|
The
White House
Flexible
work environment
Hi,
everyone --
I
still remember the moment the value of a flexible work environment
became crystal-clear for me.
I was
working for Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago, and sitting in a
particularly long cabinet meeting along with the Mayor's corporation
counsel, Susan Sher. Susan and I were both single moms, and dear
friends -- and frankly, we both had somewhere else to be.
As
the meeting stretched on, and the two of us kept looking at our
watches (and each other), the Mayor interrupted and asked where we
needed to be that was more important.
Not
quite sure what would happen, I blurted out the truth: "Susan
and I both have second graders, and their Halloween Parade starts in
20 minutes -- and it's 25 minutes away."
Without
a second's hesitation, the Mayor replied, "Well, then what are
you doing here? You better get moving."
We
were fortunate that day to have an understanding boss willing to give
us the flexibility we needed as parents -- but in 2014, most working
Americans still don't have that.
Our
families and our workforce have undergone fundamental transformations
over the past several decades. In 63 percent of families with
children, all parents work. Thirty-two percent of families with
children are single-parent households. And yet, employers report just
11 percent of workers have access to paid family leave that includes
time off for caregiving.
It's
time our workplaces did something about that, and it's going to take
all of us to make it happen.
So,
if you can relate at all to the story I described above -- the need
to choose between the very real responsibilities of being a worker
and a parent -- then working families' issues are your issues.
If
you're a young woman wondering if you're earning the same as your
male counterpart, this is your battle, too.
If
you're a single, working dad struggling to balance the
responsibilities of raising a family with the demands of a job,
you're in this fight.
It's
time for 21st-century workplaces that allow every American family to
succeed -- both at home, and at work.
Thank
you,
Valerie
Jarrett
Senior
Advisor
The
White House
|
