The capital was the meeting place as the American Psychological Association honored companies which have risen to the occasion, making the workplace a bit more manageable in a time of tumult. It’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards were handed out to five organizations for their efforts to “promote employee health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance.”

I look forward to the awards and the fresh statistics from the APA every year on this topic because I think it’s a needed reminder that we are human beings at work, and not just cogs in the wheel of the corporate machine. Since I started blogging on programs, people and companies three years ago that are making “the work life merge a more positive journey of exploration,” the APA has been one of the more consistent streams of information connecting the human experience to the working experience.

With cash-strapped companies looking for a helping hand rather then generally lending one to employees, work life initiatives and wellness programs have a hard time carrying much weight. But as the business imperative is revealed more and more in the spreadsheets, and in employee retention, engagement and productivity, perhaps we have reason to be more optimistic that companies will take notice.

The five organizations honored this year reported a turnover rate of just 9%, in contrast to the national average of 41 % as estimated by the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s cash in the bank for those companies which can concentrate more on growth and productivity rather than just struggling in the arena of recovery.

The proof was often in the bottom-line and/or positive employee productivity for the companies that scored high on the APA benchmark scale for A Psychologically Healthy Workplace. Here’s a sampling of some of the outcomes in companies that implemented a variety of work life initiatives:

• American Cast Iron Pipe Company:  Positive health outcomes. Hundred of employees have quit smoking, more than a thousand began an exercise program and hundreds more lowered their blood pressure to within normal limits.
• Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare: Employees have made significant strides in morale, job satisfaction and work efficiency and the company has seen major improvements in its customer relations, operating margin, turnover and productivity.
• Leaders Bank: Since the roll-out of its wellness program, sick day utilization has decreased with employees now using an average of only 1.4 sick days per year.
• Advanced Solutions: Voluntary turnover dropped from 7.9 percent in 2008 to 4.1 percent in 2009 and measures of employee engagement have steadily increased.
• The Toronto Police Service: Improvements in equipment and training provided to uniformed employees have led to a decline in the average number of days lost to workplace injury, keeping officers on the job and contributing to their families and communities.

Read more about the topic at the Good Company Blog.

In this weeks WorkLife Nation Webisode, you’ll hear about the inner workings of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace.

The very public apology from Tiger Woods for his marital wavering caught the world in a whiz of water cooler conversation as the televised statement blasted through the media. Along with words of redemption came a contemplative toned message about how he had strayed from his governing belief system of Buddhism:

“Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.”

As Buddhism is associated with meditation and is in fact a cornerstone of the practice, the internet was flooded with articles about the benefits of meditation over the last few weeks. (Check out this NY Daily News article) Throughout Woods’ career, his belief system wasn’t a huge target of interest. But it did make us wonder if the focused behavior that made him a superstar in his “workplace” of the golf course, was somehow thanks to the discipline of his personal practice and beliefs on and off the course – which likely included some sort of meditative exercise.

Your Brain on Meditation

Recent studies on the effects of meditation on the body and brain have been trickling into the webisphere as has commentary on the use of meditation at work and in business. The Mayo Clinic, University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin are all involved in such research. In this weeks WorkLife Nation webisode, we take a look at the science and impact of “meditation on the brain” with Andrew Newberg M.D., author of How God Changes your Brain.

Work/Life News This Week

This topic is getting much airplay as we begin a busy month of work life news. This week, the American Psychological Association holds its Psychologically Healthy Workplace Conference in Washington D.C. (I’ll be speaking on a panel discussion on work life issues) You can catch conference highlights by following #phwc or @PHWP_online.

Also, March is Women’s History Month which kicks off with numerous conferences and lobbying efforts to boost the voice and stature of women in the workplace and business. Head to the site of the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation for information on Policy & Action Day which is Tuesday, March 2nd. The group will be on Capitol Hill, addressing concerns that impact women and families such as healthcare, workplace practices, paid family leave, and equal pay. You can follow their progress this week at @womenmisbehavin.

Even in the sea of an uncertain job market, a swell of interest is sending waves of awareness on the work/life merge and the way human capital – meaning people – are treated in the workplace.

Fem 2.0’s Wake up, This is the Reality radio and blog campaign stirred the pot around discussion of the “new normal” over the last two weeks. A shift is being called for to lay the foundation for better workplace guidelines, employee rights, more flexible working conditions, and sweeping work/life policy change. Fem 2.0’s informative radio programs offered a wealth of knowledge and overview on the status of work life issues, and there were a number of male voices contributing to the conversation to offer the ideas through a different lens. It’s worth heading to the site to check out the material.  You’ll learn a lot about where we are – and where we’re going.

