Workplace Issues (see also Work & Family)

The 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce
By James T. Bond with Ellen Galinsky, Cynthia Thompson and David Prottas. The Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org). Sept 2003. Women in the Workforce, Dual Earner Couples, The Role of Technology in Employees'’Lives On and Off the Job, Work-Life Supports On the Job, and Working for Oneself versus Someone Else. The report investigates a number of timely and important issues, including the “social glass ceiling” and work-life supports on the job. …”changes in the workplace don’t appear to offset the conflicts employees face— longer work hours, more demanding jobs, and technology that blurs the lines between work and family,” says James T. Bond, lead author of the study.” Executive summary in PDF

The 21st-Century Multi-Generational Workplace
Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes and Michael A. Smyer, The Center on Aging and Work, Jun 07. This issue brief addresses different perspectives on age and generation in the changing workforce. The authors explain that while employers typically think of workers age, life course and career stage as following a "traditional timeline," key life events, age and career trajectories will not necessary track to a predictable pattern as today's workforce changes and matures. Briefing Paper, 12 pages in.pdf

A Status Report on Workplace Flexibility:
Who has it? Who wants it? What difference does it make?
by Ellen Galinsky, James T. Bond, and E. Jeffrey Hill,
The Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org), 2004. “To assume flexible work options are “perks” for employees doesn’t make sense. We strongly believe— and share the evidence to support this view— that a more flexible workplace, when developed with attention to both employer and employee needs, can improve business performance and bottom-line outcomes, while also improving the quality of life for employees and their families— a potential win-win situation.” Lots of data on workers’ time preferences. From the When Work Works series. Summary in PDF

Getting Punched: The Job and Family Clock
It's Time for Flexible Work for Workers of All Wages
Jodie Levin-Epstein, Center for Law and Social Policy, Jul 06. The U.S. failure to address the realities of the family clock hurts businesses as well as working families, and that the nation's ability to retain its strength in the global market depends on its success in meeting the needs of the changing workforce. Levin-Epstein also reports that better support for working families may be more cost-effective than the general public tends to believe. Full report, 32 pages in .pdf

Workplace Flexibility for Lower Wage Workers
Corporate Voice for Working Families, Oct 06. The report summarizes findings of recent research and employer surveys on the characteristics of lower-wage workers and the benefits of implementing workplace flexibility for this rapidly growing sector of the U.S. labor force. Although lower-wage workers are less likely to have discretion over their work schedules and working time than professional and managerial workers, workplace flexibility has an even greater positive impact on job satisfaction, work-life spillover, mental health and employment security for lower-income employees than for higher earners. Full report, 44 pages, in .pdf

Women "Take Care," Men "Take Charge:"
Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed
Catalyst (www.catalystwomen.org), 19.Oct.05. The study found that both positive and negative stereotypes about women's leadership abilities are prevalent at the top level of U.S. business management. In particular, male leaders were more likely to value women executives for their team-building skills but less likely to view them as competent problem solvers, the quality most often associated with effective leadership. 45 report, in .pdf and fact sheets available for download.

The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women in Leadership:
Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don't
Catalyst, Jul 07. Gender stereotyping creates a "double-bind" for women business leaders, who are typically assessed as either too tough, or not tough enough. Based on interviews with senior business executives from the United States and Europe, the study found that men are still viewed as "default leaders," while women are viewed as "atypical leaders" and perceived as violating accepted leadership norms regardless of their leadership style and abilities. Report,  48 pages in .pdf

Facts on Domestic Violence in the Workplace
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (www.caepv.org), 2007. CAEPV polled 1,200 employed adults across the US in the first-ever national benchmarking telephone survey to discover what the general adult employee population believes about domestic violence as a workplace issue - and how they have been impacted. Among other findings, the survey found that 21% of respondents (men and women) identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence; 64% of victims of domestic violence indicated that their ability to work was affected by the violence; and 30% reported that the abuser frequently visited the office. Fact Sheet.

2005 National Study of Employers
James T. Bond, Ellen Gallinsky, Stacy S. Kim and Erin Brownfield, Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org), Oct.2005. The most comprehensive and far-reaching study of the practices, policies, programs and benefits provided by U.S. employers to address the needs of the changing workforce. A key finding of the report was that employers' rationale for adopting family-friendly practices had less to do with accommodating workers' family obligations and more to do with business concerns. Highlights of findings, 10 pages .pdf; Full report, 30 pages, .pdf

The New Glass Ceiling:
Mothers – and Fathers – Sue for Discrimination
Joan Williams and Nancy Segal, The Program for WorkLife Law, American University, Washington College of Law (www.wcl.american.edu/gender/worklifelaw/). 2002. This report documents a legal trend: mothers – and fathers – are challenging unfair discrimination on the job due to family care responsibilities. Report in PDF

