10 Awesome Things about Having a Miscarriage
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Summer Styles from ThredUp
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Shown Above:
(Left to Right)
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-Boden Cardigan Sweater
-J Brand Jeans
-Banana Republic Tunic
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BleuRodBeattie (NewWithTags)
Tom's Shoes (Gently Used)
J.Crew Cardigan Sweater (Like New)
The Limited Scarf (Like New)
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Gymboree Swim Set (New With Tags)
Boden Silk Blouse
Adrianna Papell Lace Dress
Under Armour Active Top
Lands End Swim Set
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(Note: For new customers only.)
Flexible Work Arrangements for achieving Work-Life Balance
The ability
to define how, where, and when work gets done, as well as how careers are
organized and crafted. Flexibility goes beyond telecommuting or flextime and
encompasses many flexible work arrangements.
BOTH you and
your employer, including your supervisor and project team(s), should benefit
from the flexible work arrangement.
Flexible work
arrangements traditionally were and sometime are still seen as a benefit for
the employee but not a benefit for the employer. Current research shows that
there is mutual benefit for everyone.
Common
Flexible Work Arrangements:
Arrangement
|
Description
|
Example(s)
|
FlexTime / Flexible Scheduling
|
Work day starts and ends at times
different than the established standard, but you still work the same number
of hours per day.
|
·
Daily
flex (e.g., 10 am to 6 pm instead of 9 am to 5 pm)
·
Short-notice
schedule changes
·
Summer
hours
|
Compressed Work Weeks
|
Working
some longer days in exchange for a full or partial day off each week.
|
·
4/10
workweek:
·
4
½ day workweek:
9-hour days Mon-Thurs with Friday
afternoons off
|
Telecommuting
/ Telework
|
Working
from home or other designated remote location for specified times each week;
employees are connected to the central office and colleagues via technology.
|
·
Work from home full time
·
Telework on set days
·
Telework occasionally as needed
·
Traveling employees
·
Work from satellite office
|
Uninterrupted Time
|
Designated days or times with no
interruptions (including meetings) to increase productivity
|
·
No
meeting days
·
No
meetings after 3 pm
|
Gradual Return to Work
|
Working
less than a full-time schedule following a leave
|
·
Working
fewer days after a leave and gradually resuming full-time work or more hours
|
Reduced Hours / Part-Time Work
|
Working fewer than 40 hours or fewer
than the workplace norm
|
·
Part-time
work
·
Seasonal
time off or part-year work (e.g., summers)
|
Job Sharing
|
Sharing
a full-time position by two part-time employees.
|
·
Each
employee works 2.5 days per week or other part-time schedules and shares benefits
|
Career Lattice
|
Moving up, down or sideways in the
organizational hierarchy or taking positions with more, less or lateral
responsibility while still maintaining a long-term career plan with your
employer
|
·
Declining
a scheduled promotion
·
Reducing
hours for a period of time
·
Making
a lateral move
·
Increasing
your time or responsibility
|
How To Ask
for a Flexible Work Arrangement?
- STEP 1: Identify Your Priorities and Determine What Type of Flexibility You Need
- STEP 2: Research your organization.
- STEP 3: Write a proposal
- STEP 4: meet with your supervisor
- NEXT STEPS: DOCUMENT YOUR AGREEMENT.
STEP 1:
Identify Your Priorities and Determine What Type of Flexibility You Need
Identify Your Priorities and Determine What Type of Flexibility You Need
The following
questions can help you identify what your priorities are and help you determine
what type of flexibility you need:
1. What are your professional priorities
and goals in the short term (next 6-12 months) and long term (1-5 years)?
2. What are your personal priorities and
goals in the short term (next 6-12 months) and long term (1-5 years)?
3. What would success look like in all
categories of your life (i.e. work, personal life, etc.)?
4. What are the needs and interests (i.e.
performance expectations) of the key stakeholders or most important people in
the different parts of your life? (Note: this includes not only key
stakeholders at work but at home as well).
5. Are you currently working flexibly,
either formally or informally?
6. Why do you want flexibility?
7. How do you want to integrate
flexibility into your role?
8. What types of flexibility do you need
versus want? What is your wish-list order?
a.