Evolution or Revolution?

The word revolution comes to mind, to describe what is needed to shift consciousness around workplace policy, but in the spirit of evolutionary philosopher Ken Wilbur, perhaps a strategy of “transcending and including” might be in order. Here’s how he explains the concept:

“Transcend-and-include means something new and higher and external to the present entity comes into being (transcendence), but the present entity is taken up, included, and enfolded in the new occasion as an internal thread or strand in its makeup.”

No one company has created systems that will allow for more flexible and non-discriminating workplace practices across the board that can be implemented in every workplace, but there are some that have instituted best practices. Check out the research of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility & Families and Work Institute’s project – When Work Works. The workplace programs offered by the companies recognized in the project are not one-size-fits-all, but they offer a foundation for change. It’s from that start that we can elevate the conversation and evaluate, transcend and include the ideas presented without knocking them down if they lack weight in galvanizing sweeping change.

While we continue to debate what constitutes a “perk” and the definition of systematic change, companies and employees should take note of all initiatives emerging. New models and ideas should be examined, explored for flaws, adjusted and when warranted – expanded in provocative ways. While it might seem a revolution in needed for sweeping change, perhaps if a more organic evolutionary approach is embraced, it will take root in the three portals of work life waters that we’re swimming in with overlapping boundaries.

Inside Capitol Hill

When President Obama launched the Whitehouse Task Force on Middle Class Working Families it was a harbinger of change, of sorts, from the inside out. It came from “inside” an administration that sent a message that work life initiatives or “balance” would be high on the agenda. After all, the topic was of great interest to the President and First Lady Michelle as they are working, while bringing up two young children in the White House.

Perhaps it was a baby step toward supporting the growing call for better work life effectiveness, but it did set the tone for a potential shift in legislation regarding like family leave, paid sick days, and paid maternity leave. Is this a good or bad thing? Depends on who you ask. More legislation might benefit workers to a degree,  but there’s the downside of big business concerns about being overly governed. From inside Capitol Hill, how much action should we see on this front?

Inside Corporate America

With women comprising more than half of the workforce, dual-income families, and concern about child and elder care, big business has good reason to look toward better workplace practices such as flexibility, to engage and retain  – productive employees. Companies such as Cisco, Home Depot, Best Buy, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Pitney Bowes have been at the forefront of offering work/life initiatives including flexible workplace practice. These large corporate entities did it from – the inside out – making the determination that company policy change would have a positive impact on employees and the bottom line of the company.

That short list of companies is expanding, but at a slow pace. The initiatives being offered are not governed by legislative changes, but instead by forward thinking companies which are exploring new ways to enhance the working experience for their employees without breaking the bank. What will it take for more companies to execute such policy at more Fortune 500 companies? Will a nudge from Capitol Hill do the trick?  Perhaps the continued efforts and qualitative research from groups such as Workplace Flexibility 2010 or the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation. Or will big business be swayed with an emotional anecdotal dose of commentary from the average worker? Hmmm… unlikely but it’s worth a shot. What if big business made it “ok” for its workers to have a voice?

Inside the Mind of the Employee

In my opinion this is where the greatest challenges exist and the greatest evolution needs to take place. Battered by a poor economy, job loss, and continued pressure to do more with less, boosting the spirits and self esteem of the average worker seems a daunting task. Mostly because it falls upon the worker to pick themselves up by the boot straps and move forward in a sea of change. If a worker does not feel safe enough to express their voice, they will remain silent. If a worker remains silent, a company risks low morale, a less engaged or unproductive employee.

However, because of high unemployment, boomers reinventing themselves, Gen Y and Gen X looking for a better work/life balance, and an emerging desire to lead a more passion filled life with purpose, there’s a transformational shift taking place. Workers are re-evaluating their working experience, even in the face of challenges. It doesn’t mean they are quitting their jobs, but in a “career chaos economy” many are contemplating the merge of their working and living experience and at the very least  – questioning it. Questioning their happiness, the value of family, the meaning and purpose of their work. That creates an opening for conversation, for the expression of lingering doubts, and for fertile soil to jump ship to a company that might offer greener pastures.

Often, the employees voice is quelled in tough economic times, but when ones disposition hits rock bottom, just like a phoenix rises from the ashes, so can the worker rise from the waters of chaos with a new powerful voice. Question is -  will the guns of big business be too loud for the C-suite to listen?

