When Work/Life Balance is a Political Issue

Mother and son at home.

When the issues surrounding women and families in the workforce are framed as a “work/life balance” issue it creates a dynamic where women (and men too) blame themselves for not being able to handle the stress and guilt of work and family. Caitlyn Collins makes the argument in her recent NYTimes op-ed that in her studies she sees this as an issue that is political, not social. If we focus on issues like paid leave, affordable childcare and universal pre-k we take the onus of families (and primarily women) to achieve success at work and at home with no back-up. Right now, for most women in the U.S, this is a losing battle and it forces them out of the workforce and reduces the chances for real gender parity. It’s great to have companies state their desire for workplace parity and inclusion but this is a societal and political issue that cannot be solved on a case by case and company by company basis.

“In a country where most women (too often the poor and racial-ethnic minorities) receive no paid leave at all….being able to work and raise the next generation of taxpayers and employees should never be deemed a matter of mere “luck.”

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Featured Member: Deborah Lynn Blumberg

Deborah Lynn Blumberg describes herself as “a business, finance, and health and wellness writer and editor who tells the stories of the people and companies that are changing our world for the better.” In telling Deborah’s story as this month’s featured member, we like to think we are doing the very same thing; after all, is there any more uplifting way to start the day than showcasing and celebrating a woman with this kind of talent, energy, passion, and drive. Read below and let us know!

 

Tell us your work story : Who are you and what do you do?
I got my start at The Wall Street Journal, where I reported on global financial markets during the height of the credit crisis. From there, I took a role in marketing and communications at JPMorgan Chase, working with senior leaders to develop content and messaging. Now, I use my skills as a reporter and my marketing know-how to help companies better reach and inspire their clients. I’m also the co-president of the Texas chapter of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), a board member and literary co-chair of Women in the Visual and Literary Arts, and a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Writers’ League of Texas.

 

What is your proudest professional accomplishment?
Having an article on Page One of The Wall Street Journal.

 

What is the hardest challenge you’ve faced, work-wise?
Deciding to leave my full-time job in corporate America to freelance full-time.

 

If you could change one thing about how your given field operates, particularly with regards to women, what would it be and why?
I would have women speak up more and negotiate for better rates.

 

What advice do you have for other women looking to make a career change but who are afraid or lack confidence? How is it on the other side?
Change is scary, but can be transformative. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith.

 

How do you negotiate the balance between life and work when you are the one setting the boundaries?
Force yourself to take time off and for much needed self care: exercise, eating well. Schedule it into your day.

 

How do you make work work for you?
I’m my own boss and love it!

Thank you Deborah! If you want to be a Featured Member please fill out this survey.

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Parental Leave– When is long too long?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has long offered one of the most generous paid leaves in the U.S. (an unfairly weighted honor considering the dismal competition) However, they announced last week that they are reducing the time they offer from one year to six months. Before we excoriate them on social media it’s worth a deeper look at the reason why: one year of paid leave was too hard on their current employees and did not have a positive lasting impact on the advancement and retention of talent.

 

Among the myriad debates about parental leave is the argument about what length of time is most effective. The norm in the US is twelve weeks unpaid leave– though California Governor Gavin Newsom recently proposed offering six months. The Gates Foundation found that while three months is too short, one year is too long. The longer leave was difficult for employees to hand off work and it was hard to re-assimilate back into a changed organization. Six months seems to be the de-facto timeframe that is not too short for families and not too long for companies.

 

There are more factors than what timeframe is best for families including:

financial assistance for childcare

gender-neutral parental leave

flexible schedules

paid sick days. 

Acknowledging that the issue is not just about time off, the Gates Foundation is also giving a $20,000 stipend to help with childcare costs.  You can read more about this story in the New York Times Upshot.  To find out how The Second Shift works with companies to provide fill-ins for workers out on parental leave please reach out to info@thesecondshift.com. Let us help you support your current workers, and look good doing it.

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My Maternity Leave: A Cautionary Tale

I wish The Second Shift existed when I was going out on maternity leave.  As an admittedly type A personality, I plan everything, including the step back in my career that I took a year in advance of getting pregnant.  In my role as a sales manager, I was responsible for a national team and was on the road almost every week.  I was thrilled with my achievements and moved quickly up the corporate ladder. But I knew I wanted to start a family and this was not a schedule that would work once I had a baby.

 

So I left management, took a step back and moved to a new company as an individual contributor. I followed all of the advice I had given my direct reports over the years: I was super buttoned up with my notes, follow-ups and pipeline.  Once I got pregnant and maternity leave was imminent I became me even more diligent. Pregnancy brain be damned–my turnover documents were super thorough. As my belly was expanding I prepped all of my clients about my coverage plans. I had ALWAYS hit my goals, and I was not about to let having a baby tarnish my record.

 

The team covering my leave was an incredible but overworked account manager and a sales manager who was already tapped out with too many internal meetings. So even with all the prep work, I came back to crickets…  No meetings scheduled, a non-existent pipeline and revenue numbers below 50% for Q1. Not having a maternity leave fill-in wasn’t just a bad business decision for me, but for my company as it meant lost revenue for multiple quarters. It wasn’t the fault of my back-up team, they were already stressed about their own jobs and responsibilities. They should never have been made to cover my work– I should have had a backfill. It was a devastating and unnecessarily stressful “welcome back” for a sleep deprived and emotional new mother.

 

….If there had been a The Second Shift I likely would not have chosen to take a step back in my career path and leave my sales management role. I would have realized there were other options for my growth.