Are
you looking for flexible arrival and departure work hours? Would you find it
helpful to start earlier and leave earlier? Or to start later and leave later?
b.
Are
you looking for a compressed work week? Or the option of compressing your work
week as needed?
c.
Would
you like to be able to work somewhere outside of the office? Part-time?
Full-time?
d.
Do
you want to scale back the total number of hours worked each week? Would it be
beneficial to split your hours with someone else when trying to scale back?
9. What types of flexible work
arrangement do you see in your current work environment? What are currently
available to you?
10. How much do you need to earn to meet
your financial commitments? Could your desired flexible work arrangement impact
that? Could it impact your current benefits provided by your employer?
11. Is there something specific about the
nature of your work (i.e., types of tasks), team, or department that prevents
you from working flexibly?
12. Would a flexible work arrangement help
you better meet current work demands? If yes, how?
13. What are the barriers that get in your
way of achieving what you define as work-life balance and success? What
barriers can you change? What barriers can be resolved with a flexible work
arrangement?
14. What are the current barriers holding
you back and/or reasons for not using flexible work arrangements at this time?
15. Do you have the organization, time
management, and communication skills needed to work flexibly? What skills might
need some improvement and how can you improve upon them?
16. What time of day are you most engaged
with work? When do you feel most productive?
17. When you are working, do you prefer to
work over long stretches of time, or do you work better in short spurts with
regular breaks?
18. Where do you work most effectively, in
a quiet space, in the office, at home?
19. Do you prefer to work alone or
collaboratively with a team? Does your current role require you to primarily
work alone or in a team?
20. Do you prefer to keep your work and
personal lives strictly separate, or more integrated and blurred?
21. What types of working arrangements appeal
to you? Which do you not like or would never work for you? For example, gaining
flexibility by blurring the lines between work and life—such as being available
for emails or calls outside regular work hours—or keeping your work completely
separate from your personal life, with clear times for each?
22. What are some short-term options that
you could temporarily live with that are easy to implement?
23. What are ways you can create “4 WAY
WINS” in the four main areas of your life - work, home, community, and self?
STEP 2:
Research your organization.
Research your organization.
Now that have
identified your priorities and needs, it is important to understand available
FWA Policies within your company and informal policies within your specific
office:
1. What formal policies exist within your
company for flexible work arrangements?
2. What are the work styles and schedules
of people in your office / project teams?
3. How do your colleagues feel about
flexible work arrangements?
4. Is anyone in your office or project
team already working flexibly? Do they or you know of others in your
organization working flexibly?
5. Are the flexible work arrangements
formal or informal policies? Are these policies and options specific to certain
employees?
6. How did your colleagues ask and get
their flexible work arrangements? How has it evolved over time?
7. How do the current flexible work
arrangement options and flexibility culture in your office fit with your
priorities and needs?
8. How does your role compare to those of
your colleagues currently working flexibly? Is there something specific about
the nature of your work (i.e., types of tasks), team, or department that
prevents you from working flexibly?
9. Was workflex successful for your
coworkers?
10. Did working flexibly create any
challenges for your coworkers? What kind of challenges were created?
11. If there were challenges, how did your
coworkers respond to those challenges?
12. If there were challenges, how did management
respond?
13. How might you address those concerns
or prevent similar problems in the future when working flexibly?
14. Has your supervisor ever managed
someone working flexibly? If so, was the experience positive or negative?
15. What will your manager be most concerned
about? What objections might your supervisor have towards a flexible work
arrangement?
16. How can you respond constructively and
address these objections and concerns?
It
is important to present how you will address the problems that arose in the past
and why the results will be different this time.
Common Management Concerns
|
How Can You Address These Concerns
|
Productivity & Scheduling
|
·
Discuss
the team’s work schedule in detail.
·
Discuss
any scheduling team conflicts that may arise? How can you help minimize these
conflicts? How can the team work together to minimize these conflicts?
·
Identify
methods to measure your effectiveness and the team’s effectiveness. What are
some measureable Key Performance Indicators?
·
Identify
alternative solutions if the new arrangement begins to impact performance.
|
Employee Commitment
|
·
Help
reassure your supervisor of your commitment to the job and the quality of
your work.
