by the state until May 2010, and he still has full medical insurance under Germany’s universal system. In the U.S., Dylan DeRoberts lost similar work and his health insurance, and says he’s “learned to live at a new level.” Unemployment is taking a very different toll on opposite sides of the Atlantic. European jobless benefits vary, but in most Western European countries the state replaces 60% to 80% of the average worker’s lost salary, vs. just over half, on average, in the U.S. And European benefits tend to last longer. In Belgium, they have no time limit and in Denmark, the state replaces up to 90% of lost wages. But the European way does take a toll in taxes. In Germany, more than half the total cost of employing someone consists of income tax and mandatory contributions to programs, including unemployment insurance and pensions; in the U.S. that figure is 30%, meaning employees take home more of the money it costs to employ them. So German workers cost significantly more to hire, on average, even though they have smaller disposable incomes. And it’s just A digest of the world’s work-life news as hard to find a job in Europe as in the U.S. It will be even harder for Butts if he’s still unemployed in 2010; employers frown on applicants who’ve been out of a job that long. DeRoberts, who earned $5,000 a month working for Chrysler, says he will now “take the first job I can get.” He may have an easier time than his German counterpart; economists predict that Europe’s higher payroll taxes may mean less hiring and a slower recovery. # 24915 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5-7-09 Telecommuting Many would take a pay cut to telework One in five workers want so badly to work from home at least one or two days a week that they’d take a cut of as much as 5% of their salary. T ing on projects in pairs teaches restraint by having them control the urge to interfere in each other’s work. If the curriculum isn’t available in a preschool near you, this column suggests looking for programs that allow time for free, orderly play, work to instill self-control and go beyond teacherdirected drills to help kids learn to make and stick to their own choices. # 24906 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4-8-09 Workers everywhere fear insufficient skills An international survey of 100,000 in 34 countries finds people everywhere worry that their current skill levels won’t be good enough to sustain them for more than five years. he new survey of workers and smallbusiness owners in the U.S., Australia and the UK comes from Citrix, a maker of telework software and other resources. It found nearly 75% would like the freedom to work someplace besides the office, but most don’t have the option. Female entrepreneurs are 50% more likely than their male counterparts to allow telework, says the report. # 24905 WELT ONLINE, 5-13-09 Federal Efforts M ore than 80% of those polled by Kelly Services say they need more training and skill development, and nearly half say their employers are missing the boat; the training they’re currently providing won’t allow them to upgrade their skills and advance their careers. Gen Xers feel most threatened, yet that group, along with older Baby Boomers, say they’re receiving less support from employers than the youngest Gen Y workers. The preferred form of training is on-the-job (39%) followed by professional development courses (31%). The vast majority (79%) say training is a joint responsibility, shared by employer and worker. About half (56% in Europe, 47% in the U.S.) say HR has not helped them achieve their goals. U.S. workers are among the world’s best trained. # 24916 KELLY GLOBAL WORKFORCE INDEX, 4-29-09 New OPM head will Novel program works make fed agencies on behavior problems models for work-life When teacher Deena Randle took over a preschool class three years ago, their behavior was so bad that “kids were bouncing off the walls, pushing and shoving.” No more. Early Childhood T John Berry says he currently gives OPM’s work-life programs a D+ (“maybe, if I’m being generous”) and vows to turn his and other agencies’ workplaces into “utopia” in 12 months. he slight increase in behavior problems found in kids who spend lots of early time in childcare has been found to persist all the way to age 15, in the form of more impulsiveness and risk-taking. Now a curriculum called Tools of the Mind is making a difference in Randle’s preschool classroom and about 400 others in seven states, and 400 more teachers will be trained to use it this year. It includes lots of drama and role plays, with children trained to help each other stick to the rules. WorkJune 2009 erry, who was Obama’s appointee for the job of director of the Office of Personnal Management, will institute dramatic changes, he says, beginning with an ambitious reform of work-life balance programs in his own agency. As assistant secretary at the Interior Department during the Clinton administration, Berry held a series of town hall