In a perfect world, they might peruse the wish list written by Leanne Chase at CareerLifeConnection who recently penned a Workers Bill of Rights.

Remember the swirling concern around ushering in the new millennium? A bunch of us do because we feared it, thinking computers and even world markets might collapse. But it didn’t happen. We did however witness a few monkey wrenches in the corporate machine in the form of Tyco, Worldcom and Enron, not to mention the shakeup in the global markets. Now there’s talk of the impending changes associated with 2012. But what if 2012 portends not disaster, but instead a shift in consciousness? And one that impacts the way we work and do business.

Such a tone already exists. In Patricia Aburdene’s Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, she writes:

“We the people have the power to transform capitalism. As investors, consumers and managers. And capitalism has the power to change the world.”

I’ve studied Aburdene’s work for many years and it influenced my belief that business can be one of the greatest agents of social change. That’s why “significance” or “meaningful work fueling right livelihood” have always been a part of my work life vernacular when I write about conscious vocation. The question is – how do we align our core human values – like compassion, integrity, intelligence, hard work and even love – with our business model and still be successful?

A conscious approach to work and business used to be the meat of esoteric dialogue, now it’s looked upon as an innovative approach to remaining profitable and socially responsible in a time of great transition. Aburdene has long been a great resource in this field and many others have emerged. Check out the Conscious Capitalism Institute and its C3 Summit.

Now as we get closer to 2012, and the alleged end of the world as we know it, we’ll be hearing from new voices on their perception of 2012 and the alleged shift. One such voice is William Gladstone, the author of The Twelve – who, in the spirit of full transparency – is also a colleague. In his novel he takes a gander at 2012 through the eyes of a character who discovers his own humanity. I spoke with him about his book and his thoughts on a more conscious approach to work and business in this weeks WorkLifeNation webisode.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article this week offering a blueprint for those who are thinking of heading into business on their own, even in rough economic waters. Writer Richard Greenwald’s feature: How to Succeed in the Age of Going Solo, offers real time guidance and doesn’t pull any punches with regard to the challenges that might come your way.

The article had me thinking and asking questions of fellow colleagues who have contemplated heading into the uncertain waters of being a free agent. While fear of financial insecurity came into play, surprisingly many were a little gun shy when it came to the concept of self promotion. Diving into the info-overloaded marketplace might be intimidating, especially for those whose social media experience is limited to Facebook.

In this WorkLife Nation webisode,  Marketing and Leadership strategist David Meerman Scott – author of World Wide Rave – weighs in on the importance of embracing Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a good start toward going solo.

Choices regarding my work life time consumption had to be made this week. I was continually blown away by Fem 2.0’s blog radio series, Wake Up! This is Reality campaign on Work/Life,  I’ve had the typical few days of TV, babysitting for my niece, producing a webisode and battling with my inner desire to blog 24/7. Something had to give.

I found that the blog radio series was trumping just about everything this week because it was so comprehensive. Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the program on Work Life and Business with Joanne Bamberger known as @PunditMom,  Deborah L. Frett, CEO of the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (@WomenMisbehavin) and Kathy Korman Frey (@ChiefHotMomma), Founder, Hot Mommas Project, George Washington University.

I’ve listened to a number of recorded programs and it’s worth the time. It’s given me more hope that perhaps change from Capital Hill and Corporate America on work life policy might be sparked. It also highlighted the need for individuals to deconstruct their own work life issues. More importantly, taking the time to listen to some of the episodes on line – was time well spent. It slowed me down a bit. Did some things go undone this week?  Absolutely. But how do you put a value on knowledge that manifests in creative ideas and innovation? Sometimes it’s worth taking a chill.

In this weeks WorkLifeNation webisode we take a quick gander at The Power of Slow through the eyes of author Christine Louise Hohlbaum. The Slow Movement began in the 1980’s when an historic Italian landmark area was being threatened with a fast food chain. Now Hohlbaum offers her own thoughts on slowing down in today’s fast paced world.

Can the use of social media shine a spotlight on work life concerns and move people toward positive radical change? Ask Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordon. She just might say so. Queen Rania describes herself on Twitter as, “a mum and a wife with a really cool day job.”  This past December at Le Web, the international technology conference in Paris, Queen Rania explained, “Real Time is the new Prime Time.” She made the comment while speaking about the use of social media to launch social change and awareness. Her presence on social media sites such as Twitter, (@QueenRania) earned her YouTube’s Visionary Award. “A monarch with a mission,” she commented magnified by more than a million Twitter followers.