….If there had been The Second Shift I would have found the perfect member to fill in during my leave. We could have worked together to prepare ahead of my birth and she could have been there to assist me during my transition back. I would have felt supported and my team would have not resented me for the extra work they shouldered while I was gone. Work could have continued on successfully and my sales numbers would have reflected the positive effects of an unbroken workflow with no loss of momentum.

 

The Second Shift offers you options and takes the burden off parents, families, and co-workers. And I am proud to be a part of this team that supports and encourages female growth and keeps women engaged in the workforce.

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Remote Workers = More Productivity. We Agree!

I visit a lot of offices. I have moved offices 3 times in the past 2 years; so I can speak with authority about offices and I can say for sure that the move to open office spaces does not increase my personal productivity. In fact, I have clocked it: If I stay home and work from 7-10am on a sprint I am getting the same amount of work done as I do in my office during a normal day. That 3 hours of work time is not broken up with meetings and deciding what to have for lunch and coffee runs and chatting about tv shows and the news. In an open office space find it hard to concentrate on a specific task for very long because of the ambient noise and interruptions. Plus,  I am not a fan of headphones or going into another space to work.

 

I realize I may be in the minority and I know I am adverse to change– I still use a Filofax for goodness sake. But everywhere you go today there are open office spaces with distractable perks like ping-pong and plentiful snacks and blow-out bars. I understand it is meant to provide creativity and foster a collaborative environment… but I don’t buy it and the research is now backing me up: in open offices workers spend more time talking to each other online than they do in person. So there.

 

Another study shows it takes more than 23 minutes to get back on track when you are interrupted. Which basically means proves that when I work in my pajamas in my bed without speaking to anyone except my friends on Morning Joe I am actually way more productive than if I went to work this morning.

 

Look, I definitely understand the counter-argument and working remotely does have its challenges: you miss a lot not being around the conversations that take place outside of scheduled meetings among co-workers. You may lose out on opportunities that come up on the fly. And while it may be personally more productive for me to work remotely, it may be less productive for my co-workers to have to catch me up on what I missed.

 

There are, however larger, less personal business cases for why remote work should be encouraged:

  • Increased productivity–studies show remote work increases productivity and efficiency.
  • Ability to hire from a larger talent pool than only those who are geographically available.
  • Parents will flock to work for your business– flexible/ remote work is the number one thing caregivers are looking for when choosing work opportunities through The Second Shift.
  • Lower overhead and operating costs without needing to provide office space and all those snacks and craft beer-on-tap.

 

Okay, time to get up and get dressed and go into work for a meeting. I have been at this computer for 2.5 hours and gotten my entire list of “to do” tasks completed. So now I can go to my actual “office” without the pressure of deadlines and enjoy myself and my co-workers.

 

From Jenny Galluzzo: Co-Founder/ Luddite/ Possible Curmudgeon?

 

 

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Pitch “nearly” Perfect

 

We chose this example because it is a great pitch and with a few tweaks it would be perfect!

 

I’m a seasoned human resources professional who has had the opportunity to develop & deploy recruiting strategies for various business segments & levels. Over my career, I’ve built, restructured, manage & develop teams as small as 4 & as large as 60. I had the opportunity to work on enterprise-wide initiatives, most recently with the HR Change Management team in supporting the implementation of Workday.

 

Last year, I had the opportunity to help develop & execute XX Employment Brand. In the last few years, I’ve gained the confidence of XX Executives to partner with internal executive recruiting team vs hiring a retained firm for C-Suite roles, which has saved the firm millions each year. I have viewed myself as a brand ambassador. From speaking with students on campus to participating on national diversity conferences panels to networking with C-level executives. I am confident that my experiences provide me with a solid foundation to be successful in this role.

 

The Good:

 

She touches on the basics: who she is, what she does and why she is successful– with quantifiable results.

 

Not Quite There:

This pitch is all her past accomplishments and it is missing a vital element– why her background is relevant to the position and why she is uniquely qualified to succeed.

 

For more information about how to craft a great pitch read our do’s and don’ts:

Pitching-dos-donts

 

 

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Older and in Charge!

“Women, we’re nurturers, that’s what’s expected of us. We have our children, we have our husbands if we’re lucky enough, and our partners. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, “I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that.”

 

Glen Close famously said that in her Golden Globes acceptance speech last Sunday. She is just one of a growing group of successful women over 60 coming into their own power in this present moment. Think Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Susan Zirinsky who was just named the head of CBS News.  This is a demographic of women who are sidelined and silenced no more.  But why now? A recent NY Times article points out a few unique reasons that 60+ women are taking center stage:

 

  • The overall aging population is staying healthier and working longer than ever.

 

  • The #metoo movement forced a reckoning with power dynamics and unfair gender structures that have historically kept women from reaching the top.

 

  • Women who started working in the 70s and 80s are now at the height of their power and success… as their male counterparts are dealing with the fall out of their poor behavior.

 

The rise of women as a political, cultural and professional force can’t be ignored. Let’s hope it spreads and companies fill their leadership roles with older, experienced women. The pipeline of female talent to senior level roles is depleted because, according to Pew Research,  39% of mothers say they have to take time off to care for family and 42% reduce their hours. This is a fact that is talked about a lot about in articles, conferences and summits but there are very simple answers:

 

  • Hire and promote more women
  • Create family-friendly policies including fluid parental leave,  flexible hours and remote options.

 

The more the workplace changes to accommodate the needs of women early in their careers the more women will remain engaged, rise up the ranks and take home the ultimate prize– power!

 

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