CWF Executive Director Brad Harrington presented on Work-Life Integration at the Mayo Clinic Summit on Physician Well-Being on June 8, 2008 in Rochester, MN. 

CWF Research Director Jacquelyn James and Shelley MacDermid of the Center for Families at Purdue University presented the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research to Jeremy Reynolds and Lydia Aletraris of the University of Georgia at the WorldatWork Conference in Philadelphia May 21-23, 2008.  Jacquelyn James and Fred van Deusen also presented a session on the CWF study Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies are Making Flexibility Work. We enjoyed spending time with many of our members at the Conference!

Jamie Ladge, Ph.D., winner of the first Center for Work & Family Fellowship, received her award from CWF Executive Director Brad Harrington after giving a presentation to the New England Work & Family Association on June 4, 2008.

Jennifer Sabatini Fraone, Assistant Director, Marketing and NEWFA, facilitated a panel on The Employment Landscape at the Detours and OnRamps Forum May 15, 2008 at Bentley College.

Brad Harrington was featured in the March 2008 WFC Resources Newsbrief on the topic of moving the work-life agenda forward.  Brad's message: "The future for work-life: influence leaders and empower employees."

Jacquelyn James presented on Responsive Workplaces For Older Workers: Job Quality, Flexibility & Health at the seventh International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health entitled "Work, Stress, and Health 2008: Healthy and Safe Work Through Research, Practice, and Partnerships" Washington, DC, on March 6-8, 2008.  Click here to access Issue Briefs on Older Workers and Hourly Workers published as part of the CitiSales Study.

Executive Director Brad Harrington served as the Keynote Speaker at the College & University Work/Family Association (CUWFA) Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in March 2008.  Brad spoke about The Future of the Work-Life Movement, presenting the results of the Work-Life Evolution Study.

Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies are Making Flexibility Work.  Our ground-breaking NEW report provides an overview of strategies for implementing highly successful flexible work arrangements, including in-depth case examples from 20 leading companies. Access the Executive Summary online.  Please contact cwf@bc.edu or 617-552-2869 to order the full report.

The Standards of Excellence in Work-Life Integration, developed by CWF, is an on-line survey tool that assesses an organization's work-life culture.  It can help your organization:

• Evaluate its strengths and weaknesses in the area of work-life
• Compare your organization to the combined scores of more than 50 companies that make up our national database
• Identify the specific obstacles that are preventing effective work-life integration in your organization, and ways to overcome these obstacles

The Index has recently been expanded to include 9 elements that are essential to work-life excellence.  The Center for Work & Family at Boston College will be happy to assist you in completing a Standards of Excellence assessment for your organization.  Please contact Fred van Deusen for more information.

The Work-Life Evolution Study, published in 2007, explored change in workforce management strategies over time in order to develop a better understanding of what will move the field forward. The report summarizes the findings from interviews, the Future Search Conference, and surveys with thought-leaders in the field and provides a vision for the future of Work-Life.  Click here to read the full report. 

New Issue Briefs available from CitiSales Study! The Center for Work & Family, in cooperation with the University of Kentucky, examined the effects of quality workplace practices for employees in hourly, front line retail jobs and for older workers in professional and hourly jobs in the same organization.  The nine Issue Briefs now available provide insights into topics such as flexibility, job quality, employee engagement, and generational issues.  To access the issue briefs, please click here.

A new Issue of the Executive Briefing Series is now available entitled The Multi-Generational Workforce: Management Implications and Strategies for Collaboration.  To view the accompanying references and PowerPoint presentation, or to access past issues in the Executive Briefing Series, please visit our Publications Page.

The Global Workforce Roundtable has published a report entitled Work and Life in China.  The report was released at the Global Workforce Summit in Shanghai, China in February, 2008.

Center Director Brad Harrington co-authored Career Management & Work-Life Integration: Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers.  The book is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to managing contemporary careers. Although grounded in theory, the book also provides an extensive set of exercises and activities that can guide career management over the lifespan.  We are in the process of developing an open enrollment course based on the book for Spring 2009, for more information e-mail Jennifer Fraone or call 617-552-2862.

We have updated our website to make publications more accessible.  Currently, many of our research reports and all Executive Briefings and Partner Profiles are available with more to come.  Please visit the new Publications and Resources page.

Our friends at the Sloan Work and Family Research Network have re-designed their web page.  The Network is the premier online destination for information about work and family and now looks better  and is more user-friendly than ever!

The Center for Work & Family has been a national leader in helping employers create effective workplaces that support and develop healthy and productive employees. We distinguish ourselves by providing a bridge between the worlds of academic research and corporate practice, establishing strong and trusted relationships with our members, and approaching work-life through the context of a cultural change model.  
 
