02/25/2009

Rolling Back Work/Life Benefits?

In an essay, "Married to the Job," in Time magazine (February 16, 2009) Nancy Gibbs discusses the dilemma of working mothers in a shrinking economy. Gibbs observes....

"...companies don't need to cut benefits if workers do it for them. You can hear it when you talk to working moms, all the old theme songs played at twice the volume. Do I dare ask for flextime? Miss the meeting for the doctor's appointment?.... As conditions get worse and 75,000 jobs turn to powder in a day, the strain on survivors can only grow. It doesn't help that on TV every Tom, Dick, and Suze keeps telling us that this is a good time to 'dig in and show your boss how good you are. Take on extra projects. Shine at whatever you do.'

"A job, like a marriage, has its honeymoon phase, its strengths and strains and things that make us crazy. But now as all our emotions are rewired, we are grateful for what we once just assumed and frightened of things we once ignored. It would be lovely to rely on the wisdom and benevolence of bosses everywhere to realize that when people are frightened about losing their job, loyalty, productivity and morale all plunge. If employers are tempted to exploit such fears, squeeze more work out of fewer people, roll back benefits because there are 100 people lined up for every job, they may find that as in so many things, the short-term fix is the long-term dumb."

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