Yahoo’s making workflex news again with its announcement today it’s beefing up paid maternity leave for men and women.

It’s heartening news from the tech company whose CEO Marissa Mayer came under fire recently for announcing a telecommuting ban.

As you can imagine, social media was all a twitter with Yahoo’s leave decision today with some employees seeing the move as further proof that working parents get special treatment when it comes to flexible work arrangements.

Here’s a tweet from @DickTracyOrlndo, who retweeted my tweet about Yahoo’s announcement:

Kidless people hosed again. MT @careerdiva: Yahoo expands maternity leave after banning telecommuting

The feeling of being hosed at work in this regard haunts not only employees but employers, who often wonder if these types of workflex programs can ever truly be seen as equitable. No good supervisors wants to be perceived as caring more about one group of employees than another. And no worker wants to think they’re not getting the same treatment as other works, especially if they work just as hard. (more…)

One of the most disturbing stories following Hurricane Sandy was about a nursing home in Rockaway Park, Queens, that “failed to provide the most basic care to its patients,” according to a story in the New York Times.

“As waves slammed against the building for hours, patients remained inside in the dark, growing steadily more hungry and cold,” the article stated.

That’s the kind of scenario that worries anyone who has a mother or father in a nursing home, and it probably had many wondering how they can better care for their parents.

To often as a society we only focus on how young parents are able to deal with issues of work and children, giving little thought to elder care. But caring for mom and dad will become a major issue for many of us.

I remember interviewing a female top executive at an insurance company for a New York Times story I wrote many years ago, and she told me she never had to worry about having a flexible schedule because she didn’t have children. But now, in her late 50s, she confided in me, she was suddenly taking time off for an aging parent, and it was impacting her career. (more…)

Bill Maher on Real Time Friday did a great job summing up the insanity of no mandated paid vacation time for U.S. workers.

Yes, employees in our great nation don’t get paid vacations, unless their employers decide to provide it. And for those of us who get paid vacation, the offering is pretty pathetic. Among the world’s industrialized nations, the United States ranks 9th behind Korea for goodness sake. And we’re one of the only countries that does not mandate even one day off a year for vacation.

There have been attempts to get America on the vacation track, including the Paid Vacation Act of 2009 but the bill went no where. (more…)

Do you want to know what keeps your human resources department up at night? Turns out many still don’t know the ins and outs of one big key employee benefit, Family and Medical Leave.

Many employees mock HR departments and give them little credit for their work, but they’re the people many of you go to to find out about your benefits, your rights, and general information on how thinks work at your employer.

Where do HR folks go to ask questions? Turns out, some have access to a hotline, and you may be surprised at what they’re asking about most.

No, it’s not about whether they can snoop on your Facebook account, or how they should implement yet another training session. What’s got them asking the most questions is your requests for time off, especially as it relates to Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, among other workplace basics. (more…)

When I used to write about the retail sector many years ago there was one major truism — the only people who worked on Thanksgiving were those poor workers who had to help run the Macy’s parade.

It was just bad taste to sell stuff on a day when the whole nation was supposed to be giving thanks for things beyond the material.

Well, this Thanksgiving ushered in a whole new world thanks to retailers who felt you all wanted to shop before you even digested your turkey. One employee at Target tried to fight this by posting a web petition to stop the injustice of working on such an important day. Anthony Hardwick got lots of attention for his efforts but didn’t get very far in convincing Target to roll back its decision to open late on Thanksgiving day.

In his petition he wrote:

A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation — all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night’s rest on Thanksgiving!

Hardwick’s petition called for 300,000 signatures, but as of this morning he only reached two-thirds of his goal. Maybe most of us just don’t care if people are forced to work on holidays. And come to think of it, why do we need any time off at all? (more…)

I understand why people tell other people, “you have to vote.” But sometimes it’s impossible for employees to take time off to vote.

Election day is not a national holiday folks, and there is no federal requirement that companies allow employees time off to vote. Seriously.

Despite legislative efforts to create an Election Day holiday, nothing has materialize. And employers are under no real pressure to give their workers time to vote. Barely a third provide time off to employees, paid or unpaid. There is a patchwork of state laws that govern voting and workers, but largely it’s up to the employees themselves to fit in a trip to the polls before work, during lunch or after the daily grind. (Here’s a good list of voting laws in your state. If you can’t open this link I include the list below.)

In this economy, most employees don’t want to rock the boat. So who in their right mind is going to report their boss for not accommodating their desire to vote? They should, but I’m being realistic here.

And these days, so many workers have so much on their plates.

“There are some jobs, and some people have multiple jobs, that it’s not a realistic option to vote unless employees get time off from their boss,” says Adam Fogel, program director for voting advocacy group FairVote. “If they’re working a day and evening shift, or have kids at home to take care of, those folks can’t easily get to the polls and stand in line for one or two hours.”

I’d love to hear how you were able to fit in or not fit in voting today. (more…)

It’s an unsettling reality — many of the people who cook and serve us food when we go out to eat don’t have sick days or health insurance.

So, it should be no surprise if the omelet you had at your local diner this morning was prepared by a cook who had the sniffles.

A national survey released today of more than 4,000 restaurant workers, conducted by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, found the majority of employees in food service do just that. (more…)

My eight-year-old son was really bummed out on Sunday because school was starting this week and he couldn’t accept summer was almost over. And, he’s really not big on school.

“Can’t you home school me?” he asked. “If I home school you,” I retorted, “you’ll end up a ditch digger.”

Not really understanding what that meant, he went off to play with his sister.

I get kids being sad about summer ending, but this week I’ve gotten a flurry of emails and text messages from friends and colleagues about how they’re in a funk because summer is coming to an end. Many haven’t gotten their fill of fun and sun, and more than a few didn’t have the time or resources to take a real vacation.

I don’t blame people for feeling the end of summer blues. I always get a bit sad around this time of year too. And things seem even more gloomy right now because of the struggling economy. Usually the fall was a time when employers ramped up hiring, but this year, most economists predict a continuation of a crummy job market.

Just today, the Conference Board reported online ads for jobs dropped 57,100 in August, after rising nearly 140,000 in the previous month.

“There’s a lot of negativity out there right now,” says Dr. Robert Puff, a clinical psychologist and the author of “Anger Work: How To Express Your Anger and Still Be Kind.”

So, what to do? (more…)

Look how relaxed Michelle Obama looks. Maybe more of us should be taking a page from her vacation bonanza.

There’s been all this outrage over the First Lady’s lavish trip to Spain. Yes, it was a dumb idea given the bad economy.

But I’m more outraged at another piece of vacation news that got little attention this week — a poll showing a huge number of Americans deciding not to take vacation this summer.

This is a really dumb idea and it won’t help you find a job faster or keep your existing one. (more…)

“My mother never made me French toast during the week.”

My husband said this to me last night when I was deciding what to make my two kids, ages ten and eight, for breakfast this morning before they went to camp. I have a hectic work day today but for some crazy reason I didn’t consider just throwing the kids some bowls and cereal. I was contemplating taking pans, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, bread and Crisco out.

“I’m going to tell the whole world you’re a supermom,” he threatened me. “You rail against moms who do too much for their kids and you’re just as bad.”

This statement could have been cause for an epic Andy-and-Eve battle, but last night I had a moment of lucidity and I realized he was absolutely right. This realization didn’t just happen out of no where. Yesterday I read the cover story in New York magazine titled: “I Love My Children. I Hate My Life,” and it got me thinking.

Basically it was about why parents are unhappy and allow their kids to suck every molecule of joy from their lives. The answer is pretty clear: We parents, especially working parents, suck. (more…)