·
Present
some of the research results to your supervisor of the benefits to employee
commitment and productivity as a result of work flexibility.
|
Trust & Communication
|
·
Implement
a system that will work for both you and your supervisor to help build trust
that you are working and committed to your work.
o
Reporting
system - Daily? Weekly? Bi-weekly? Monthly?
o
Provide
more frequent updates? Email? Phone calls? In-person meetings?
|
Snowballing Effect
|
·
Again
present some of the research.
·
Help
reassure your manager that not everyone will want the same type of flexible
work arrangement. What may work for one person, may not work for another?
·
Be
willing to present your proposal as a trial period. At the end of the trial,
you can review together what worked well and what needs improvement and any
new concerns that have arisen. Be willing to include the team in the
discussion.
|
STEP 3:
Write a proposal
Write a proposal
Frame
your request as a well thought out business case. Demonstrate that you have
thought through how you work arrangement will affect your department, team, and
your ability to fulfill your obligations and your department’s and team’s
ability to succeed. Provide examples and solutions that demonstrate your
commitment to maintaining or improving your current level and team’s level of
performance and considers the needs of the organization, your coworkers, and
yours. Help make your supervisor look good!
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS TO HELP
PREPARE AND PRESENT YOUR PROPOSAL
|
|
WHY
|
·
How
will workflex benefit your employer?
·
How
will workflex benefit you?
·
What
is your business case? How will it address a business issue and what are the
benefits that will come out of workflex?
·
Will
you be more productive without workplace disruptions?
·
Will
you be more available without your daily commute?
|
WHEN &
WHERE
|
·
What
type or types of workflex are you interested in?
·
How
long do you plan to work under this proposed arrangement?
·
What
hours and days are you proposing to work and from what locations?
·
Outline
how the arrangements you are proposing might work.
·
Give
options so your supervisor can work out an arrangement that works best for
everyone. Present the option of a trial period.
·
Acknowledge
that your organization has the right to rescind workflex options at any time.
Present methods to address arrangements that are not working.
|
WHO
|
·
Who
will be most impacted by this flexible schedule?
·
Will
this improve service in any way?
·
How
will others receive what they need to accomplish their work?
|
HOW
|
·
How
do you currently communicate with your team, coworkers, supervisor and
clients? How will communication with your team, coworkers, supervisor and
clients differ once you are on a flexible schedule?
·
How
will people know how and when they can reach you?
·
How
do you communicate to your team members?
·
Will
you be able to continue to meet deadlines and be available for critical
situations? Highlight your track record and ability to accomplish tasks.
·
Are
there specific hours that you must be present to accomplish your
responsibilities?
·
Can
you make arrangements to be onsite for location-specific activities?
·
How
will work emergencies be addressed?
·
How
will you meet job expectations in your new flexible arrangement?
·
How
will your supervisor know you are getting the work done?
·
How
and when will you and your supervisor assess the effectiveness of your
arrangement?
·
Emphasize
that you want to be flexible and results-focused in approaching any
arrangement.
·
Be
clear and the impact you anticipate working flexibly will have on your work
and performance? How and why you will be more productive? What will be the
limitations and boundaries?
|
WHAT
|
·
What
can you accomplish with flexibility?
·
What
would have to change in order for this to work for you and your employer?
·
What
are reasonable boundaries you can set that will work for you and your team in
short- and long-term?
·
What
communication tools will help you connect (i.e. instant messaging, video
conferencing, mobile phone)?
·
What
are your performance goals this year?
·
What
performance measures should you and your supervisor use to demonstrate
success? BE SPECIFIC!
·
If
proposing a trial period, agree to a specific time and specific metrics.
·
Present
an ongoing review process to address problems as they arise.
·
Have
answers to your supervisor’s questions that addresses their concerns, fears,
and reservations.
·
When
presenting options, be more flexible with your wants rather than needs
regarding flexibility. Push harder for your needs.
·
What
tasks and responsibilities do you feel you will continue to be able to do?
Are there any tasks and responsibilities that may need to be reassigned?