Washington is not aflutter on work life issues

Queen Rania is known for her social activism in her quest to break down cultural stereotypes and champion education. So I ask – why not use social media more effectively to cause a Tsunami of discussion on more effective work life policy, legislation, practices, and initiatives? Some may argue it’s already happening. Look at the impact of A Woman’s Nation, the project by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress.  It spurred discussion, and it grew legs because of its on-line efforts. The message was dispersed in real time across a number of media platforms.

The fuel for changing work life policy must emerge from that type of grassroots level or miraculously come from companies which understand the value of their human capital – people – in the workplace. And the message needs to happen consistently, authentically and across all social media platforms in real time. A seemingly impossible feat in our 24/7 world, but a necessary one that can be effective when messages go viral and generate buzz. I’m not holding my breath for family leave, paid leave, paid sick leave or the Healthy Families Act to gain traction in a Washington that is still bickering over health care reform.

Using social media to change the work life narrative

Conversation on work-family conflict is stirring on-line, but it has not even approached critical mass. The narrative around work life issues is still finding its voice. But I’m inspired by Queen Rania, who had this to say at the Le Web conference:

“Today we have the world at our fingertips, not as it was 5 days, or 5 days or 5 minutes ago, but as it is right now….the web is more human than ever before as we life stream the details of our lives existence.”

The Queen Mum added, “digital advocacy could translate to analog action.” Her Majesty claims we’re at the tipping point because networks like Twitter are inherently change agents as a , ” source for news, a  platform to collaborate, and a mouthpiece to mobilize.” Case in point – the worldwide reaction to the earthquake in Haiti.  Didn’t social networks move people to action?

However,  for real change to occur, history often shows us the audience must be involved at the tipping point of chaos to engage. For example, Decades of corruption and poverty in Haiti apparently wasn’t enough for the world to take action. It took an earthquake to pay attention.

Work Life Reform

Statistics support the case to reform work life practices. Better flexibility for example, can boost employee engagement and productivity. But such talking points need to be articulated not just in a press release, but through human dialogue. We need to put a human face to the work life bubble which is about to burst, from the employee AND the employers perspective.

We need a new “real time” narrative. When the human component enters the viral webisphere it brings new believable voices to the forefront, sparks conversation and galvanizes a group with an emotional human bent that can hit home without entering into victim mode.

Perhaps the tipping point is here. The perfect storm has arrived with women now encompassing more than half the workforce, men just as concerned with work life conflict as women and companies still pulling back on hiring as they live in the shadows of fear they’ll be legislated into submission. Grab a Twitter handle and speak your mind. Someone has to budge, and it ain’t gonna be Washington.

Click here to watch Queen Rania’s address at Le Web.

There is this little spoken-of work life niche; the pseudo-mommy or in my current scenario – aunt. Juggling career, and being in the lives of children, though you have not birthed them. I had long felt alone as the bastard child of the work life mommy movement until I discovered SavvyAuntie.com. Melanie Notkin is the founder of this website described as, “The first community for cool aunts, great aunts, godmothers and all women who love kids.” Great useful content and tips from people just like me. Kind of like a Dear Abby for aunts.

The site was brought to my attention by CV Harquail, founder of AuthenticOrganizations.com. We were meeting with some very distinguished work life bloggers (all happen to be mommys) for lunch in New York City last week. When my turn came to speak about the work life merge, my experience with children was far different from the others. I was a step-mom for a number of years, I spent about 7 years volunteering with children living with HIV/AIDS and now I’m an aunt, or auntie if you will.

I’m not an aunt in the traditional sense. The four year-old pistol is the daughter of one of my closest friends who is also a television anchor with an insane schedule, oddly enough I am her fill-in anchor which makes life even more interesting.

It Takes a Village

She knew when this child arrived it would, “take a village” to raise this peanut, and she was right on target. Her husband, who is a freelancer (which adds to the chaos with a different schedule every week), three grandparents, her sister and myself to a degree, delicately pass this adorable precious Lladro-like football from one’s loving arms to the next. And the little one could not be more thrilled. She is a bright, intelligent child with a zest for life and an incredible vocabulary.

I was there through the pregnancy, the birth and so far – her entire life. From reading her bedtime stories, to taking her to the bookstore and the park, to bath time. Every week there are a slew of e-mails and phone calls exchanged.  It goes something like this…

FRIEND: “OK, Judy, these are the nights I need coverage, what do you have available?”