meetings to determine employees’ needs, and based on their suggestions he upgraded the department’s cafeteria 5 B A digest of the world’s work-life news WFC Resources Newsbrief and health clinic. Health is still on his mind, and he expects to begin his efforts by improving the quality of a health clinic that serves the agencies. He’ll move quickly to remove regulations that keep federal retirees from coming back to work to help with specific projects, and has called for changes to help veterans to find jobs in government agencies. # 24910 GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE, 5-6-09 being disagreeable. “We have a culture of openness ... not only do we communicate, but we listen, and that permeates” the agency. HR director Jim McDermott agrees, saying the agency’s senior managers are the “real human resource managers. I lead a lazy life.” Communication is key, says the Partnership’s John Palguta. But despite a general rise in federal workers’ satisfaction over the past two years, fewer than half of federal workers (48%) say they’re satisfied with the information they receive from superiors about what’s happening in their organizations, a number that trails the private sector by 18%. # 24918 THE WASHINGTON POST, 4-21-09, 5-20-09 PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, 5-20-09 ability to succeed in a fast-paced environment. Make sure managers at all levels are aware of the organization’s work-life policies and comply with them, perhaps providing incentives for managers who do so. Google EEOC caregiver best practices for the 13-page supplement. # 24919 EEOC.GOV, 5-5-09 Flexibility Report calls for three kinds of flexibility The new Workplace Flexibility 2010 platform provides a comprehensive set of policy solutions, and urges the government to be a flexibility model. NRC says culture of openness won them top honors in survey EEOC offers best practices for workers who are caregivers T A new comprehensive study of the federal workforce puts the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the top of the list, with 80.7 on a scale of 100. The EEOC has published a new guide to help employers deal with caregiving workers in a way that’s helpful and also avoids discrimination. T he study, conducted by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group devoted to improving public service, was based on the OPM’s last Federal Human Capital Survey. Other agencies scoring in the top five: Government Accountability Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Intelligence Community and the Department of State. The NRC won first place in three of four indexes. What’s behind their success? Chairman Dale Klein says one thing is that their employees know they can disagree without T he guide, called Employer Best Practices for Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities, is a supplement to one offered two years ago. This one offers proactive measures that go beyond federal non-discrimination requirements. Some of the suggestions: Be aware of the statutes and regulations that may impact the treatment of caregivers, and train managers about them as well. Develop, disseminate and enforce a strong EEO policy that defines terms. Describe common stereotypes or biases, like assuming female workers’ caregiving responsibilities will interfere with their June 2009 he group, led by Chai Feldblum, is an initiative of Georgetown University Law Center. For the past five years they’ve been engaged in discussions with employers, employees and consumer representatives, working on solutions that will benefit everyone and expand access to flexible work arrangements. Their conclusion: every workplace should have flexibility built into it along three dimensions: flexible work arrangements, time off and career maintenance and reentry. Feldblum held a news conference at the National Press Club to introduce the report, suggesting that the government, an early leader in workplace flexibility, needs to approach the subject with “renewed vigor” by improving existing programs, testing new ideas and serving as a bully pulpit. “We need to hit the reset button on FWAs in the federal government,” said Feldblum. “I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve heard employers say, ‘Well, what is the 6 WFC Resources Newsbrief A digest of the world’s work-life news federal government doing?’” The group is encouraged by the administration’s support, and Feldblum told the Press Club they expect to be moving forward. (For more, see pg. 12.) # 24917 WASHINGTON POST, 5-14-09 Gender Issues level rather than higher-level leadership positions. There were no sharp distinctions between the mid-level and seniorlevel positions, but the trend was clear. “When you look at the things that would help people develop in their careers,” said DDI’s Ann Howard, “women wouldn’t get the same opportunities as men did.” For more, go to DDIWorld.com. # 24920 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT, 5-12-09 Retirement