One day a couple months back, two articles appeared on The New York Times op/ed page, both focusing on the nation’s continued lack of support for parents. Or specifically, as both pieces pointed out, for mothers: [In my research] I spoke to mothers specifically because in wealthy nations, mothers have historically been the focus […]
work-family
Next Year’s Father’s Day Gift? How About Paternity Leave?
Father’s Day may have come and gone, but the question of working fathers remains as intractable as ever. This once invisible group (“working father” was pretty much redundant 50 years ago) is now the stuff of cute commercials and rom-coms, but there remains a tremendous disconnect between what we say, as a society, and what […]
Happy 2017! Here’s What U.S. Employees Still Need
Happy New Year, everyone! Back at Thanksgiving, I wrote a post about work-life-related progress in 2016. This week, like many of us, I’m thinking ahead. I’m not much of a believer in New Year’s resolutions, and, in any case, the kinds of things I’m thinking about aren’t in my (sole) power to bring about, so […]
What IS “Family-Friendly,” Anyway?
It’s National Work and Family Month, and I’ve been thinking: What does it mean for a workplace to be “family friendly”? Actually, since one of my regular gigs as an “employer-of-choice” writer and consultant is helping companies with their applications for “best workplace” lists, this question arises a lot. I find it fascinating how differently it can be interpreted […]
What Else Is Lost When the Kids Have Flown…
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the empty nest and me. This week, in lieu of my usual blog post, I’ve guest-written a sort of “Empty Nest Part 2” for the fabulous 1 Million for Work Flexibility. This time, I focus on the bigger picture—the potential ramifications of this life stage for telecommuters. Check […]
New Perspective on the Empty Nest
My daughter graduated high school last week. By late August, she’ll be on her way to college, and, since she’s the younger of our two, I’ll be an empty-nester. The prospect of our quiet house, devoid of the wonderful chaos children (even the nearly-grown ones) leave in their wake, saddens me deeply. But I’m also […]
