Posts filed under 'Overworked and underpaid'
In the media and not to be missed this week:
New research shows that not only are men are better negotiators than women, but women who negotiate higher salaries are viewed negatively by both men and women. Ugh. How this translates: “If a 22-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman are offered $25,000 for their first job, for example, and one of them negotiates the amount up to $30,000, then over the next 28 years, the negotiator would make $361,171 more, assuming they both got 3 percent raises each year.” (Washington Post)
The average employee wastes two hours a day on personal pursuits, aka IM, cell phone, and the web. This study comes out every year, but it never gets old. Plus, this year’s finding have a special new twist: Twentysomethings are the biggest slackers of all. (Inc.com)
And from the recent archives:
NEC Corp. rolled out a pink, crystal-encrusted Hello Kitty laptop for “working women.” Bwahaahaaaaaaaaa! (Associated Press, via MSNBC)
A survey that came out around Mother’s Day found that “20% of women and 25% of men say, ‘I am often left picking up the slack for my co-workers who are moms.’” Many respondents were fathers. Way to go, guys. (USA Today)
Trade school is the new graduate school. If you read the last chapter of my book, you know I’m a champion of this POV. After all, how else is a philosophy grad going to pay the bills? (Minneapolis Star Tribune, via Seattle Times)
Marlys Harris, senior editor of Money Magazine, advises women to marry rich. I shit you not. (MSNBC)
August 3rd, 2007
You’ll be hearing today about how the U.S. minimum wage finally rose from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour, its first increase in a decade and an end to the longest stretch of time without a federal minimum wage hike since the law hit the books in 1938.
BFD. It was hard to live on $12K a year twenty years ago when I was fresh out of school and sleeping on a futon on the floor (with no dependents). Imagine being a single mom trying to feed your kids on that pittance. And to those who say increasing the mimimum wage is bad for businesses, how the heck do you sleep at night, endorsing poverty-level pay? If a business can’t afford to pay an employee a fair living wage, they don’t have any business hiring an employee.
Looking forward to 2009, when the minimum wage rises to $7.25 an hour, which still won’t be enough to live on and is less than many middle-class kids currently get paid to babysit.
July 24th, 2007
I’m a little late in commenting on this, for reasons I’ll explain later this week (no, I’m not knocked up). But I couldn’t let Friday’s media feeding frenzy du jour slip by without weighing in.
I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Pew Research Center revealed that the number of working moms who find part-time employment ideal — as opposed to full-time employment, or sitting out the employment merry-go-round altogether –has jumped to 60 percent in the past decade. (It was 48 percent in 1997.) You can read more of the stats here.
On the one hand, is this really news? I mean, doesn’t anyone with multiple responsibilities and to-do lists coming out of their ears want to work less? We’re not our first-wave feminist mothers and grandmothers with something to prove: We now know we can take office work or leave it (that is, if we can afford it, which most of us unfortunately can’t).
On the other hand, only 12 percent of the working dads Pew surveyed thought that part-time work was ideal for them. Sure, most single- or dual-parent families can’t live off a part-time salary (or two). But why are today’s dads so much more squeamish than their female counterparts about sitting out a couple days of office work? Is it that they don’t want to get “stuck” at home changing diapers and folding laundry? Are their identities — even in this sensitive-DIY-male day and age — so wrapped up in being the manly breadwinner? Or is it just that they (wisely) can’t get past the hits in pay, benefits, and even career advancement that often come with part-time work? (And since women can get past all this more often than their male counterparts, are we just a bunch of suckers? Or are we simply more disposed to putting quality of life first?)
Hopefully studies like this will continue to drive home the need for more fair ‘n flexible work options for parents and non-parents alike. And for parents, my hope is that more and more couples will continue to take that long, hard look at the division of household/financial labor when weighing who should work and who should stay home (if that’s even a financial option). And hopefully the next time someone does a big fancypants study like this, they’ll bother to ask the non-parents what they think, too. I, for one, would love to see the number of non-parents who prefer part-time work. I have a sneaking suspicion they’d be similar across the gender lines.
July 17th, 2007
Working wives enjoy lasting marriages, studies show (McClatchy News Service)
Take that, Michael Noer!
Why working less is better for the globe (Alternet.org)
“Americans are working harder than ever before and at a greater cost to the environment. Research suggests that practicing a more simple lifestyle made people happier while using fewer resources.”
Be cool in the cube (Seattle Times)
“Restrain yourself from popping gum, clipping fingernails, cracking knuckles, smacking while eating, singing, drumming fingers or nervous tapping of any kind — or refreshing your cologne.”
