Why flex-time for moms works for everyone
Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 11:40 AM by Daily Nightly Editor
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Notes from the field
by Rehema Ellis, NBC correspondent
Walking around the office areas of the Johnson Storage and Moving company in Denver Colorado I was struck by the fact that there were so many empty desks and offices. It was mid-morning in the middle of the week. I wondered, where is everybody?
Turns out no one was missing. Many people were just working from home and almost all of them women who are assigned to various paper-oriented tasks. Of course, this doesn't work for the receptionist or the moving truck drivers or warehouse staff.
But for those jobs that can be done on a flexible schedule, visiting the Johnson Storage and Moving Company provides a dramatic example of how efficiently it can work. It also made me start to think this might be what the office of the future will look like. I wouldn't be surprised if women, especially working mothers, lead the way in bringing about a revolution in the workplace that could really be beneficial to everyone and bring some balance back to peoples lives.
It is a new world with nearly as many women working today as men. Sure, everyone's working longer hours but, women and working moms get the double whammy -- long hours on the job, then long hours at home, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of kids and increasingly an aging parent. Balancing work with life is difficult to say the least.
The really tough part for women, too, studies show, is that career development coincides with child-bearing years. Often women shy away from taking time off to start a family because they fear they'll be passed over for promotions. And here's another point that might surprise you -- not every company offers paid maternity leave.
Yes, there is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act that allows anyone to take time-off when needed for family matters but other than Australia, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have paid family-leave.
How is it possible that the richest country in the world, that places so much value on family values, and a strong work ethic, doesn't see the value of making certain that working families are supported during child-bearing years? After all, if ever a woman needed an income, it's when she's just given birth or adopted a child.
Interestingly, with a nudge from his wife, Jim Johnson, owner of the moving company, got to thinking about the demands on working moms and after some research he concluded that flexible work arrangements would be a huge benefit for workers and his company. So his company changed.
California has changed, too. Recently, the Golden State became the first and only state to offer paid family leave. This benefits both women and men.
And when you think about flexible work schedules you also come to realize there could be benefits for the environment, too: There would be fewer people commuting. That means less fuel consumption, less pollution from cars, and possibly less road rage.
As more talented young women enter the work world determined to find the company that best suites their career and personal aspirations, they could move America to become a more family-friendly nation. Companies looking to attract and retain the best employees may be compelled to offer flexible work arrangements -- so a woman doesn't have to choose between a promising career and her family.
Learn more about the 'Secret to Her Success' series on MSNBC.com.
