Here are the latest insights from the world of work/life balance:
The thirty years’ war: When 9to5, based in Milwaukee, was founded 30 years ago, “the problems faced by its members–sexual harassment, pay inequity, lack of affordable leave, no career ladders–had no name,” said Ellen Bravo, national director of the organization devoted to winning equity for low-wage women.
“What a difference three decades make!”
According to Bravo, the good news is that, unlike in 1973, sexual harassment now has a name and protective laws; women no longer can be fired for being pregnant; the pay gap still exists but is narrowing; and women have greatly expanded career opportunities.
But serious challenges remain: The federal Family and Medical Leave Act, though an important step forward, offers only unpaid leave that many workers can’t afford to take; nearly 60 percent of women still work in “traditionally” female and low-paying jobs; and sexual harassment is still prevalent.
And most of all, according to Bravo, “we need a sea change in corporate culture where today success is measured by the ability to meet, move or travel at a moment’s notice–a surefire way to guarantee that those on top will be people with wives at home full time. … Only Clark Kent had to be Superman. It’s time to stop demanding that employed females be Superwomen.”
The part-time battle: Many people opt for part-time work to have more balance in their lives, but “with reduced face time, they’re often treated less than professionally and given undesirable projects and assignments with less visibility,” according to Joni Daniels, founder of Daniels & Associates, a consulting firm in Elkins Park, Pa., that specializes in personal and professional development.
But Daniels has some suggestions for part-timers who want to “make sure they stay connected and that their professionalism shines through.” First, be sure your boss and everyone else knows the work you are doing, and then take time to have a cup of coffee, a quick lunch or attend office celebrations so that you can get to know your co-workers–and so that they can get to know you.” And that’s a full-time job.
Fighting overwork: “If you’re a manager, it’s easy to justify long working hours, but if the rewards are negated by the impact on your health, family relationships and those you manage, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate how to gain a better balance in your work and personal life.”
That’s the advice of Richard G. Hammes of Barrington, owner of Hammes and Associates, a human resource consulting firm. But those words may be falling on deaf ears.
Hammes, who has a doctorate in psychology, also says a study of 1,487 managers found that almost half of them work long hours to “escape from other pressures outside of the job.”
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This “tendency to overwork,” says the consultant, also stems from the fact that many managers admit their “self-esteem is based on how others view them at work.”
What concerns me about these observations is not just that managers who work long hours may be digging themselves into a hole, but that they probably expect the same commitment from their employees, which means workers have little time to devote to their personal lives.
Food wars: “Like many American women living at the beginning of the 21st Century, I can hear an array of voices speak to me about food,” writes Laura Schenone, author of “A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told Through Food, Recipes and Remembrances” (Norton, $35).
“Voices that tell me not to cook so I can have freedom. Voices that tell me I should cook so I can be a better mother. …Voices that tell me to think about the lives of people who pick and package my food. Voices to cook because it will please my man. … Where do these voices come from? And how did so many conflicts get wrapped up in a simple dinner?”
Her delicious book truly is food for thought.
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Carol Kleiman’s columns also appear in Sunday’s and Thursday’s Business sections. Hear her on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. Mondays and 11:20 a.m. Saturdays. Watch her “Career Coach” segments on CLTV. E-mail [email protected].