State Highway Administration 11-05

Work/Life 24/7: Critical Trends Facing Our Workforces Kathleen Beauchesne Director, FASAP, SAP and WORKlife Programs Maryland State Highway Administration November 18, 2005

Theoretical Foundations     

Social exchange theory Social justice theory Role theory Life course/developmental perspectives Systems theory

Technology and Globalization 

Key Issues 



Organizations are competing globally due to new technologies, economic and political pressures, the need for highly skilled and knowledgeable workers, changes in management practices and new regulations on trade

Implications 

Hospitals and universities have tried to keep pace with the changing marketplace, but it is increasingly difficult    

Economics of healthcare, managed care, and academic medicine Competitive distance learning educational programs Change business practices Role in linking science and industry to innovation

Employment, Wages and Benefits 

Key Issues 

Shift from manufacturing to service-based economy 

Fundamental change in the nature of work itself 









Requires the “hearts and minds” of knowledge and service workers

Low wage workers are vital to business operations and no longer a disposable labor force Part-time workers are expected to grow to 25% of the labor force Medical care is more complex and specialized and health care costs are rising faster than the gross national product and workers’ incomes Retirement is no longer the singular event it once was 

Aging boomers will compel changes in retirement planning and pension growth

Employment, Wages and Benefits 

Implications  

Recruitment and retention of highly skilled, educated workers Demand for low wage workers will remain significant, but the supply is vast and can be obtained anywhere in the world 

 

 

Demand for personal services caring for aging population

Labor shortages in key professions demand that we “grow our own labor force” 3 of the 5 occupations with the largest proportion of part-time jobs include teachers, registered nurses and scientists (including engineers, mathematicians, computer and natural scientists) More and more Americans will be uninsured Aging workforce will insist on more flexibility, individual choice and blended retirement and pension plans

Our society is aging 



Life expectancy has increased from 47 years in 1900 to 76 years in 2000 By 2010  

 

The oldest baby boomers turn 65 The number of people between 45 and 64 years old will increase by 29%--adding 17 million more adults to this age range Those 65 and older will increase by nearly 14% 1/3 did not save enough for their retirement and will need to work

The Workforce 

Key Issues 

The new face of the workforce is increasingly female, people of color, immigrant and aging 



The workforce of the future (the next 40 years) has already been born 



The color of the workforce will be gray

17% shortfall between the boomer generation and the generation of workers that follow

This trend is worldwide

Munnell (2004)

Munnell (2004)

The Workforce 

Implications     

Eldercare and caregiving Health and disability Rising retirement age Retaining older workers Death and dying

The Workforce 

Implications 



Highest turnover at will be among those who hold executive, administrative and managerial jobs Women and people of color have not made progress in every occupation and are pooled in non-exempt positions 



63% of our workforce is female; 71.7% of the university workforce is Caucasian

Knowledge transfer, succession planning, retirement planning and related human resources policies, managing generational needs and meeting the needs of care giving employees will be key issues

Work and Family 

Key Issues 

The demands of full-time work and family life intersect at each stage of working life 



Child-bearing 



87% of the American workforce goes home to care for a family member every night Lower fertility rates

Marriage and divorce  

Postponement of marriage and high rates of divorce More than 1/3 of our children under 18 will experience their parents’ divorce; one-half will spend time in a single parent family and one-quarter will live with a step-parent by the time they are 16

Work and Family 

Key Issues 

Changes in family structures have been enormous 





Women’s labor force participation 



76% work; most dramatic increase for those with children under 3

The pressure of speeded up lives and the need for flexibility 



Married, single, gay and lesbian, blended, step-families, single parents, grand-parents parenting grandchildren, friends, neighbors Bean-pole families

Average number of work hours has increased by 100 annually for men since 1969 and three times that for women

Within the next 10 years, 1 out of 3 families will be caring for an ill or elderly relative