JUDY:  “I’m working for YOU on Monday, but I’ve got Wed and Thurs night available.”

FRIEND: “Ok, I’ll see if my mom can drop her off at the house so you can watch her for 2 hours until her dad gets home.”

JUDY: “After or before she has dinner.”

FRIEND: “I don’t know yet, I’ll get back to you…”

There will be many more calls and e-mails, last minute schedule changes and complete 180 degree turns in the plan sometimes, as sh– happens. Either way there’s a communication tree of loving beings ready to drop everything if need be. I even had a last minute meeting on Thursday and we all had to adjust. But had we not been able to handle the childcare issue, I would have canceled my plans.

You’re a step-mom?

I’m not ignorant. I understand that being a biological mommy is not the same as being a pseudo-mommy, but I’ve had my fair share of experience in this arena. It also came in the form of being a step-mom while engaged. Despite the fact that I never walked down the isle, I was still present in their lives. On the weekends, when someone missed the bus, or got sick at school during the week, or needed a ride to the mall, or forgot to make lunch – I pitched in.

On being an aunt

Wisdom as s step-mom was gained in this process, as was in my participation in my niece’s life, but it’s different. I am not necessarily up all night when the little one can’t sleep, I have not stayed home with her from work when she was sick, I’m not her mom. Still, I’m an acknowledged loved one in her life. Someone who will be there for some great milestones, like her ballet recital a few weeks ago. I may never truly know how I have impacted this little girls life.

Someday in the future she might better understand my pseudo-role. She’ll see that her college fund grew consistently throughout the years, and that for some reason Aunt Judy was always floating around for dinner and reading her bedtime stories from time to time. She will understand that she grew up in an extended family including Aunt Judy.  In fact, she has already observed my presence in her life. Last week at a family dinner at home, with some distant relatives, she had this to say to her mom.

“Mommy, there’s a problem.” She and her mom went into the kitchen for this important low-toned conversation as there was obviously something disturbing the little one. “Honey, tell me what it is,” she whispered. “Well, we’re missing a place setting. What if Aunt Judy shows up?”

There’s a flood of work life news this week. First, check out the new report on work/family conflict from the Center for American Progress and the Center for WorkLife Law. You will find the results rather shocking and disturbing. I think this report , The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict: The Poor, the Professionals, and the Missing Middle sets stage for some hardcore discussion in Washington about work life legislation.

It’s a topic that the National Association of Mothers’ Centers has been studying for more than three decades. In this webisode you’ll hear from Dana Friedman Ed.D. who weighed in on work life issues at a recent panel hosted by NAMC.

And in an effort to jump start a new narrative on work life issues,  Fem 2.0 launched a new blog radio series this week,  which covers an enormous amount of ground on work life from every angle. From men and women – to big business – to elderly care – to flexibility -  it’s comprehensive, and I’m looking forward to participating this week. Click here for the agenda.

For me personally, the work life news this week coincides with a very important anniversary in my work/life existence. 20 years ago I covered the Avianca plane crash on Long Island. Thinking back it was the first significant memory of how intense the work life merge can be when crisis strikes. It prepared me for future chaotic episodes, such as Hurricane Andrew and 9/11,  but also, it reminded me that I’m a human being – first. You’ll hear more in this week’s episode along with details on this undercurrent of dialogue on work life issues that’s bound to gain some ground in the media this week.

Jonathan Fields, author of Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing what You Love, is profiled in this weeks WorkLife Nation webisode. It’s timely because the intersection of career, happiness and productivity is the meat of debate lately. Even amidst our “career chaos economy,” some corporate loyalists are going renegade, seeking a more fulfilled working experience. For some it’s meant giving up the big bucks for a bit – or switching careers.

The definition of “career” is being deconstructed. The traditional life-long or 9-5  job is changing its face for a lot of reasons:  we’re living in an ever-changing economy due to globalization, the internet has upped the entrepreneurial game, rough economic conditions have sparked innovation, and the desire to be treated like human beings at work and in business -  is stronger than ever before.

With the chaos over the last year has come plenty of opportunity. New business niches are being revealed as we change the way we work. The internet, technology, telecommuting, and a desire for a better work life fit have fueled innovation and fed a new stream of entrepreneurs. These changes have even stirred up the work life balance debate in corporate America.

Jonathan Fields talks about his journey, in this weeks WorkLife Nation webisode.