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Building a case for flexibility
Workers learn that the best way to get what you want is to ask
On Oct. 2, Jennifer Monter, a Lawrenceville mother of three, changed her life. She was listening to Tory Johnson describe a new work-from-home opportunity on ABC News' "Good Morning America." ChaCha.com, a new Internet search engine, needed guides to help inexperienced computer users with Internet searches.
Monter had worked in retail, delivered newspapers and walked pets to earn extra family income, but those jobs didn't mesh well with the schedules of three children.
"My mom had been watching and called to say she thought I could do this, but I was already on my computer trying to get through to the Web site," Monter said.
Once she was hired, she quickly moved up from apprentice level to master-searcher status.
Last month, the company was still in the first stage of development and was working out the kinks, but Monter has seen it grow stronger.
"You'd be surprised how many people don't know their way around the Internet, and I enjoy helping them," she said.
Monter works about six hours a day -- scheduling her work time around her children's school, play, naps and household chores -- and is paid by the search. She can collect a check at the end of the month or withdraw money from her company debit card as she needs it.
"We just bought a house, and the money helps with gas, groceries and diapers. I look forward to going online every day," she said. "A lot of stay-at-home moms surf the Net, but I'm getting paid for it."
She believes that many people -- moms, college students and retirees -- are looking for legitimate ways to work from home.
"It's outstanding that 'Good Morning America' is telling us about real opportunities so that we can proceed with confidence," she said.
"I'm really glad they're doing it. It's going to open doors for a lot of people."
Grass-roots movement
In April, Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire and workplace correspondent for "Good Morning America," reported that what working women wanted most in their lives was the flexibility to do a good job at the office and at home. She mentioned ways that companies were helping to make that happen -- by allowing compressed workweeks (four 10-hour days); telecommuting; flexible working hours; vacation-by-the-hour; and personal days off for appointments. Flex time made employees more satisfied and rewarded employers with greater loyalty, lower turnover and higher productivity.
"I expected viewer response, but not 25,000 e-mails," said Diane Sawyer, "Good Morning America" co-anchor. "The response was overwhelming. That told me the level of distress and of opportunity out there in the workplace.
"I thought: 'Wait a minute. Let's not just do incidental reports on workplace issues. Let's go out and find those things that work and will help people change their lives. We can take some of the terror out of asking for flex time and make a difference by telling people how to do it.' "
Those "things that work" have become the "GMA" series "Take Control of Your Life," with "how to" and "where to" advice given by Johnson.
Her role changed from TV expert to behind-the-scenes researcher/career coach helping people nationwide solve their workplace issues.
"On any given day, I get a few dozen to a couple hundred e-mails from the segments we air," Johnson said. "This is not my full-time job. As CEO of Women for Hire, I plan career expos to connect women with employers, but when I'm on the road, flexibility is the topic they want to talk about.
TIPS ON ASKING FOR FLEX TIME Source: Tory Johnson |
"People need to be able to breathe in the workplace. Seeing them inspired by an idea we give or by the success stories we've shared is what keeps me motivated."
Although women (who now make up almost half of the work force) have been leading the discussion about flexibility, the issue hits all workers at every level of management, Johnson said. A 2005 study of more than 1,000 wage earners and salaried employees by the Family and Work Institute found that one in three employees was "chronically overworked" and that the feeling of being overwhelmed was pervasive in the American workplace.
"Time is the four-letter word driving this issue," Sawyer said. "Time is all we have to love with, to accomplish with, to savor life with. If we don't get some control over it, we lose everything."
Two-pronged plan
Guided by viewer response, Johnson has taken a two-pronged approach to her "GMA" segments. She offers nuts-and-bolts tips on how people can ask for work-schedule flexibility and also reports on authentic jobs that people can do from home.
"What I love about workplace issues is that these problems have solutions," Sawyer said. "When people start looking at ways to do things differently, they get genius insights, which can increase productivity. We're hearing life-changing stories."
Johnson helped coach a group of 16 workers in the billing department of a doctor's office in Texas.
"Wanting a four-day week wasn't just a working mother's issue. All had different reasons for wanting a three-day weekend," Johnson said.
One woman wanted to be able to take bike rides with her husband. Another needed more time to spend with her small children and to care for elderly parents. One was tired of her arduous commute, and others wanted to pursue hobbies or education. The employees figured out that they could keep the office staffed five days a week if some of them worked on Mondays and others worked on Fridays. They had asked their employer for a four-day workweek and had been turned down.
"They'd proposed it on a whim, but just because they were turned down didn't make the desire or the needs go away, so they wrote to ask for help," Johnson said.
She told them to submit a formal, written proposal. They should anticipate their bosses' fears and reasons for saying "no" and should present rational reasons in response. By addressing those issues, expressing dedication to their work and showing how their plan was advantageous to them and to their employer, the employees won approval. They also became a star on the "Good Morning America" U.S. map of success stories of people who took control of their lives.
Another "GMA" segment, on the work-from-home job of virtual customer-service representative, garnered more success stories, as applications poured in to the companies Johnson mentioned.
The success in keeping more American jobs from going overseas is another part of this story, Sawyer said. "Our workers can take those jobs and do them from home and make sure the jobs stay here," she added.
People ask for working-from-home ideas for a variety of reasons.
"The expense of day care doesn't make the paycheck worth it for some working mothers. People have physical challenges or live in rural areas, where they would have to travel long distances to work. Retirees are looking for ways to supplement their incomes," Johnson said.
They need flexible schedules for many reasons as well, such as needing to meet with workers during a home renovation or caring for a dying parent.
In the last year, Johnson has seen a subtle shift in company attitudes about flexibility issues. As more people speak up for what they need, companies are realizing that money isn't all that matters.
"We all wear multiple hats and have many interests. We want to have great success professionally, but we want personal satisfaction, too. We want to be appreciated as people, not just employees," she said.
She believes in putting faces on the issues -- and stars on the map -- because "when people see how others have struggled with similar work situations and taken control, it injects them with confidence and gives them hope."
Johnson feels fortunate that Sawyer is such a passionate champion of the issue.
"I'd be willing to go door-to-door if I could and walk into every boss's office with these women and get it done," Sawyer said. Because that isn't possible, she and Johnson are presenting a new working-from-home idea on "Good Morning America" every day in November.
"We're in the cheerleading, coaching and true believing business," Sawyer said. "I'm encouraged, and I do see change."
WOMEN FOR HIRE
Tory Johnson brings her Women for Hire expo to Atlanta on Thursday. The free event takes place at the Cobb Galleria, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information, see www.womenforhire.org.
