Work life flexibility strategies are grabbing attention even in the wake of the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. As companies struggle to stay afloat and keep their employees engaged, there’s talk in our WorkLife Nation that perhaps corporations are starting to identify the value of implementing flexibility practices – instead of wielding the ax.
Global consulting firm, Manpower, just released a survey which reflects U.S. employers’ hiring outlooks from April to June of this year. 67% of the companies polled said they would hold the line on hiring until the economy sees an improvement. CFO Magazine breaks down the numbers as does Bloomberg.
That means that these companies must do more with less, which perhaps forces a more constructive look at flexibility arrangements.
This I know has the Conference Board’s Work Life Conference all a buzz down in New Orleans. Gleaned from tweets from a colleague, Cali Yost, (@CaliYost) who is the CEO of Work+Life Fit, there’s a lot of talk on the issue. Prior to heading south for her speaking engagement, Cali penned this blog for Fast Company which is an overview of the issue of flexibility in challenging times: Mangers Uphold Fiduciary Responsibility with Alternatives to Layoffs: Expanding the Cost/Benefit Analysis.
Here’s a short compilation of what’s been streaming out of the conference courtesy Cali.
- Yoursabbatical.com wins innovation award.
- IBM presenting use of Second Life for conference.
- Social Media and its potential for Work Life.
- 73% of IBM managers manage teams that aren’t in the same location.
- Accenture wins award for for combining work life with retained talent strategy.
- Carol Evans from Working Mother receiving media award.
- Reports there’s a bi-partisan senate study group on workplace flexibility.
- State and National stats on Work Life being presented by the Families and Work Institute.
While not necessarily conference related, this is most certainly worth mentioning with regard to flexibility practices. In a post by CV Harquail (@cvharquail) of the blog Authentic Organizations, she wrote that sometimes business decisions made with the best of intensions have “unintended repercussions.” Check out her post:
