Make a difference ■ ■ ■
When you know some ways to help workplaces become more family-friendly, you might be frustrated if you don't see them happening in your workplace. But change can happen! The three women you met earlier had varying degrees of success making changes in their jobs. Here are the rest of their stories.
When you know some ways to help workplaces become more family-friendly, you might be frustrated if you don't see them happening in your workplace. But change can happen! The three women you met earlier had varying degrees of success making changes in their jobs. Here are the rest of their stories.
■ Stacey Stacey found out about a tuition reimbursement program through her job. Once her company started paying for school, Stacey was able to cut back her hours and her stress at work and spend more time with her daughter. Luckily, her second baby was born between semesters. She asked for eight weeks' paid maternity leave from her job and ended up with six weeks at half salary, which was enough to get her through. She's already made sure that she'll have time and a place to pump once she goes back--nurses are sometimes more understanding about that type of thing. Stacey's also planning to find out if there are any nursing rooms on campus. She knows her university has a day care, but there's a bit of a waiting list, so she's making other arrangements, just in case.
■ Heather As a human resources professional, Heather has an advantage over some--she knows the laws governing mothers' rights at work, and she also knows about what strategies other companies have used to retain working parents. She used her knowledge and connections to put together a compelling campaign showing her employers why flexibility is an excellent business strategy. They listened. Heather wasn't able to work from home twice a week like she'd hoped, but her bosses did permit her to choose her hours and to telecommute in the evenings on the days she left early. Even better, her employer asked her to put some policies and paperwork together so other employees could more easily request flexibility in the future.
■ Kathy Instead of trying to do everything herself, Kathy found a business partner to form an agency with her. Not only did this make it easier for Kathy to take time off to care for her mother, but it also made it easier for Kathy to focus on doing what she's best at (she handles more of the negotiation and documentation while the other agent handles listing and setting appointments). Kathy found an elder care support group in her community. In the next couple of years, when they expand their agency, Kathy plans to add child care and elder care referral services to the agency's benefit plan for new hires. And with the extra money they're making, Kathy and her business partner hope to hire more job sharers, especially husband-wife teams.
By seeking solutions that would help their family situations, these
women made a difference not just in their own lives, but also in their
workplaces. Whether your workplace already has family-friendly policies
in place or you're a pioneer, you can help people around you
to see that family friendliness is in everyone's best interests.
Here are some ways you can make a difference:
Whether change comes from one person being granted paid maternity leave from her job or an entire nation's workers receiving the right to express milk at work, each step forward is a victory. When parents are happy at work and at home, their children are happier, too. If we invest in families, employees and their families benefit, employers benefit, and our society benefits as well.
Here are some ways you can make a difference:
Whether change comes from one person being granted paid maternity leave from her job or an entire nation's workers receiving the right to express milk at work, each step forward is a victory. When parents are happy at work and at home, their children are happier, too. If we invest in families, employees and their families benefit, employers benefit, and our society benefits as well.
