Have we finally arrived at the point with our devices and 24/7 connectivity that employers have to install boundaries for us -- because we just can't help our compulsions?
The very name, "Work and Family Month" projects a problematic dualism. Work and family. Work and life. As if work is not an essential part of the human condition. As if urgent family demands magically time themselves around working hours.
Bringing social media into the workplace is, similarly, no longer a choice. Whatever you may think of it, social media is with us now -- you can either be in control of the message it's sending or let the message control you.
On October 24th the Congressional Management Foundation and Society for Human Resource Management recognized National Work and Family Month by releasing a report focused on and titled Life in Congress: Aligning Work and Life in the US House and Senate.
Do you provide financial support to your adult children? If so, does this mean you forsee yourself having to work later into life?
I applaud Secretary Clinton for making such a strong and public commitment to creating a workplace where employees have the support they need to be successful in the workplace and at home.
Not enough working moms or their employers know about these new breastfeeding at work rights (and their limitations).
Does your company work to ensure work and family balance in your life?
"Workplace flexibility" was the term that would lead me to salvation. Except it didn't. There's as much negativity around that term today as there was five years ago around "work-life."
As October melts into November, many organizations begin to gear up for their annual enrollment period and in many organizations, to put on an employee benefits fair.
Cracking the glass ceiling isn't just about making sure women have opportunities to work and receive equal pay and fair treatment, it's about women and men taking on equal responsibilities in all areas of life.
There's the head of an entertainment company whose 12 words -- "One of every five CDs sold will be sold in our stores" -- helped take his company from $28 million to $200 million in three years.
Setting aside today's focus on parodies and memes that the phrase spawned, let's remember that the phrase was used in response to a question on women in the workplace, a serious issue that deserves more attention.
As a tribute to the 2012 Work and Family Month, I will reveal a secret. This is a secret so essential, so key, so basic to our well-being that I hope you will help me spread the word!
We need to redefine success in more human terms rather than the fantasy of women -- or men -- that have it all. Real success -- the true definition of having it all -- is getting clarity on what success means for you and putting your energies there.
In honor of National Work and Family Month, I'm coming clean: I'm a napper. Have been all my life.
Instead of being critical of distributed work, embrace it. Accept that there are people connecting in creative, fun, and inexpensive ways that build quality relationships and ensure efficient communication and collaboration.
As family dynamics continue to change, many parents are discovering the win-win solution of working flexible hours. But do those types of positions exist? The short answer during National Work and Family Month is yes.
Difficult economic circumstances, less-than-stellar academic performance, and growing equality for women may have all conspired to lessen men's advantage at work, but "success" in the workplace is not the only or ultimate measure of a life well-lived.
Imagine for a minute, that every person who somehow found a way to successfully manage their work and family life shared that bit of knowledge with someone else. Even it if that success was for one day, one month or throughout their career.
As the debate about what's possible for working women continues, I have news about what this means for the increasing solidarity among men and women as they strive to create new models for working families.
Dear Marissa, I am writing to give you permission, just as it was given to me. You haven't asked for it, and perhaps you are not even aware that you need it. But, because it's National Work and Family month, and you recently gave birth of your first child, I suspect you might need some -- permission that is.
Work-life programs such as dependent care referral services and flexible work hours are often underused and underappreciated. Why? I suspect one major reason is a lack of effective communications.
When we used to talk about balance, it was a conversation rooted in location. Are we spending too much time in the office? Are we spending enough at home or with the family? That was then. This is now. Work-life balance is much more complex than it was a generation ago.
A self-described computer geek, Mayer may be just the super-mom to write the code that helps thousands of other families optimize work and family responsibilities.
