The campaign was launched at the White House at the first-ever Forum on Workplace Flexibility in March, and it will encourage businesses to become “Business Champions” for flexibility by signing a Statement of Support for Expanding Workplace Flexibility and expressing support for flexibility principles in their own organizations and in the wider business community.

Valerie Jarrett, senor advisor and assistant to the President for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, said at the Forum, “We are pleased that Corporate Voices for Working Families has come up with a challenge for the business community. It’s a challenge in which businesses will encourage their peers to adopt smart practices that provide workplace flexibility. This will help us pave the way to the creative workplaces of the future.”

Since the White House Forum, WFD Consulting has joined Corporate Voices’ Partner Coalition to expand this campaign on a national level to make flexibility part of the “new normal” in the workplace. The members of Corporate Voices’ Partner Coalition are: Society for Human Resource Management, WFD Consulting, Working Mother Media/Bonnier Group, and World at Work. These are organizations that are recognized for their business case research in the work/life field, their thought leadership, and their policy efforts in the work/life area.

“WFD Consulting is proud to be a part of the national workplace flexibility challenge,” said Debbie Phillips, Vice President WFD Consulting. “Many visionary companies around the country have demonstrated the ability of flexibility policies to improve performance and business outcomes, and we believe that this challenge can have a significant positive impact on the lives of working families and business competitiveness in America.”

The increasing numbers of people working and going to school, caring for children or the elderly, or working two jobs to make ends meet have created the need for a fundamental shift in workplace culture so that people can meet the needs of both their employers and their families. Flexible workplace policies make this possible—from compressed work-weeks and job-sharing to telecommuting and working from satellite locations, flexibility policies enable workers to better balance work and life. In so doing, they lead to increased employee commitment and engagement, and ultimately, business productivity and profitability.

Corporate Voices has created the workplace flexibility logo and seal for businesses to raise awareness about the importance of workplace flexibility in helping families manage work and life in the 21st century, and to stress how critical flexibility is for business productivity and competitiveness.

“Businesses that are thinking about the future and want to be globally competitive are embracing workplace flexibility as a core leadership tool that enables people to meet work and personal responsibilities. All the business champions in the campaign believe that flexibility benefits workers at every level—from hourly to professional staff,” said Donna Klein, executive chair and founder of Corporate Voices for Working Families.

When they sign the Statement of Support for Expanding Workplace Flexibility, businesses will commit to the following principles: to actively communicate the business imperative for workplace flexibility; to expand flexibility within their own organizations as a tool to advance business results; to support managers in strengthening skills for managing flexibility; and to build workplaces in which flexibility is broadly and equitably implemented and available to employees at every level.

For more information and for weekly updates on the Workplace Flexibility Campaign, please visit: www.corporatevoices.org/our-work/flexcampaign.

For more information about WFD Consulting's flexibility solutions for business, please visit: http://www.wfd.com/services/workarrange.html

To read WFD Consulting's studies on flexibility in the workplace, please visit: http://www.wfd.com/publications/fws.html

Boston, MA (April 15, 2009) — Workloads and associated stress are increasing in the workplace while employee morale, motivation, and endurance are declining, according to a survey of business leaders and work-life experts conducted by WFD Consulting.

Employee stress and workload have increased substantially in the last 12 months, according to the survey conducted in March. Eight out of 10 respondents report that managers' and employees' workloads have increased, along with employee stress. At the same time, half of respondents report that employee motivation, energy, and endurance have all decreased. Access the full results of the survey on the WFD Consulting workload website.

The demand for immediate action and rapid turnarounds contributes to the escalating work pressure; two-thirds of respondents report an increase in expectations concerning speed of execution. The expanding global workplace also contributes to increased pressure, with about half of respondents reporting that the demands of managing globally have increased.

Fewer than half (45%) of respondents report that workloads in their organizations are reasonable and only one-third (32%) say that their organizations have eliminated most low value, unnecessary work — a key factor contributing to workload and overwork. Respondents identify "inadequate staffing to meet work demands" as the biggest factor driving excessive workload. Other factors include "conflicting priorities" and "poor communication and coordination among different functions."

Forty-four percent of respondents report that their companies have taken action to address workload issues or eliminate low value work. The most common actions include: work prioritization to focus on a few critical needs; process improvement and reengineering projects to shorten cycle times and increase efficiency; and outsourcing of non-priority and low value work.

Organizations that recognize the impact of workload pressure are responding with resources to build employee resilience and help manage stress. Companies are encouraging the use of flexible work options and enabling teams to self-manage their workload. Many are more actively promoting their EAPs, health and wellness programs, and fitness centers. Another key action has been leadership communication to employees, especially on the financial state of the organization, and support to make use of available programs.

The survey was administered online using SurveyMonkey to work-life, diversity, and talent leaders, business unit heads, and academic experts. The 103 respondents came from a variety of industry sectors, including financial services, pharmaceuticals, professional services, technology, higher education, and governmental and not-for-profit organizations.

The Council is the legislative and governing body of the town. It establishes ordinances, sets priorities and directions for the development and preservation of open spaces, defines the budget, sets tax rates, and coordinates with county and state authorities among other activities. Sometime during the next two years, Arlene will serve a term as Mayor. We even understand that the Governor now addresses Arlene as the Honorable Arlene Johnson. We are most pleased that Arlene will continue to serve WFD's clients and provide thought leadership for the work-life community.

Arlene's new role is in keeping with what we have discovered in our recent research on the New Career Paradigm — that employees are increasingly seeking ways to give back to the community. If you would like to learn more about the rising desire to make a contribution to the community and our many other findings about what keeps people committed and engaged at work, click here to obtain a copy of the New Career Paradigm research report, developed for the American Business Collaboration.