In my first article as a contributing writer to Salary.com, I discuss three common forms of workplace flexibility–compressed work weeks, telecommuting and flextime–as well as how to negotiate for increased flexibility at work. Click here for the full article or click on the screencap below Screencap of my debut article at Salary.com (click to read the full article) What do you think about these forms of workplace flexibility? Any experiences to share? Let’s discuss in the com

What People Think Telecommuters Do This is my first attempt at a meme–feedback is appreciated. Have a great weekend! Next week, I’ll run an article about 3 common forms of work flexibility and a Q&A with the author of a great new parenting book. Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Ope

How one full-time telecommuting dad avoids the distractions of home to stay productive. A guest post by John Pearce of 14 Step Commute, which originally ran on his site on January 20th, 2014. Guest blogger, John Pearce Absolutely, hands down, the best part of telecommuting is the freedom. I can come to work in whatever I want, work whenever I want (mostly), play whatever music I want, you get the drift.  However, for many, the freedom can be a killer when it comes to producti

Telecommuting has received a burst of media attention. It is increasingly clear that telecommuting is more varied, more common and more beneficial than commonly perceived. Here’s what research shows about the benefits of telecommuting for both employers and employees. In this series of articles on telework, I will highlight the work of researchers, company best practices, and the experiences of  telecommuting employees. This first article focuses on the benefits of telecommut

Supporters of work flexibility share how it benefits them, their families and their employers. I am proud to be a part of One Million for Work Flexibility. I encourage you to check out their website and join in the movement. When you sign up to voice your support, you are also asked to write in the reason for your support. Here is a random sampling of responses gathered from respondents to the 1MFWF website, split into a few categories: Work Flexibility Means More Productivit

Here’s something we can do to raise our voices together in support of work flexibility! Welcome Harvard Business Review Readers! Please take a look around this website, including the category links to the right and my writing at HBR and other outlets above. if you like what you see, you can follow this blog via facebook, twitter or email (see links to the right). Thanks for visiting! As I noted last week, October is National Work and Family Month– an effort to raise awareness

Job-seeking parents need to consider more than just pay and advancement opportunities when considering career opportunities. Here are 4 less obvious factors to keep in mind. When considering a potential job offer, we are often acutely aware of such factors as pay, opportunities for advancement and benefits like health insurance. These are important, but sometimes the less-obvious features of a job/employer can be the difference between a difficult situation and a job situatio

Jeremy Anderson works fully from home for FlexJobs.com, a website that matches job seekers looking for telework opportunities with flexible employers. He was nice enough to talk with me about his career, the benefits of working from home, and the state of telework in the US. Jeremy Anderson is an expert on telework, and was nice enough to be interviewed for Fathers, Work and Family Can you briefly describe what FlexJobs.com does and how the company operates? FlexJobs is a pro

Marissa Mayer announced a progressive paternity leave policy at Yahoo! Especially considering recent Yahoo! decisions, these policies represent an important step forward for working dads everywhere. Yahoo’s paternity leave policy is a step forward (and somewhat makes up for Mayer’s earlier telework decision) Fair or not, when Yahoo! hired Marissa Mayer as their CEO, Mayer had to know that her status as a thirty-something first-of-her-generation new mother female CEO would att

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to examine the media’s response to Yahoo’s ban on telework. Much analysis, by “journalists” and experts alike, missed the point entirely. I explain where so many went wrong. Most analysis of yahoo’s ban on telework missed the point. The ban punishes the 98% of Yahoo employees who don’t fully work from home I promise this is the last I’ll write about this issue unless there’s some new development Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to b

Marissa Mayer of Yahoo! banned working from home. Why it was the wrong decision, and how it sends a dangerous signal. Who’da thought she’d be the one setting back the cause of working parents? (Welcome NPR listeners! If you like the article, please follow the blog via RSS, email, facebook or twitter) I’ve long believed that businesses would become much more flexible and progressive when it comes to work-family issues when those of my generation rose to positions of leadership

Part 4 of a 4 Part Series- Putting it all together Use my advice, and even the pointy-haired boss may approve your request (bless you, Scott Adams) Over the past few weeks, I’ve written a series of articles about negotiating with your supervisor for a more flexible work arrangement, in which you can get more control over where and when some of your work is accomplished. Like any request or negotiation, the key is to see the situation from the other person’s side and then comm

Why Bosses Say “No” to Flexible Work Arrangements (and what you can do about it). Part 3 of a Series: They Have the Wrong Idea about Fairness Despite some prominent examples of companies with progressive cultures when it comes to work-family balance (see this list for examples), most company cultures and supervisors are not particularly supportive, especially of dads trying to balance work and family. Most companies demand long work hours and promote “face time” or “time at t

Part 2 of a Series: They Don’t Know the Facts About Telecommuting Despite some prominent examples of companies with progressive cultures when it comes to work-family balance (see this list for examples), most company cultures and supervisors are not particularly supportive, especially of dads trying to balance work and family.  It is brave to stand out and make a case for a time and place flexibility for your work. “So, Peter, what’s happening? Ummm, I’m gonna have to ask you

Part 1 of a Series: They’re Bad at Evaluating Performance Let’s face it, despite some prominent examples of companies with progressive cultures when it comes to work-family balance (see this list for examples), most company cultures and supervisors are not particularly supportive, especially of dads trying to balance work and family.  Most companies demand long work hours and promote “face time” or “time at the office” as proxy measures for performance and dedication to the c