Rehema Ellis: Juggling Your Work and Home Life!

By Rehema Ellis

Walking around the office areas of the Johnson Storage and Moving Company in Denver, Colorado I was struck by how quiet it was and how few people were around.

Granted, this is a company that successfully offers flexible work arrangements so employees can balance their work and family responsibilities and I went there to learn more about it. I just wasn't expecting to see a lot of empty desks and offices. It was mid-morning and in the middle of the week. So I wondered, where is everybody?

Turns out, no one was missing. Many people were just working from home and almost all of them women, who are assigned to various paper-oriented tasks. One woman, the Vice President of administration in fact, does ALL of her work from home. Of course, this doesn't work for the receptionist or the moving truck drivers or warehouse staff. And it may not work for every company.

But for those jobs that can be done on a flexible schedule, visiting the Johnson Storage and Moving Company provided a dramatic example of how efficiently it can work. Owner Jim Johnson says it doesn't matter to him the hour of the day certain tasks are completed. What's important is that the work gets done.

I got to thinking. Johnson may have set up the model for what the office of the future will look like. It could be a lonely place for those who feed off that water cooler chat. But I wouldn't be surprised if women, especially working mothers, lead the way in bringing about a revolution in the workplace that could really be beneficial to everyone and bring some balance back to peoples' lives.

It is a new world with nearly as many women working today as men. Sure, everyone's working longer hours but women and working moms get the double whammy -- long hours on the job, then long hours at home, cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of kids and (increasingly) an aging parent. Balancing work with life is difficult, to say the least.

The really tough part for women, too, studies show, is that career development coincides with child-bearing years. Often women shy away from taking time off to start a family because they fear they'll be passed over for promotions. And here's another point that might surprise you -- not every company offers paid maternity leave.

Yes, there is the federal Family and Medical Leave Act that allows anyone to take time-off when needed, but other than Australia, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have paid family-leave.

How is it possible that the richest country in the world, that places so much value on family values, and a strong work ethic, doesn't see the value of making certain that working families are supported during child-bearing years? After all, if ever a woman needed an income, it's when she's just given birth or adopted a child.

Interestingly, with a nudge from his wife, Jim Johnson, owner of the moving company, got to thinking about the demands on working moms. After some research he concluded that flexible work arrangements would be a huge benefit for workers but -- and this is what matters most to a businessman -- flexible time would benefit his company. Workers could be more focused, and subsequently more productive. So, his company changed.

Recently, California changed, too. Now, the Golden State is the first and only state to offer paid family leave. This benefits both women and men.

And when you think about flexible work schedules you also come to realize there could be benefits for the environment, too.

There would be fewer people commuting. That means less fuel consumption, less pollution from cars, and possibly less road rage.

As more talented young women enter the work world determined to find the company that best suits their career and personal aspirations, they could move America to become a more family-friendly nation. Companies looking to attract and retain the best employees may be compelled to offer flexible work arrangements -- so a woman doesn't have to choose between a promising career and her family.

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Institute for Women's Policy Research

Working Mother Magazine

Pew Research Center

Rachel Hamman, Author: Bye-Bye boardroom: Confessions From a New Breed of Stay-at-Home Moms

Jacqueline Foley, Author: Flex Time: A Working Mother's Guide to Balancing Career and Family (Marlowe & Company)

iVillage Community: Working Moms Message Board

40 Tips to Balance Work and Family

Time Management Tips for Working at Home

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