Economist believes taxing women less could help everyone (Seattle Times)
“Want to reduce the overall level of income taxes and see more women taking home paychecks? Lower income-tax rates for women while raising them for men, according to Harvard University economist Alberto Alesina, who calls the idea ‘discrimination, the good kind.’”
More companies allowing employees to nap at work (NorthJersey.com)
“An article in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine says fatigued workers cost employers $136.4 billion each year in health-related ‘LPT,’ or lost productive time. It’s at least part of the reason companies such as British Airways, Nike Inc. and Pizza Hut International allow their workers nap breaks and found productivity increased as a result. A NASA study found that a short nap can boost workers’ output by as much as 34 percent.”
May 23rd, 2007
There was a verrrrrrry interesting article in my hometown paper, the Seattle Times, on Sunday: “Who says 9 to 5 is normal?” It’s about local employers who recognize that giving their employees flexible work options is a smart move. (Happier employees = better worker retention = lower turnover = lower costs. Duh.)
I also appreciate the article’s implication that trusting your telecommuting and flextime employees to not act like fifth graders or JDs boosts morale. If one of your staff violates that trust (say, by cleaning their garage instead of delivering the McWhatever report on time), you don’t kill the flex program, you give that individual the boot.
If this hits home in a good way, won’t you post the name of your employer, their location, and the details of your excellent flex package in the comments below? If we continue to praise those companies who make worklife more bearable, maybe other employers — ever-eager for positive PR and shiny new recruits — will want to make “the list.” In fact, if I get enough comments, I may see about doing something else with this list on the web.
May 3rd, 2007
Last week Charlene asked how freelancers deal with sick days. (Answer here.) If you think self-employed people are the only working stiffs who have it rough when they’re sick, you probably didn’t see the ABC news report on Friday about how 59 million U.S. workers have no paid sick days and 86 million get no paid days off to care for a sick kid. A juicy nugget from the piece:
Of the 20 most competitive economies in the world, according to research by the World Economic Forum, the U.S. is the only one not to require businesses to provide paid sick days.
What’s more, according to this NewStandard report, the shortage of sick days hurts women the most and hits part-time workers the hardest, given that only one in six of them gets paid sick days. Behold:
The [Kaiser Family] Foundation found that 49 percent of working mothers report they must miss work when a child is sick with a common illness, compared to 30 percent of men, and half of working mothers do not get paid time off spent caring for a sick child.
None of this is surprising, given our country’s crappy work-life balance offerings. The good news is that change is afoot. San Francisco now requires businesses to grant paid sick days, and according to ABC news, “similar bills are pending in Madison, Wisconsin, and in the states of Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont.” Congress is even holding hearings on a federal mandate for paid sick days.
What do you think? Have you ever gone to work with a fever or brought a sick child to work because you needed the cash? Should smaller businesses that squawk that paid sick days hurt their bottom line be bitch-slapped? Should the government foot the bill for workers who have the flu? Do tell.
February 27th, 2007
According to a new book by psychiatrist and academic Anita Clayton, careerwomen make worse lovers. We’re too stressed and too wiped out from all that go-getting and overachieving to get it on. Plus, we’re unhappy with our sex lives but often in denial about it. And if we’re hetero, we probably don’t let on any of this to our partner. Instead, we dutifully perform our womanly duties and pull a Meg Ryan so he thinks we think he’s still got it in the sack.
Some excerpts from a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch article about Clayton’s book:
…she cites a study that showed 43 percent of women are unhappy with their sex lives, “which doesn’t seem bad unless you believe, as I do, that the other 57 percent were lying.”
And:
Women, especially working women, are more stressed and tired than ever before. Women’s overburdened lives alter the libido, she said. And there seems little motivation for women to change.
And:
“We have incorporated the belief that beautiful people have the best sex…. I think that pressure has ratcheted up.”
To Clayton’s credit, her book, called Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, looks as though it’s genuinely aimed at helping women achieve the big O rather than stripping them of their careers. (I’ve only read the promo copy.)
I will be the first to admit that when I’m crazy-busy with work, right after sleep and exercise, sex is often the first thing to go. But if I’m happy in my relationship and my partner is too, I’m not sure why I should care, unless the agenda is to push me into making babies. And whatever happened to pre-dawn, morning, or weekend sex? All viable solutions to the so-called “not tonight” problem. Plus, I didn’t realize I was supposed to think that only the Paris Hiltons of the world have great sex, but I promise to get right on that.
