Center News

National Work & Family Roundtable Spring Member Meeting

We enjoyed seeing National Roundtable members in Chicago in early May for our Spring Member Meeting sponsored by Abbott and Allstate Insurange Company. It was a lively three days filled with interesting conversations about work-life professionals as organizational change agents, the multi-generational workforce, health & wellness, and global work-life. The meeting featured presentations by:

• Brad Harrington, Ed.D., Executive Director, Boston College Center for Work & Family on Leading Organizational Change Efforts: A Critical Competency for HR & Work-Life Professionals
• Marcie Pitt-Catouphes, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, BC Center on Againg & Work/Workplace Flexibility on the Multi-Generational Workforce: Age & Generations
• Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D., Director, Center for Human Resource Strategy,  Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations on Global Leadership Development
• Shelley MacDermid, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Dean, Director, Center for Families, Purdue University on Flexibility 
• Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D., Executive Director and Associate Professor, Institute for Workplace Innovation, University of Kentucky, and Jackie James, Ph.D., Director of Research, Boston College Center for Work & Family on CitiSales Research Results on Employee Engagement 

This meeting welcomed many new faces adding to the depth and breadth of the discussions. The following member quotes speak to the meeting's content, opportunities to interact with work-life peers:

“I think this was one of my favorite meetings material wise. I got a lot of take-aways, lots of applicable material"

"Interesting to see the resources other companies devote to flexible benefits. Came away with some good ideas to follow up on."

"Big reminder of the value of the Roundtable members - hearing the questions/experiences of the members and that they have so much to offer (affirmation, credibility, etc.)”

“The opportunity to meet and interface with everyone and to LEARN. There were several "AHA" moments for me"

 
Click on the following link to view a copy of the Meeting Agenda

Kanter Award Winners Announced

The Center for Families at Purdue University and the Boston College Center for Work & Family, with the support of Alliance for Work Life Progress, are delighted to announce Jeremy Reynolds and Lydia Aletraris as the winners of the 8 th Annual Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research sponsored by Alliance for Work-Life Progress. Jeremy Reynolds and Lydia Aletraris of University of Georgia co-authored “Pursuing Preferences: The Creation and Resolution of Work Hour Mismatches,” which is published in the American Sociological Review.  For more information about the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award and copies of the 2001-2007 Best of the Best Reports including research summaries of the top twenty nominees for each year, please click here.

New Study Released-Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies are Making Flexibility Work

Today’s organizations struggle to attract and retain the best talent, as employees at different stages of their lives increasingly demand flexible work options from their employers. But how does an organization implement such programs effectively and economically?  And how do they decrease the fear of career penalties for their use? A groundbreaking new report— “Overcoming the Implementation Gap,” published by the Boston College Center for Work & Family—provides an overview of strategies for implementing highly successful flexible work arrangements, including in-depth case examples from 20 leading companies.

Sponsored by KPMG, Eli Lilly and Company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Toyota Motor Sales,  Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies are Making Flexibility Work is a practical and comprehensive guide to integrating flexibility into many types of workplaces.  Fred Van Deusen, Senior Research Associate and Jacquelyn James, Research Director at the Boston College Center for Work & Family conducted the study in collaboration with Sharon McKecknie and Nadia Gill.  The research team reviewed current research on flexibility and conducted and analyzed 58 interviews with key staff members at the 20 participating organizations. The report begins with a comprehensive review of the research on workplace flexibility.  Next, strategies for implementation success are outlined using a five-step process.  The bulk of the report contains descriptions of model programs including drivers, implementation approaches, obstacles, benefits and factors in success.  Each description also contains comments from employees and managers who have utilized the programs.

For a complimentary copy of the Executive Summary, please contact Jaclyn Fitzgerald at 617-552-2869 or cwf@bc.edu or Download now.  The full 150 + page report is available for $125 for members of the Boston College Center for Work & Family and $175 for non-members; contact Jaclyn Fitzgerald to place an order at 617-552-2869 or cwf@bc.edu.

CitiSales Study: Jobs That Work

Examines flexibility, job quality, employee engagement, and generational issues for employees in hourly jobs and for older workers. 

The Center for Work & Family, in cooperation with the University of Kentucky, studied 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 visit the study web site and access the issue briefs click here.

Read more about the study in the WFC Resources newsletter and the Lane Report.

Boston College's Global Workforce Roundtable held its 2008 annual Summit in Shanghai, China on February 26-28, 2008. The meeting was a huge success and was co-sponsored by Novartis and Dow Chemical. Major themes for the summit were:

• Best practices in global workforce management. A strategic discussion about which global work-life policies work and why.
• Doing business in the Asia Pacific region
• The role of work-life in recruitment, development, and retention of top talent. This included such topics as:
  • What role do work-life policies play in the region? What programs and policies give companies a competitive edge in the battle for talent?
  • How can work-life policies increase the level of engagement of employees to ensure the retention of top talent?
  • What are the views of the young generation of workers in the region? What are their work-life expectations as they enter the workforce?

Member companies are invited to participate in the Summit as part of their membership benefits. Click here to learn more about the Global Workforce Roundtable or to learn about membership, contact Danielle Hartmann at danielle.hartmann@bc.edu or 617-552-0228.

Increasing the Visibility of the Invisible Workforce: Model Programs and Policies for Hourly and Lower Wage Employees

This newly released report identifies and highlights model programs at 15 corporations, and concludes that the corporate bottom line is helped by providing benefits to lower wage earners.

The study presents best practices in the areas of: dependent care, employee development, financial assistance, incentives, and scheduling/leaves. Findings are also provided on programs and policies for parental and bereavement leaves, savings, legal assistance, work/life training, and transportation assistance.

Download Executive Summary , Full Study

Jacquelyn James, Center for Work & Family Research Director, promotes flexible work schedules for older workers in a Herald-Tribune article Workers Delaying Retirement

 Jacquelyn James, CWF Research Director and Jennifer Swanberg of the University of Kentucky were featured in a WFC Resources Newsbrief article on the CitiSales Study.  For more information on the Study, which 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 visit the CitiSales website.

Research Director Jacquelyn James presented Obstacles to Continued Work in Later Life? Perceptions of Older Workers Among Four Generations as part of a panel on "Attitudes Toward Aging" at the 60th annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Francisco, November 16-20, 2007.

Jacquelyn James recently published an issue brief with The Center on Aging and Work on Responsive Workplaces for Older Workers

Jacquelyn James commented on work-life balance in a Philiadelphia Inquirer article on Karl Rove's departure from the White House entitled "Time with my family": An excuse and a goal August 17, 2007

Jacquelyn James was quoted in the cover article of the February 18, 2007 Boston Globe Magazine on The Romantic Life of Brainiacs

Jacquelyn James, the Center's Research Director, is quoted in a recent Chicago Tribune article concerning women who are forced to delay retirement due to financial concerns.

James, also posed the question, "What are we to do with all the time, talent, and energy of the largest group approaching retirement in history?" in a December 2005 Boston Globe editorial.

Highlights of James' presentation at the May 2005 Work/Family Conference hosted by the Community, Families & Work Program at Brandeis and the College of Communication at Boston University appeared in an article, "Work/family researchers seek to disarm nostalgia trap" in Parent Map.

Kristin Krupka, Associate Director, Work & Family Roundtable was quoted in an article on parents day care needs in the February 1, 2007 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Jennifer Sabatini Fraone was quoted in the Winter 2006 article Striving for Balance: Beta Gamma Sigma Examines the Work-Life Dilemma.  The article, published in the BGS International Exchange, examines workplace flexibility as well as elder caregiving issues and overwork.  Beta Gamma Sigma is the honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.