Women hit the glass ceiling earlier than previously thought A study finds the deck is stacked against women from the earliest days of their careers, not, as previously thought, only at executive levels. The 1979 Pregnancy Discrimination Act made it illegal to discriminate he new research from Development against pregnant women in the Dimensions International was based workplace; but should it apply to on responses from nearly 13,000 leaders women who took leave before that? Court showed “lack of understanding,” says Justice Ginsberg “Retirement at the Tipping Point” asks probing questions T A survey of 2,000 finds mounting fears, shifting plans, a renewed focus on what’s important and an optimistic outlook about the possibilities for retirees’ new role in life. in 76 countries. It found that high potential programs often have no standard procedure for identifying candidates, so it’s up to managers to identify employees they think could make strong leaders some day. The result is that there are 28% more men than women in those programs. And because many of the accelerated programs (like high potential programs and one-on-one mentorship) are secret or happen behind closed doors, organizations aren’t held accountable for gender balance. Having women represented in significant numbers at every leadership level doesn’t mean that will carry to the executive level; in fact, there’s a backlash against women at the top when they’re dominant in leadership roles at every other level. The men and women in the sample were very similar in tenure and age; however, women were much more likely to be in lower- T he 9th Circuit Court said yes in a 2007 ruling. But last month, the Supreme Court voted to overturn that decision. The case involved four women who worked at AT&T and took maternity leave before 1979. Retired now, those maternity leave weeks are deducted from each retirement check, an act they call “a fresh act of discrimination” each month. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer were the two dissenting voices, with Ginsburg writing that even though the PDA doesn’t explicitly address grievances prior to 1979, it does say that all pregnancy discrimination in the workplace must cease. Commented Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), one of the original sponsors of the Ledbetter Act, the court “misconstrued an Act of Congress” as it did in the case of Ledbetter, hurting “the thousands of women who took maternity leave decades ago.” # 24921 THINK PROGRESS, 5-18-09 T he study, “Retirement at the Tipping Point: The Year That Changed Everything,” was conducted by Dr. Ken Dychtwald’s Age Wave, among others. It found nearly 60% of Americans have lost money in mutual funds, 401(k) plans or the stock market, and think it will take an average of seven years to recover their investments. Uncovered medical costs are the single biggest worry for those 55+, a greater concern than lack of personal savings. And respondents say they’ll postpone retirement an average 4.2 years. Only 4% believe Americans act in a financially responsible fashion; 81% said that to “live within your means” was the most important financial advice parents could pass on to their children, up from 69% a year ago. And an overwhelming 95% agree that financial management should be a standard part of high school curricula. But a new, and in some ways, more optimistic vision for retirement is emerging, with 7 A digest of the world’s work-life news June 2009 WFC Resources Newsbrief 60% saying they view retirement to be a “new, exciting chapter in life,” and 70% wanting to include working in retirement as a way to contribute, remain stimulated and pay bills. Three-fourths of all respondents and 83% of retirees think the country would benefit in important ways if retirees were more involved in contributing their skills and experience to their communities. In related news, a survey of state and local government managers finds two-thirds of workers will delay their retirement, and even those who are entitled to pensions are putting off plans to retire. Just because they want to stay doesn’t mean they’ll be able to, however. Of the roughly 460 survey participants, 60% said their state governments were turning to layoffs. # 24922 Press release, AGE WAVE, 5-4-09 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5-14-09 Employers’ Efforts than $80 billion in annual sales and is the market leader in everything from detergent to diapers to razors. The company has a different college at every level, and every department has its own “university,” including a yearly week-long school for newly-promoted managers. Further training – there are nearly 50 courses – helps managers with subjects like technical writing or financial analysis. Training takes place in other ways as well; the company pushes every general manager to log at least one foreign assignment of three to five years. And in a practice dubbed “live it, work it,” even high-ranking employees visit the homes of