Recent News

March 3, 2006

More companies allow part-time

A study of part-time work finds it increasing at a slow steady pace, seen less as a work-life perk and more as smart business. So said 60 percent of those interviewed by researchers Ellen Ernst Kossek, Mary Dean Lee and others, who talked to 88 managers and executives in twenty U.S. and Canadian companies.

Their study found the prevalence of reduced-load work had increased in 60 percent of the companies, with 70 percent saying their culture was more accepting of the arrangement. In a third of the firms, a change in CEO made the difference. The study concludes that having top executives who are committed to employees having a life can make a huge difference.

Some strategies that made reduced-load work pay off for all stakeholders: hiring high performers who can be trusted to self-manage; paying careful attention to workloads when designing reduced-load positions; and communicating frequently, planning ahead and continuously fine-tuning.

Read the Sloan Foundation-funded study, "Making Flexibility Work: What Managers Have Learned about Implementing Reduced-Load Work" at www.msu.edu/user/kossek/phaseIIreport.pdf. #20812 Press release, SLOAN W-F Research Network, 12-13-05. This information was published by Work and Family News Brief. One of the many benefits of being a member of the Circle of Business; Circle of Business is a community alliance that fosters work/life effectiveness while improving business performance. For more information or to join Circle of Business, please contact Darlene Haas at 614/224.0222 ext. 156.