I know that if you’re a parent, all the roll-in-the-hay rules can change. So, tell me, singles, parents, single parents, do you think career and coitus (and family) can coexist? Or like the good doctor implies, are we all just in deep, deep denial, letting our lube and vibrators languish and taking our work to bed instead?
February 14th, 2007
In case you didn’t get the memo, allow me to break the news to you: A new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers found that out of all “wealthy countries” in the world, the United States offers by far the crappiest family-friendly workplace policies. Meaning our maternity leave, paid sick days, and support for breast-feeding pales in comparison. This recent Associated Press article about the study should sufficiently sicken your stomach.
The biggie is of course the tidbit that “America is one of only five countries out of 173 in the survey that does not guarantee some form of paid maternity leave; the others are Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea.” Nice.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Happy, well-treated workers = employee loyalty = less turnover = more money for CEOs (who on average make 262 times the salary of an average worker, according to the Economic Policy Institute). So wise up, head honchos, before you lose all your good workers.
For more juicy stats on how badly America sucks at accommodating its working parents and caregivers, check out Moms Rising, where you’re bound to be appalled into action.
February 11th, 2007
Actually American teens, boomers, and seniors are, according to today’s Christian Science Monitor, which ran an article called “Why volunteerism has reached historic high in US.”
It’s encouraging to see that 29 percent of Americans are lending a hand these days, no doubt driven by the realization that there’s more to life than staff meetings and stock options. Check out these excerpts:
…companies, including CVS, Best Buy, and The Home Depot, are giving employees time to volunteer and are rewarded with more productivity and higher retention rates…
Also:
“Americans want something more than a 9-to-5 job,” says Annmarie Emmet of Washington, who joined the Peace Corps at age 71. A retired government banker who never married, Ms. Emmet began volunteering at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall 18 years ago. In 2002, she journeyed to the African nation of Lesotho, where she spent two years helping those affected by the AIDS crisis. Her reason for volunteering is simple: She enjoys helping people.
“So many people sit in front of a computer in an office, and I feel sorry for them,” Emmet says. “I think so many people go to real 9-to-5-type jobs and don’t find a lot of reward in it, and I think maybe being able to help someone or maybe being able to offer something that is not expected, that can make people feel good.”
Yeah, but this woman is retired. I do wish the article had focused a bit more on recent grads who’ve just entered the workforce and want to do something other than park their rear in the cube for the next several decades but also need to make a living. Because merging service and commerce can be done, by starting your own social enterprise, doing paid work overseas, taking a volunteer vacation, etc.
You don’t have to look far to find younger women blending service work with a paycheck in the US and abroad. Sites like The REAL Hot 100 and There’s More to Life Than Shoes are filled with ‘em. And I interviewed many women for the book who have made a full-time or side career out of helping others, on just about every continent, too. If you have the book, check out chapters 7 and 8, on work that helps people and/or feeds your wanderlust.
January 30th, 2007
While we’re still in new year territory, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to do a little myth busting. If you long to give your job or career a facelift but find yourself riddled with more excuses than the Bush administration, this list — modified from a 2006 Seattle Times article by yours truly — is for you.
Myth: I should do something practical that comes with a fancy title and fat paycheck.
Okay, and I should wear makeup and skirts and try to not swear so much because that’s what “ladies” do. Not. Whose life are you living — yours or your parents’?
Myth: By the time I pay my dues in a new career, I’ll be well over 30, 40, even 50, and too old to start at the bottom.
But you’ll be happy.
Myth: I can’t start a new career now. I’ve already invested so much in getting where I am.
See above. Otherwise, vow to never whine about how you hate your current career again — for the next 20, 30, 40, or however many years you have till retirement.
Myth: I need to succeed before I breed. Once I’m raising kids, it will be too hard to zoom up the ladder or change fields.
Harder, yes, but not impossible. I’ve interviewed plenty of moms who changed careers and/or went solo after having kids, a number of them without a spouse or money in the bank as a cushion. In fact, mompreneurship may be the way to go, given all the workplace bias against mothers out there. (I’m not a mom, so I welcome the moms reading this to weigh in with their two cents.)
Myth: I can’t afford to live on less money.
Life is about choices. Your choices: premium cable TV/new shoes/$15 lunches with coworkers, or a lower-paying but infinitely more rewarding job. (Hint: I don’t miss HBO, that extra pair of black boots that could be collecting dust in my closet, or those greasy, overpriced lunches.) Besides, a starting salary isn’t forever.
January 11th, 2007
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