Working Mothers In a Double Bind:
Working Moms, Minorities Have the Most Rigid Schedules, and Are Paid Less For the Sacrifice
Elaine McCrate. The Economic Policy Institute (www.epi.org). May 2002. Despite the recent attention given to the needs of working mothers for flexible schedules, mothers are no more likely than other workers to be able to determine the times they arrive at and leave work, or to decide when to take an occasional day off. And contrary to the expectations of many economists, the workers with more rigid schedules actually earn less than those who enjoy flexible work hours. Briefing paper in PDF

Nonstandard Work, Substandard Jobs:
Flexible Work Arrangements in the U.S.
Arne L. Kalleberg, Edith Rasell, Ken Hudson, David Webster, Barbara F. Reskin, Naomi Cassirer, Eileen Appelbaum. The Economic Policy Institute (www.epi.org). Sept 1997. “For the first time ever, national data are available on nonstandard work arrangements--part-time work, independent contracting, contract work, on-call labor, temp work, and self-employment--and the people who hold these jobs. The prevalence of this kind of work is not necessarily bad if the jobs are comparable to full-time work in terms of wages and benefits, but this turns out not to be the case. The authors find that workers in these jobs face lower wages, fewer benefits, and less job security than workers in regular full-time jobs. Public policies can improve the quality of nonstandard jobs by prohibiting discrimination in pay based on work status, requiring that employers pro-rate benefits for part-time workers, making child care more affordable and available, and encouraging employers to offer more flexible schedules.” Executive Summary 

The Continuing Problems with Part-Time Jobs
Jeffrey Wenger. The Economic Policy Institute (www.epi.org). 2001. “While a handful of recent studies have attempted to explain away the inequities between full-time and part-time work arrangements, most research continues to find important differences in wages, benefits, and career prospects between full-time and part-time workers. Nearly one in every five workers is employed on a part-time basis, but choosing this work arrangement comes at a considerable cost to these workers.” Briefing paper in HTML

Part-Time Opportunities for Professionals and Managers
Institute for Women’s Policy Research (www.iwpr.org), IWPR Publication #B231. Nov 1999.“While it is often assumed that part-time work in professional or managerial jobs would provide parents with increased flexibility to juggle work and family responsibilities while also earning good income, a recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research shows that few professionals and managers are employed part-time. The study further shows that very few professional and managerial careers offer compensation and benefits that would allow more employees to work part-time.” Briefing paper in PDF

Part-time Opportunities for Professionals and Managers:
Where are They Are, Who Uses Them and Why
Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., Young-Hee Yoon, and Diana Zuckerman, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, January 2000. Summary in PDF

Fair Treatment for Part-Time Workers
Fact sheet from The Program for WorkLife Law, American University, Washington College of Law (www.wcl.american.edu/gender/worklifelaw/). Fact page in PDF

Contingent or Non-Standard Work
A briefing from the Center for Policy Alternatives (www.cfpa.org).“Contingent or "non-standard" workers, comprising upwards of 30 percent of the workforce, lack the benefits and protections extended to full-time employees, including health care, vacation, and unemployment insurance.1 Working in part-time, temporary, contract, day labor, and other non-standard employment arrangements, many of these workers labor side-by-side with full-time, permanent employees, yet are paid less and receive minimal or no health care, pension, vacation, sick leave or other benefits.” Briefing paper in HTML

The Time Bandit:
What U.S. workers surrender to get greater flexibility in work schedules
Lonnie Golden. The Economic Policy Institute (www.epi.org). 2001. To get more flexible schedules, U.S. workers work 50 or more hours per week, become self-employed, or switch to working part time. Briefing paper in HTML

Overwork in America:
When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much
Ellen Gallinsky, James T. Bond, The Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org), 15.Mar.05. One in three American employees are chronically overworked, while 54 percent have felt overwhelmed at some time in the past month by how much work they had to complete. The study of more than 1,000 wage and salaried employees identifies for the first time why being overworked and feeling overwhelmed have become so pervasive in the American workplace.Executive Summary, 13 pages, in .pdf

Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much
Ellen Galinsky, Stacy S. Kim, James T. Bond, Families and Work Institute (www.familiesandwork.org). 2001. “54% felt overworked at least sometimes in the past three months; 55% felt overwhelmed by how much work they had to do at least sometimes in the past three months; and 59% felt they did not have time to step back and process or reflect on the work they were doing at least sometimes in the past three months.” Executive Summary in PDF

Where are the Women?
By Linda Tischler for Fast Company Magazine (www.fastcompany.com). Feb 2004. “By now, plenty were supposed to be in the corner offices. It's not working out that way. In many fields, men still rule, while women often choose more nuanced paths that keep them from reaching the top. But who are the real winners?” The author suggests our culture permits men and women to cultivate different visions of success, with high-achieving men favoring the trappings of wealth and power while their female counterparts aim for more richly textured lives. Full article in HTML, plus reader responses in HTML

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