|
|
|
|
|
| N.C. Family-Friendly Companies |
9/1/2009 |
 |
| Work + Leisure = Weisure |
| Written by: |
|
Karen M. Alley |
|
For most working parents, hardly a day goes by when work life and family life don’t intersect. You’re at work hurrying to meet a deadline when your kids call to ask where the peanut butter is. Or you’re getting everyone ready for bed at night and your colleague buzzes to remind you about the meeting the next morning.
Now there’s a new term to describe the constant sense of being on call for both work and family: weisure, the combination of work and leisure. Coined by sociologist Dalton Conley earlier this year, the media quickly picked up on the term and began discussing how technology has changed our culture to the point where we’re constantly on call. Checking in with work on the BlackBerry while at the kids’ soccer practice or viewing family photos on Facebook while at work, parents find that the dividing line between work and home life is blurring.
There are some negatives to the all-access pass technology provides. Websense Inc., an Internet and e-mail security firm in San Diego, reports that misuse of the Internet at work costs American corporations $178 billion annually.
In addition to lost productivity at work, many employees lose personal time away from work, checking e-mail and voice mail while on vacation or otherwise off the clock. But for many working parents, the availability of technology, from fax and e-mail to cell phones and laptops, has made the job of being a full-time parent and a productive employee easier.
Technology-enabled flextime
Nearly every company recognized in Carolina Parenting Inc.’s N.C. Family-Friendly 50 list offers flexible work schedules. Whether it’s from employers’ growing awareness of the need for parents to balance work and family or the advancement of technology, or maybe a little of both, the result has been positive for many people trying to keep a career going while raising a family.
For L&E Research in Raleigh, the creation of a custom-designed software system has allowed the company to give its employees greater flexibility in their work schedules. The company provides recruiting and facility services for market-research companies, and a lot of the responsibilities of the recruiters who work for L&E can be done at home over the phone at all times of the day. The new software enables recruiters and project managers to stay connected through a secure online database.
“It gives us more options for employees,” says Charlene Randall, the director of business development for L&E. “For example, a project manager who would normally be tied to the office now has the opportunity to work from home.”
Expedite Group in Cary also provides flexible work options thanks to what it calls the “virtual work environment.” Employees are connected to the office through conference calls, e-mail and the occasional on-site meeting. Even full-time employees are able to work flexible schedules among their own teams as long as all working hours are covered.
Why opt for flextime?
For parents who are able to work out flexible schedules or work from home, the result is the ability to have the best of both worlds.
“The benefits of a flexible work schedule are extensive, really,” says Heather Rook, the marketing manager for Expedite Group. “It makes me feel a lot more comfortable with work and gives me freedom to do things with my son. I can take him to the museum or the pool and still check e-mail and respond immediately, thanks to my iPhone. It might feel like I’m always working, but I’m also having a good time because I get to be with my son.”
Employers who are willing to set up flexible work options might also find they have more productive employees. When work hours are carefully scheduled around parenting priorities, whether it’s after-school pickup and homework, extracurricular activities or toddlers’ nap times, the hours set aside to work are usually devoted specifically to work and not used for catching up with friends on MySpace or surfing the Internet for vacation destinations.
Sometimes it also means that employees set their schedules to work when their personality or their job demands allow for greater productivity. For Rook, whose job entails a lot of writing, the ability to work at night after putting her son to bed is appealing.
“I do my best writing at night and can concentrate better when it’s just me and my computer,” she says. “No phone ringing, no people talking about lunch plans. It’s amazing how much I can get accomplished during a four-hour period of time as opposed to an eight-hour day in the office.”
In some ways, the flexibility can even make you a better parent. “Allowing me to be my own person and pursue my career helps the whole family,” says Donna Chamberlain, who is an international expatriate tax director with BDO Seidman in Charlotte. “I’m more satisfied and feel like I haven’t compromised my time with my children at all.”
Seidman was offered the opportunity to work part time from home when her daughter, now a teenager, was in preschool. She has gradually increased her hours, but still enjoys working at home and at the office, depending on what needs to be done.
Making it work
So how do you take advantage of work-at-home options or flexible schedules without feeling like you’re working all the time? According to Chamberlain, there are four pieces of the puzzle, and each one has to be flexible and cooperate to make it work: you, your family, your superiors/staff and your peers.
“While I had more of a routine schedule, working while the kids were in school and after they went to bed, I still was accessible to clients and staff during the after-school time. You have to be able to combine the two some if you’re going to make it work,” Chamberlain says.
Realize that you’re going to have to make some sacrifices. You might find yourself working some at night and on week-ends, but you’re giving that time to your employer because you took time off during the day to be there for your kids.
Chamberlain also stresses the importance of support from peers and your employer. “Everyone, especially my colleagues at BDO, has been very supportive. Nobody ever questioned or spoke negatively about the fact that I left at 2:30 p.m. every day,” Chamberlain says.
For Nancy Piepho, the CEO of Expedite Group, making a flexible or work-at-home schedule work is a two-way street, where the employer also holds responsibility for part of the equation.
“It’s not wise to tell someone they can work at home, especially new moms, and not help them work through it,” Piepho says. At Expedite Group, Piepho makes sure employers are coached on scheduling and given support as their situations change. “For example, when a toddler transitions from two naps to one, the times available for work change. For one employee, I recommended a mother’s morning out program for one or two days per week. In her case, it’s going to work perfectly,” Piepho says.
Communication is key to making a flexible or work-at-home schedule work, and that’s where the technology comes in. Employees will use a smartphone to touch base with colleagues, answer e-mails in a timely fashion, and do research or other work while spending time with their family.
But don’t forget that all of these gadgets have an off button. If you feel yourself getting sucked in the “weisure” lifestyle with no downtime, set aside some blackout hours where you don’t answer the phone or write any e-mails. Chances are, no one you work with will even notice.
Karen Alley is the Web editor for Piedmont Parent, a sister publication to Carolina Parent, and is one of the many parents who work flexible schedules from home.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|