consumers to watch how they cook, clean, and generally live. Executives visit retail stores to learn more about customers, occasionally even scanning and bagging items at checkout lanes. Experts say this level of involvement on the part of executives is rare, and this article says that’s what separates P&G from the pack. # 24923 BUSINESSWEEK, 4-20-09, pg. 55 a coincidence; Karen Wood, BHP’s chief people officer, said the miner had been looking at changing its policy on paid parental leave for a long time, saying “All companies in this environment have an eye on how they attract and retain the skilled people.” Said BHP employee Chelsea Patten, who expects to start maternity leave on the same day the new policy takes effect, “Having that 18-week paid period really eases the burden of going from two salaries to one salary. It makes me feel valued as an employee.” # 24924 AUSTRALIA HERALD SUN, 5-9-09 Even the best still working on culture Put “Deloitte” into our 25-year archives and you’ll get 61 hits; most are about their leadership in bringing a new, more supportive and flexible culture to their workplace. D BHP introduces 18 weeks of paid leave At Procter & Gamble, training never stops BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, says it will allow all primary caregiving parents a minimum of 18 weeks paid parental leave for birth or adoption. Procter & Gamble expects to get 400,000 applications for entry-level management positions this year. It will hire less than half of 1%, looking for those who fit their culture. T F 8 ew companies spend as much time cultivating and training their workforce, and it’s paying off. P&G has more WFC Resources Newsbrief he leave, Australia’s most generous, applies to everyone in BHP’s 40,000-strong global workforce, from headquarters executives to truck drivers at its South African coal mines, mothers and fathers and same-sex couples. The decision of the government of Australia to enact a mandatory paid leave bill was eloitte has shifted from a corporate-ladder mentality to the “careerpath” metaphor. But even this firm, long a model of flexibility, admits that not everyone is on board. One senior manager who telecommutes offers evidence that “old school” managers still exist. Speaking off the record, she says hers insisted on scheduling meetings when she wouldn’t be in the office. “He was like, ‘Yeah, I know we have the [telework] program but I don’t really care.” Deloitte CEO Barry Salzberg admits he’s still struggling to convert “non-believers,” but he thinks they’re exceptions. And this TIME article says the recession is providing an incentive for companies like Deloitte to design more “lattice-oriented” careers. Young employees who June 2009 A digest of the world’s work-life news dial down now and come back to join management ranks provide evidence that moving sideways doesn’t mean getting sidelined. And a flexible workforce ensures that a company will still have legs when the market recovers. # 24925 TIME, 5-25-09, pg. 45 The Workplace Smart designs boost creativity, cut absences three years. This article acknowledges that there are obstacles; not everyone has millions of dollars these days to spend on an office overhaul, and long-term investments may prove difficult for companies focused on short-term cash. But it ends with some cool facts: 60% of workers feel their office layout or design currently increases their stress because of clutter, desk arrangements and lack of space; and 87% of employers said the retrofitting of their offices had improved productivity. # 24927 THE GLOBE AND MAIL, 5-14-09 Did you know . . . ? • A new study finds more than half of companies plan to increase their focus on engagement. THE HAY GROUP/WORLDATWORK, 5-14-09 • The votes are in and the winner is . . . Vienna, edging out Zurich for top honors in the Mercer quality of living survey. No U.S. cities made it into the top ten. BUSINESSWEEK, 5-11-09 SAS Canada’s new Toronto headquarters design came with a $30 million price tag. But the investment is paying off in lower absenteeism, higher productivity and energy cost savings. • The Healthy Families Act has been introduced in Congress again, guaranteeing up to seven paid sick days; analysts say it has a fighting chance this year. THE NEW YORK TIMES, 5-16-09 Employee Assistance F loor-to-ceiling windows drench the rooms in sunlight. A garden on the ground floor offers workers a spot to decompress. Office air is pumped up to the ceiling instead of circulating, helping to cut down the contagion of workers’ sneezes and preventing flu from making the rounds. A white roof reflects sunlight, keeping the office cool in the summer, and harvested rain water keeps the building’s bathrooms running in case a water main breaks. Two years after SAS made the move, absenteeism was down 35%, a drop they attribute mainly to better air quality, which helps to reduce sickness, and also to increased sunlight which improves moods and lowers stress levels. The company’s annual