·
What
support will you need from your supervisor to help you be successful under
this new arrangement? What resources will you need?
|
STEP 4:
meet with your supervisor
meet with your supervisor
1. Ask your supervisor when would be a
good time to discuss your proposal with him / her.
2. Schedule a meeting.
NEXT STEPS
CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR
REQUEST WAS APPROVED!
Now
what? DOCUMENT YOUR AGREEMENT.
It
is important to document your agreement. It provides an additional opportunity
to confirm or clarify whether both sides have the same understanding of how the
flexible working arrangement will operate. It is important the clear
expectations are established between you and your supervisor and communicated to
your team.
Ensure
your agreement clearly establishes the main details:
1. The specific flexible arrangement that
was approved, including when, where, and how it will all work.
2. If your proposal was approved as a
part of a trial period, what is the duration of the trial period. (A reasonable
trial period can go on anywhere from one month to six months. Typically three
months is an effective and practical length of time.)
3. Methods that will be used to monitor
the arrangement’s success.
4. How often you and your manager will
review how things are going and the arrangement’s success.
5. What strategies will be used to
resolve possible challenges that may arise. What are the timelines for
addressing challenges and implementing these strategies.
a.
You
may need to add or revise this agreement based on challenges encountered,
strategies and practices applied to address these challenges, and feedback
received from your supervisor and team members.
It may
be a good idea to schedule a time to discuss the agreement with your team
members. Ask your supervisor for his / her opinion and recommendations to
facilitate this discussion and address any concerns.
WHAT DO I DO IF MY
REQUEST WAS DENIED …
REASONS WHY REQUEST MAY HAVE BEEN
DENIED
|
·
Requested arrangement may conflict directly with
how your team achieves their business goals.
·
Requested arrangement may place an unreasonable
burden on other team members.
·
Your supervisor and team might need more time to
have resources and strategies available to accommodate your request.
·
Some of your preferences may be difficult to
accommodate without some significant adjustments by everyone involved.
·
Your specific role and responsibilities may not be
able to accommodate or allow the flexibility you are requesting.
·
Your supervisor may not be willing to support
flexible work arrangements. This could be a result of lack of training or
support or based on prior experiences.
·
Your own performance issues in the workplace.
|
Now
what? PROCESS THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED. FORMULATE A
RESPONSE.
1. Ask your supervisor for feedback about
why your request was denied.
2. Ask your supervisor what might make
the proposal more acceptable. Would they be willing to discuss this again if
you were to incorporate feedback from this meeting and present a new
arrangement?
3. Ask about what activities or
performance behaviors you will need to demonstrate in order to increase the
possibility of approval in the future.
4. If work place performance issues are a
concern, discuss measurable objectives and goals that can help demonstrate your
effectiveness at work. Establish a timeframe and discuss whether the request
can be revisited once these objectives have been met.
5. If your supervisor is willing to
revisit the request in the future, leave the meeting with a set date for the
future discussion.
6. If your supervisor is hesitant or
resistant to revisit the request, consider proposing a joint problem-solving
meeting with your supervisor and another relevant decision maker in your
organization (such as another manager who supports work flexibility, HR
representative, office manager, practice lead, etc.).
7. Make sure to maintain a positive and
cooperative attitude while at work as you consider your next steps. Remind yourself that this is a business
strategy. Not all roles allow for flexibility or the type of flexibility you
need.
8. Think about what concerns were brought
up by your supervisor during the meeting. Where they specific to your
performance and/or role? Were they more focused on the impact to the team? What
can you do to address or minimize some of these concerns? Set measurable goals
to help demonstrate down the line that these concerns have been addressed.
9. Take time to think about what was
discussed and points that were made. Use the information from this meeting to
help you evaluate your next steps.
a.
Can
you consider a different type of work arrangement that might better fit your
role and team?
b.
Are
there other open positions in your office or in the organization that would
enable you to work your preferred work arrangement or, at a minimum, meet most
of your needs? Would you even what to transition into that open position? Would
it be a good fit?
c.
What
can you do to address or minimize some of the concerns brought up during the
meeting?
10. Put together a constructive response
and plan of action to provide and/or discuss with your supervisor.
Labels:
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