The three member organizations are our Global Workforce Roundtable, National Work & Family Roundtable, and our New England Work & Family Association (NEWFA).  Each of our partnerships provides members with access to the latest research on "hot topics", CWF publications and newsletters, and the opportunity to interact with other professionals through our listserv and networking at our meetings and web conferences. 

Work & Family Roundtable
Founded in 1990, the Work & Family Roundtable is a membership organization of employers committed to excellence in the area of work-life. The Roundtable's mission is to provide leadership to shape corporate and public responses to the demands of work, home, and community in order to enhance employee effectiveness. Over the past 17 years, the Roundtable has become a strong and stable force, unique in its ties to academia and its employer-only composition.

Fall 2008 Member Meeting

Thursday October 2nd-Friday October 3rd in Boston.
Theme-Fostering Sustainable Organizations, featuring topics and discussions such as:

• Helping individuals sustainably cope with work and family stress
• Sustaining healthy organizations through Employee Assistance and Work-Life Programs
• Tackling the issue of workload for sustained productivity
• Working "Green": sustaining the environment in which we work and live

For more information about the Work & Family Roundtable, please contact Danielle Hartmann, Director of Corporate Partnerships at 617-552-0228 or danielle.hartmann.1@bc.edu

 

Global Workforce Roundtable
Established in 2005, the Global Workforce Roundtable provides a dynamic forum for a multicultural exchange of information, best practices and lessons learned among leading corporations seeking to enhance their global workforce strategies. Areas of focus include support for working parents, flexible work arrangements, well-being, and employee development. Recognizing that a global workforce has distinct needs in these areas, diversity and inclusion will be continuous themes of the Global Workforce Roundtable.

We are pleased to announce that the next Global Workforce Roundtable Summit will take place in Barcelona, SPAIN on February 3-5, 2009, hosted by the International Center of Work and Family at the IESE Business School.
 
The Summit will address the theme of Global Leadership: Intercultural Competencies, through discussions on such topics as:

• What competencies must a global leader demonstrate?
• Are there leadership skills that are effective in different regions of the world?
• How can companies promote women global leaders more effectively?
• What is the role of leaders in promoting work-life and controlling work-load?

Topics for fall web conferences include: Women's Advancement, Social Networking and several Regional Open Fora focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa; The Americas; and Asia. For more information about the Global Workforce Roundtable, please contact Danielle Hartmann, Director of Corporate Partnerships at +1-617-552-0228 or danielle.hartmann.1@bc.edu

New England Work & Family Association
Established in 1992, the New England Work & Family Association (NEWFA) helps employers understand and address the complex work-life challenges facing today's workforce. Our mission is to foster collaboration among NEWFA members to create and sustain employer workforce efforts that effectively meet both employee and business needs. NEWFA provides a forum and a resource base for organizations interested in becoming more progressive in their human resources practices.

Upcoming Events
September Quarterly Meeting The Business Case for Work-Life
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 from 8:30-Noon
Boston College Campus

December Quarterly Meeting Telecommuting (virtual meeting) Wednesday, December 10

For more information about NEWFA, please contact Jennifer Fraone at 617-552-2862 or sabatinj@bc.edu.

Center Membership
We have developed a NEW Center Membership for corporate partners interested in joining all three membership groups, the Global Workforce Roundtable, National Work & Family Roundtable, and New England Work & Family Association.
 
Center Members benefit from a strengthened relationship with the Center and fellow members through increased opportunities to network at meetings, participate in listservs and on teleconferences, and access publications, research, monthly updates, and center staff. Center Members also receive an additional benefit of organizational consulting from the staff at the Center for Work & Family.
 
Center members include leading companies such as The Dow Chemical Company, EMC Corporation, Kraft Foods, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Company, Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and State Street Corporation.

For more information about Center Membership, please contact Danielle Hartmann, Director of Corporate Partnerships at 617-552-0228
or danielle.hartmann.1@bc.edu

Mission

The Boston College Center for Work & Family is committed to enhancing the quality of life of today's workforce by providing leadership for the integration of work and life, an essential for individual, organizational, and community success. Our vision is that employers and communities will work together to ensure their mutual prosperity and the well being of employees and their families.

Values

Bridging Research and Practice

We seek to advance the depth and quality of knowledge in the work-life field and serve as a bridge between academic research and organizational practice.

 

Transforming Organizations

We believe any work-life initiative is also an organizational change initiative. We help identify and develop organizational models to meet the needs of a contemporary workforce and provide expertise to assist in implementing these changes successfully.

 

Strengthening Society

We believe employers who recognize and manage the interdependence of work, family, and community build stronger organizations and a more vibrant society.

For more information about the Center for Work & Family visit our website at www.bc.edu/cwf  or review our CWF brochure.
To contact us please e-mail cwf@bc.edu or call 617-552-2844.