Soon the days of working for a cup of rice for 20 hours a day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
As Cuts Loom, Will Working From Home Lead to a Layoff?
Recession Pushes Some to Eschew Flexible Job Policies
PHOTOS Previous Next
"Anybody with a flexible arrangement feels like their job is on the line," said Muschinske, who cut back to working four days a week after her son, Jake, was born three years ago. (Kevin Clark - The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
Emily Muschinske, with her children in South Orange, N.J., says she "could see the purse strings kind of closing" before her job was cut. (Photos By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
Emily Muschinske feeds her 10-month-old daughter, Devin, with her son, Jake, 3, nearby at their home in N.J. Muschinske cited her reduced work schedule as a major factor in her recent layoff. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
TOOLBOX
Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! BuzzSave/Share + DiggNewsvinedel.icio.usStumble It!RedditFacebookmyspaceNewsTrust
COMMENT
washingtonpost.com readers have posted 116 comments about this item.
View All Comments »
Comments are closed for this item.
Discussion PolicyYour browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.
Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009; Page A01
With the recession forcing businesses to cut back on workers, employees are increasingly doing all they can to hang onto their jobs and are forgoing many of the benefits that once allowed them to balance the demands of work and family life.
In good times, workers frequently seized the opportunity to use "flex time" and family leave, to telecommute and to take paid sick days. But, according to workplace consultants, human resources specialists and employees themselves, those days are slipping away. More workers are giving up those arrangements, or resisting asking about them in the first place, out of fears that doing so will make them appear less committed to their work and therefore more expendable.
Some workers' advocates say they are particularly concerned about the consequences for women.
There's now a "silent fright" among workers, said Joanne Brundage, executive director of Mothers & More, a 21-year-old networking group, likening the atmosphere to what she saw 20 years ago, when working mothers were advised not to keep pictures of their children in their cubicles.
"That's what it feels like we're returning to. Work as many hours as you possibly can. Make yourself indispensable. Don't ever complain. Don't ever ask for anything," she said. "I'm just horrified we may as well just forget the last 20 years."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews
As Cuts Loom, Will Working From Home Lead to a Layoff?
Recession Pushes Some to Eschew Flexible Job Policies
PHOTOS Previous Next
"Anybody with a flexible arrangement feels like their job is on the line," said Muschinske, who cut back to working four days a week after her son, Jake, was born three years ago. (Kevin Clark - The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
Emily Muschinske, with her children in South Orange, N.J., says she "could see the purse strings kind of closing" before her job was cut. (Photos By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
Emily Muschinske feeds her 10-month-old daughter, Devin, with her son, Jake, 3, nearby at their home in N.J. Muschinske cited her reduced work schedule as a major factor in her recent layoff. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
Buy Photo
TOOLBOX
Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! BuzzSave/Share + DiggNewsvinedel.icio.usStumble It!RedditFacebookmyspaceNewsTrust
COMMENT
washingtonpost.com readers have posted 116 comments about this item.
View All Comments »
Comments are closed for this item.
Discussion PolicyYour browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.
Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009; Page A01
With the recession forcing businesses to cut back on workers, employees are increasingly doing all they can to hang onto their jobs and are forgoing many of the benefits that once allowed them to balance the demands of work and family life.
In good times, workers frequently seized the opportunity to use "flex time" and family leave, to telecommute and to take paid sick days. But, according to workplace consultants, human resources specialists and employees themselves, those days are slipping away. More workers are giving up those arrangements, or resisting asking about them in the first place, out of fears that doing so will make them appear less committed to their work and therefore more expendable.
Some workers' advocates say they are particularly concerned about the consequences for women.
There's now a "silent fright" among workers, said Joanne Brundage, executive director of Mothers & More, a 21-year-old networking group, likening the atmosphere to what she saw 20 years ago, when working mothers were advised not to keep pictures of their children in their cubicles.
"That's what it feels like we're returning to. Work as many hours as you possibly can. Make yourself indispensable. Don't ever complain. Don't ever ask for anything," she said. "I'm just horrified we may as well just forget the last 20 years."
Comment