energy bill is 62% cheaper than that of a typical Ontario office building. More natural light and the use of energy-efficient bulbs helps explain why; there’s 50% more light in the building even though it’s using 30% less energy in lighting. SAS figures its investment in going green will pay off in about • A Canadian study has linked increased sitting time with higher death rates from all causes except cancer, even among those who exercised regularly. MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 5-8-09 New “My QuitLine” is free and available now on your iPhone • Managers currently identify only a small percentage of their workforce as performing consistently at “go-to” levels. NOVATIONS GROUP SURVEY, 3-27-09 A program that’s proven effective for smokers who want to quit is now free, downloadable to your iPhone; it links you to a coach at the National Cancer Institute’s QuitLine service. • 79% of companies with corporate counsel experienced new litigation last year; 45% currently spend at least $1 million annually on lawsuits. HR DAILY ADVISOR, 4-8-09 N eed a new tool to help your smokers quit? QuitLine counseling, developed by the George Washington University’s School of Public Health, has been shown to be effective, doubling a person’s chance of quitting smoking. iPhone users can find the application by searching “quit smoking” on their iPhone or on iTunes. # 24927 GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV., 4-28-09 • Helping middle school students with homework had mixed results in a study of 50,000 students, but tying education to future goals boosted their grades. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC., 5-19-09 Waiting for better times? While you’re waiting, investigate what you have and what’s needed with our 208-item Work-Life Audit of programs and practices. It’s yours just for extending your work-life Newsbrief subscription for one year. Call 800-487-7898. A digest of the world’s work-life news June 2009 WFC Resources Newsbrief 9 Trend Report Corporate Voices are heard Having Michelle Obama and Jared Bernstein as opening speakers for the Corporate Voices conference in D.C. last month sent a strong message to this elite business audience: our new government really does want your opinions about how to help both families and business. panies from joining the work-life effort, given the overwhelming evidence in its favor. Some of their guesses: because to do otherwise seems to demand both a long term investment and long turnaround time; companies may still be stopped by that old “accommodation” mentality; and CFOs are hard to convince that the evidence applies to them. Achieving new importance We walked away from the conference with a new sense of the importance of the organization Donna Klein started eight years ago. It would be hard to overstate the difference she’s made – starting from scratch (a search of our archives produced the announcement of its birth in 2001) and growing Corporate Voices for Working Families into an organization with a great staff, one that’s so well-recognized and respected that its conference attracted the nation’s First Lady as a speaker. Klein started it with the help of Marriott, where she served as HR VP, to be an “organized corporate voice,” offering a business perspective on the issues of working families, developing “aggregate messages” and communicating them to elected officials. While applauding her audacity, I think many of us doubted then whether a group of executives could agree on anything, much less anything of value for working families. But today, with 50 enthusiastic corporate partners and an administration trying to walk that fine line between pleasing both business and labor, this group has become pivotal. One of the things they do well is partner, and they were joined for the first day of this two-day conference by members of the Boston College Center’s National Work & Family Roundtable. Find and study best practices Barriers notwithstanding, in the afternoon we got down to business, breaking into small groups charged with brainstorming solutions and suggestions for Dr. Bernstein, the executive director of Joe Biden’s Middle Class Task Force, to take back with him. What can and should the government be doing to help? “Find and study best practices” was a repeated suggestion, and create models that companies can emulate. Produce a toolkit for managers on how to deal with caregivers (EEOC was ahead of them; see pg. 6). Update regulations like ERISA and FLSA. Klein later pointed out that the FLSA has come up in Congress every year for the past 70 years, illustrating the complexity of trying to make policy changes. Paid time off is a real need, they said, and perhaps the government could provide incentives for companies to offer it. They also talked about making childcare more affordable, and Corporate Voices is supporting new legislation that increases the cap on dependent care flexible spending accounts from the current maximum of $5,000 a