Event: Leading by Example: Workplace Flexibility

Yesterday, the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation hosted experts and the public for a discussion on how local, state and federal governments can manage and sustain a productive workforce through workplace flexibility, even during harsh economic times. The event, called “Leading by Example,” highlighted successful government workplace flexibility programs, particularly those in Arizona and Michigan, that could eventually serve as examples of workplace flexibility options for federal government employees.

At Early Ed Watch we see workplace flexibility as not only a way to help workers, but also a crucial tool for improving children’s chances for success before and within the early grades of school.  Many of the workers who could benefit from workplace flexibility are parents who are struggling to carve out quality time with their children. As Lisa Guernsey explained in the Huffington Post this fall, when parents have the time and space to have conversations with and explore language and concepts with their kids, they are stimulating their children’s cognitive development in profound ways. 

Yesterday’s event brought to light something that might be surprising to many: Some state and local governments have had flexible workplaces for years by giving employees the option to telecommute to work, work four-day weeks with longer hours, or adjust daily working hours to avoid traffic or accommodate an employee’s scheduling needs. These places serve as models for how to make workplace flexibility a reality.

David Gray, Director of New America’s Workforce and Family Program, moderated the event. Speakers included Marcy Karin, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law at Arizona State University; Patricia J. Kempthorne, Founder, President, and CEO of The Twiga Foundation; and Martin Simon, Program Director of the Workforce Development Economic, Human Services & Workforce Division at the NGA Center for Best Practices.

A webcast of the event is available here.