http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/lo...ment,0,2201121.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
(some portions removed to shorten post)
By Shia Kapos
Special to the Chicago Tribune
Posted August 10 2005, 12:30 PM EDT
It's the working mother's juggling act. And a growing number of companies say it's just the skill they're looking for in new hires. Area companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Northern Trust, Allstate Insurance and Kraft Foods, are creating environments to help attract moms, employment experts say. Not surprisingly, they are among the companies regularly honored annually by Working Mother magazine for their family-friendly policies.
Along with being hard-working and disciplined, "moms usually don't stay out late drinking or spend time listening to their iPods or take cigarette breaks," says Tom Gimbel, CEO of The LaSalle Network, a Chicago staffing firm that readily offers its clients mothers as highly qualified candidates because of their reliability.
"The old-school thinking was `hire a mom and they'll miss days when their kids are sick,' " he says. "But that's not the case. Moms are stable and mature and healthier because they have to take care of themselves and their families."
"There used to be a bias that mothers who have a significant responsibility outside the workplace don't work as hard and don't perform as well. But the data are showing that mothers are performing better," says Moe Grzelakowski, author of "Mother Leads Best: 50 Women Who Are Changing the Way Organizations Define Leadership" (Dearborn).
The way mothers interact with others and handle crises are among the reasons why, Grzelakowski says. Mothers are more accepting of idiosyncracies in others and recognize that people approach their work differently, she says.
"They also have unbelievable patience," Grzelakowski says. "Just putting a toddler to bed is a nightly training program."
"The workplace is becoming more respectful of moms and their skill set," says Christine Fruehwirth, who has observed the budding transformation as owner of FlexCareers Consulting, a Winnetka-based career consulting company. "Not everyone's there, but there's a movement to hire more mothers and there's more of an understanding for women who want to step out and come back."
There are no figures to quantify whether more companies are hiring moms, but Labor Department and U.S. Census figures show the number of part-time workers in the labor force is increasing and the number of people working from home has jumped 25 percent from 3.4 million in 1990 to 4.2 million in 2000.
Women are likely to benefit as part-time and work-at-home employees, say economists who expect that more companies will open their arms to mothers as the nation's work force becomes more diverse and continuing technological advances make it even easier to work at home.
"The best companies in America are offering formal flexible hours, support for breast-feeding, support for child-care and other care-giving responsibilities," says Shelley Waters Boots, acting director of the Work and Family Program at New America Foundation, a non-partisan public-policy institute in Washington, D.C.
"The workplace is changing," Bailey says. "You don't have to teach technology like you did to Baby Boomers. These women grew up with technology," she says of the Gen X (25- to 39-year-olds) and Y (16- to 24-year-olds) populations. "So they know how to manage their lives with technology. Baby Boomers blazed the trail for flexible schedules, and this generation expects it. And because [Gen-Xers] are the ones often doing the hiring, they're changing the work force."
Granted, mothers aren't the only ones with good organizational skills, say employers and employees alike. But as Mendelsohn noted of his staff, it's clear mothers and parents in general "value time and use it to the fullest extent possible to make sure they can stay on top of everything."
Bob Sobiech, head of human resources for Deloitte & Touche Midwest region, says hiring parents and retaining them is more than just altruism. It's a bottom-line issue, as well.
"It costs one to two times an employee's annual salary to replace them if they leave. There's advertising, screening, interviewing, recruiting, training. It's a factor why it makes business sense to keep people," Sobiech says. "It's good for the employee and it's good for our clients who want continuity."
(some portions removed to shorten post)
By Shia Kapos
Special to the Chicago Tribune
Posted August 10 2005, 12:30 PM EDT
It's the working mother's juggling act. And a growing number of companies say it's just the skill they're looking for in new hires. Area companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Northern Trust, Allstate Insurance and Kraft Foods, are creating environments to help attract moms, employment experts say. Not surprisingly, they are among the companies regularly honored annually by Working Mother magazine for their family-friendly policies.
Along with being hard-working and disciplined, "moms usually don't stay out late drinking or spend time listening to their iPods or take cigarette breaks," says Tom Gimbel, CEO of The LaSalle Network, a Chicago staffing firm that readily offers its clients mothers as highly qualified candidates because of their reliability.
"The old-school thinking was `hire a mom and they'll miss days when their kids are sick,' " he says. "But that's not the case. Moms are stable and mature and healthier because they have to take care of themselves and their families."
"There used to be a bias that mothers who have a significant responsibility outside the workplace don't work as hard and don't perform as well. But the data are showing that mothers are performing better," says Moe Grzelakowski, author of "Mother Leads Best: 50 Women Who Are Changing the Way Organizations Define Leadership" (Dearborn).
The way mothers interact with others and handle crises are among the reasons why, Grzelakowski says. Mothers are more accepting of idiosyncracies in others and recognize that people approach their work differently, she says.
"They also have unbelievable patience," Grzelakowski says. "Just putting a toddler to bed is a nightly training program."
"The workplace is becoming more respectful of moms and their skill set," says Christine Fruehwirth, who has observed the budding transformation as owner of FlexCareers Consulting, a Winnetka-based career consulting company. "Not everyone's there, but there's a movement to hire more mothers and there's more of an understanding for women who want to step out and come back."
There are no figures to quantify whether more companies are hiring moms, but Labor Department and U.S. Census figures show the number of part-time workers in the labor force is increasing and the number of people working from home has jumped 25 percent from 3.4 million in 1990 to 4.2 million in 2000.
Women are likely to benefit as part-time and work-at-home employees, say economists who expect that more companies will open their arms to mothers as the nation's work force becomes more diverse and continuing technological advances make it even easier to work at home.
"The best companies in America are offering formal flexible hours, support for breast-feeding, support for child-care and other care-giving responsibilities," says Shelley Waters Boots, acting director of the Work and Family Program at New America Foundation, a non-partisan public-policy institute in Washington, D.C.
"The workplace is changing," Bailey says. "You don't have to teach technology like you did to Baby Boomers. These women grew up with technology," she says of the Gen X (25- to 39-year-olds) and Y (16- to 24-year-olds) populations. "So they know how to manage their lives with technology. Baby Boomers blazed the trail for flexible schedules, and this generation expects it. And because [Gen-Xers] are the ones often doing the hiring, they're changing the work force."
Granted, mothers aren't the only ones with good organizational skills, say employers and employees alike. But as Mendelsohn noted of his staff, it's clear mothers and parents in general "value time and use it to the fullest extent possible to make sure they can stay on top of everything."
Bob Sobiech, head of human resources for Deloitte & Touche Midwest region, says hiring parents and retaining them is more than just altruism. It's a bottom-line issue, as well.
"It costs one to two times an employee's annual salary to replace them if they leave. There's advertising, screening, interviewing, recruiting, training. It's a factor why it makes business sense to keep people," Sobiech says. "It's good for the employee and it's good for our clients who want continuity."
I'm working on it 