Work and Family 

Implications 









Good workers willing to work 9 to 5 will be very valuable as more and more workers choose to work at home or in more flexible arrangements Competition for highly skilled, educated workers will increase along with increasing demands for flexibility Women are dropping out of the academic and nursing pipelines seeking corporate jobs with better pay and more flexible support Control over one’s schedule and the flow of work combined with a workplace that is supportive and values the work—makes a difference The demands of care giving are costly—yet caregivers provide $300 billion in free services, which cannot be readily replaced by government agencies, non-profits or employers 

The need for eldercare consultation and support may outstrip the demand for child care

Working Conditions 

Key Issues



Flexible and supportive supervisors are critical to recruitment and retention Greater work/life supports (flexibility, respect, supervisor support, supportive work culture) are more strongly associated with positive work outcomes than fringe benefits



 



Job satisfaction Commitment  Loyalty  Willing to work harder than required to help employer succeed Retention  More likely to stay with employer for at least the next year

Working Conditions 

Greater worklife supports on the job are positively related to more positive life outcomes    

Less interference between job and family life Less negative spillover from job to home Greater life satisfaction Better mental health

Working Conditions: Old Models/New Models Traditional Supervisor  Authoritarian  Very much in charge.  “Command and control” type of manager  Tries hard to keep everything under control  Expects employees to leave their home-life issues outside the office door

Integrated Supervisor  Facilitator and coach  Flexible and supportive  Relational practice  Employees are human beings with full lives outside of work and important personal responsibilities to handle

Working Conditions: Old Workplace/New Workplace Old Workplace  Jobs come with two choices  Full-time (long hours and benefits)  Part-time, limited, casual (short hours, low pay, no benefits)  Acting individually places careers at risk  Patterns of limited coverage  Health care and pension systems are in trouble  Two choices of work/life benefits  Support the ideal worker  Provide flexibility

New Workplace  Focus on work redesign  Quality part-time jobs connected to career tracks  Sequence in and out work  Focus on the physical plant  Ergonomics  Physics  Design better buildings  Diversity in leadership  Flexible hours  Redesign benefits  Access to paid-time off  Generous maternity leave policies  Health care  Pensions  Work/life benefits  Employee voice  Work/life councils

Working Conditions 

Implications 

 

Our unique position in healthcare, education and research provides us with the opportunity to be a national leader Our traditional assumptions, values and beliefs about work must be examined Breadwinner models of work and family are embedded in the way we work today 



Adding additional hours to a person’s work day may lead to stress and burnout in knowledge and service workers

Our organizational strategies deal with those individual problems brought to the office door

Working Together with Other Stakeholders 

Key Issues 





Work /life issues are social issues that require employers and other stakeholders working together Labor laws and other regulations lack the flexibility needed today Changing role of employers in the provision of “private welfare benefits”

Working Together With Other Stakeholders 

Implications 





Employers are now “expected” to assume responsibility for benefits Labor unions have negotiated for work/life benefits since 1989 and won Government is smaller and is no longer seen as a safetynet for a healthy and able-bodied workforce

Trends Globalization Technology Economic Pressures Cultural Issues Flexibility

FASAP/WORKlife Advisory Committee White Paper Project

Time Squeeze Financial Pressures Spillover Accomodating Work Arrangements

Increasing Diversity

Government

Work Organizations

Work Hopkins Current Labor Force Health Recruit

Work and Personal Life

Family

Changing Labor Force Retain

Future Laborforce Well-being Community

Goals Maximize human capital Minmize human resources costs Improve organizational performance

Theory Role Theory Social Exchange Social Justice

Unions

Flexibilit Employee V Benefits Red Skills Prepa Work Red

Key Concerns  

Adapting to new conditions Concerns about the preparation of the labor force of the future 

   

22% of employers offer remedial reading, writing and arithmetic

Much conflict in our society about what to do Limited resources Move beyond accommodation No single solutions

Questions Kathi Beauchesne [email protected]