year – a figure that has been unchanged since 1986 – to $7,500 a year. Create statements about flexibility One group suggested partnering with academia to retool college curricula. It would give students an understanding of flexibility, so they could be armed with information when they join the workforce. Create centers for flexibility around the country, suggested another, and ask employers to sign on to a kind of national statement about flexibility, or be accountable for why they didn’t. Encourage companies to give workers more of a sense of control and look for ways to “end the drama when employees leave at 3:00 p.m.” And A digest of the world’s work-life news CFOs are hard to convince “I will listen and learn,” Michelle Obama told her wildly enthusiastic audience. And after that presentation, she took out her notebook and held a private meeting with the Corporate Voices board, listening for ideas about actions the administration might take. Among other things, she asked what they believed was keeping the rest of the nation’s com10 WFC Resources Newsbrief June 2009 don’t forget small businesses, said another group. They’re being left out and should be included in the conversation. That’s a concern for Klein as well. “There’s a common misconception that flexibility is unaffordable,” she says, “and available only to big companies. We have to figure out how to get the message out that what they perceive as barriers to flexibility – too expensive and just for big companies – are perceptions only.” Where’s the money going? Youth development emerged as the most important issue for at least one group, and that too is one of Corporate Voices’ big areas of interest. “The high school dropout rate is much too high,” says Klein. With 80% of corporate contributions spent on K-12, an average 30% of high schoolers nationwide – 50% in New York and 75% in Detroit – still won’t graduate. “So what’s wrong with that picture?” she asks. “Where’s the money going, and is it making any difference?” There’s no methodology for contributions, no plan, she says, pointing out that early childhood education experts say if you drop the ball when they’re ten you’re not going to get what you want out of the pipeline. “Work-life is dropping the ball,” she says, “by not being involved.” What should we be doing? “The first step is to find out what’s working. What would a community look like if it was really successful? Let’s paint a picture, create a vision. Look for best practices and talk to people who are doing something right.” new study conducted with the help of WFD Consulting and funded by the ever-present Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It found workplace flexibility initiatives for hourly employees are as successful as those designed for professional staff. And businesses that offer flex options to hourly employees found them to be critical management tools that enhance recruitment, retention, engagement, cost control, productivity and financial performance. Said Klein about the study, “Recent research about the value of workplace flexibility has focused primarily on management and professional workers. This study demonstrates that, when available, flexibility can be as beneficial or even more beneficial to hourly workers and the businesses that employ them.” Managers and employees agree The study produced data from several sources: a review of company business information about flexibility policies and results, and an online survey of more than 200 managers and about 1,300 lower wage, non-exempt and hourly workers who use flexibility. It also included interviews, focus groups and case studies from several companies. Managers and employees agree, the study found, that flexibility has positive benefits and adds value both for the business and for the individual employee. Areas impacted positively included productivity, customer service, employee work-life effectiveness, stress and well-being. Flexibility was found to be an effective way to manage personnel costs (overtime in particular) and more than 80% of employers and employees surveyed said it was important to recruitment and retention. The presence of executives was critical This organization isn’t shy about lobbying, and they have a unique ability to bring executives along. They did so recently when they worked with Rep. Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) Ways and Means committee on tax issues, and the presence of those executives was critical, says Klein. They’re also working on the programmatic side; one success she’s especially proud of is getting the stimulus bill to include programs for youth – money for lunches, summer jobs for youth (up to 24 years old), $50 million to assist high school dropouts enrolled in alternative schools and $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, the federal-state preschool partnerships. So much excitement in the air I can’t think of another conference we’ve attended in the past 25 years that had so much excitement in the air, so much awareness that we’re at a turning point, with an administration and a Congress that both get it. “For the first time, I feel hope,” said RSM McGladrey’s Teresa Hopke, “I really think things will change.” “We finally have traction,” added Kathy Kacher, Career/Life Alliance Services. There’s no question about it. The stage is set, the right players are in place. The needs are clear. And Corporate Voices has positioned itself perfectly to help decision-makers move ahead with policies that can help both working families and employers. It’s about time. – Susan Seitel June 2009 WFC Resources Newsbrief 11 Flexibility is good for hourly workers In case they weren’t already doing enough, this organization is also involved in important research, and after Michelle Obama’s presentation they released the results of a A digest of the world’s work-life news “... a combination of voluntary employer efforts and thoughtful public policy.” A giant step toward a national policy on workplace flexibility When Chai Feldblum first began to talk with Sloan Foundation’s Kathleen Christensen about workplace flexibility, their conversation was about the law. If an employer wanted to introduce flexibility, they wondered, what laws would apply, and would they help or hinder the effort? Feldblum began to investigate and found there actually were no bills, other than those related to either the FMLA or the FLSA, “and they weren’t going anywhere – just fighting each other to a standstill.” It was very clear, she says, “that there was a lack of imagination and vision in Washington about how to bring dramatic change to the workplace.” She made the case to Christensen that if Sloan wanted to make a difference in public policy, they needed to fund a new group – one that was well resourced, objective and credible, and one that had no stake in the ground on any of the current political battles. Christensen agreed, convinced her to take the helm, and that was the beginning of Workplace Flexibility 2010. Their goal, to help develop a national policy on workplace flexibility, hasn’t wavered, and Feldblum and codirector Katie Corrigan have been busy researching and building consensus about how that should look. They’ve had help. Over the past five years, they’ve put together “a dream team – diverse, idealogically and politically, including people who had been in the political fray themselves but were no longer in it.” The idea was to listen, coming from no position but wanting to discover how to intervene in what Feldblum calls the “stuckness” of this political process. The first major result is out, the 48-page Public Policy Platform on Flexible Work Arrangements. It’s a recipe for success, and we’ll cover it fully in next month’s Trend Report. Says Feldblum, “Workplace flexibility is best achieved through a combination of voluntary employer efforts and thoughtful public policy.” This platform is a giant step toward that end. Manager’s Corner Ready for your staff to work remotely, at least one or two days a week? If not, you might want to rethink it. Our e-WorkPlace project, which gets off the ground in Minnesota this month, is just one of many U.S. state and local efforts to encourage telework. In Canada, said an article last month, the federal government has announced it would contribute up to $800,000 toward “WORKshift – Think Outside the Office,” a Calgary plan to give local businesses the necessary tools, support, research and best practices to design telework solutions for their organizations. And this isn’t just about North America. In Eastern Europe, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are all participating in a telework program called TELESOL, which is successfully promoting teleworking. The European Commission offers enthusiastic support for telework – the 14th International Conference on Telework 2009 will be held this August in Pori, Finland. The UK-based Telework Association reports its numbers are growing fast, and the Japanese government says it hopes to double its teleworker totals by next year. Get the picture? Recession Special: Name your price License our internationally acclaimed e-courses on flexibility for managers and staff for one year at a cost that works for you! Make us a reasonable offer and roll out your training within weeks. (Customizing and hosting extra.) We’ll renegotiate in a year when times are easier. Call 1-800-487-7898 to suggest a price, or e-mail Rachel@WFCResources.com. Classroom materials for your trainers! Our trainers’ guides will make your trainers experts in telecommuting, able to offer classes for both remote managers and potential teleworkers. Materials for 90-minute workshops include trainers’ guides with instructions and activities, participants’ manuals and PowerPoint slides. Purchase online for just $1,199.00 each at http://www.wfcresourcesstore.com/Classroom. htm or e-mail us – Training@WFCResources.com. 12 WFC Resources Newsbrief June 2009 A digest of the world’s work-life news