Looking to re-enforce the need for Work-Life Programs in this challenging economy?  We have released a new Executive Briefing entitled Building the Business Case for Work-Life Programs.  To view the report, accompanying references and PowerPoint presentation, or to access past issues in the Executive Briefing Series, please visit our Publications Page.

NEW Center for Work & Family Partner Profile on Women's Advancement. This concise new publication features best practices from Ernst & Young, IBM and Procter & Gamble.

CitiSales Study NEW Issue Brief:
Employee Engagement, Job Quality,Health, and Well-being
Authored by CWF Research Director Jacquelyn James, Jennifer Swanberg of UKentucky and Sharon McKechnie of Emmanuel College, the Issue Brief reviews data from the CitiSales Study of over 6,000 workers in a national retail chain and dispels some myths about older workers and their level of engagement.  Highlights include:

• Older workers at CitiSales report higher employee engagement than do younger workers.
• Older workers at CitiSales report higher emotional wellbeing than do younger workers.
• Older workers at CitiSales report equally good health as do younger workers.
• Older workers at CitiSales have longer tenure with the organization; this commitment seems to stem not from a lack of options or from marking time until retirement, but from finding the work meaningful and enjoyable.

Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies are Making Flexibility Work.  Our ground-breaking 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 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.

Spring 2009 Roundtable Meeting: Work-Life: Government Policy, Corporate Action
This meeting, to be held in the Washington D.C. Metro Area will focus on how government policy influences corporate work-life policy.  Our meeting will feature conversations with experts and practitioners on a range of topics including Health Care, Employees with Disabilities, Flexibility Initiatives, Paid Leave, and Dependent Care.

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.

Global Workforce Roundtable Meeting: Managing Work-Life with a World View.
The meeting will present sessions on Work-life in a changing global economy, Leadership, Work-life, and Diversity Clashes in a Cross-cultural, Cross-national Setting, Government Structure and Work-Life Policy, and Leveraging Employee Resource Groups Globally

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.

**New NEWFA Small Business Member Rate**
Small Businesses (under 300 employees) can join at the non-profit rate of $495/ year.
Please contact Jennifer Fraone for additional information.

Upcoming Events
March Quarterly Meeting
The Link between Work-Life and Social Responsibility
Thursday, March 5, 2009  8:30 a.m.-Noon
Boston College, Chestnut Hill Campus
Register NOW!!  Flyer  Registration Form
 
NEWFA Member Showcase
Innovations in Work-Life
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 8:30 a.m.-Noon

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 BP, Chevron, The Dow Chemical Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, 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.

We have all watched with dismay the volume of lay-offs that have been announced in recent months. The numbers have been staggering and no sector is immune - Citigroup - 53,000 jobs eliminated, Caterpillar - 20,000, Microsoft - 5,000. Today, even the State of California is talking about 20,000 state employees facing job loss. Collectively, the impact of this is clear. In Massachusetts, the unemployment rate increased by 1% in just one month (between December 2008 and January 2009). The US unemployment rate is currently 7.6 % up from 4.5% a year ago.

In other parts of the world, the problem is as bad or worse: Spain's unemployment level is 11%; Germany, who just one year ago hit a 15-year low in unemployment now appears heading for a 2.2% decrease in its economy in 2009; Japan's leading companies are experiencing large scale lay-offs (Panasonic last week) and unprecedented losses (Toyota reporting a $4 billion loss in 2008 vs. a $28 billion operating profit the previous year.)
 
Since the late 1980's, massive layoffs have become the accepted response to business downturns and outsourcing. Where layoffs were once seen as a failure for a company's leadership team, today they are among the most fundamental strategies used to address a challenging business climate - and they don't get much more challenging than this.
 
While it is difficult to imagine changing this mental model (business decrease = mandatory layoffs), it may be worth a try. I realize at times like this, it is the rare business executive that is open to creative solutions and workplace flexibility. After layoffs, many executives expect even more face time from those who are still on-board. But let me offer a few thoughts that might be worth considering:
 

I'll be the first to admit that these solutions may be difficult to sell to senior management as they "circle the wagons" in response to the current business crisis. I am also cognizant that some of these options require employees to display a good deal of courage to sign up for, fearing they might become what a former boss of mine referred to as a WCRT (a walking cost reduction target.) Without question, such approaches do require a long-term view at a time when many business leaders are feeling swamped and understandably reactive. However looking for some win-wins in the midst of this downward spiral seems at the very least noble and could prove highly effective for those organizations that don't lose their creativity at a time when it's needed most.