Yesterday I attended a session called “Flexing the Workplace: New Ways to Get Work Done and Build Careers” spearheaded by Deborah Epstein Henry of Flex-time Lawyers and sponsored by the National Association of Women Lawyers. 

As you can probably guess from the title, the speakers discussed both research and recommendations for the ways that law firms can adapt and change to meet the demands of both men and women who don’t want to do things in the same way that they’ve always been done.

The issues are complicated.  And to make it even more challenging, law firms are culturally steeped in precedent and tradition so that change can be very painful. Patricia Gillette, co-founder of the Opt In Project and a wonderful speaker, quoted Carly Fiorina: “Change is like heaven; everyone wants to go there but nobody wants to die.”  So policies that allow for flexible work schedules don’t come easy.

But even if you work in a company that has managed to establish such policies, they don’t help unless you can actually use them without damaging your career.  The senior leadership in your firm has undoubtedly supported these policies because they make smart business sense.  But those below in the pecking order may not have the “big picture” in mind - these “frozen middle” people can make actually using flexible work policies difficult if not impossible.

That’s where negotiation comes in - it’s the way you can melt the ice. Three tips:

1. Be prepared. 
   The conversation you will have with your manager should help him or her to wholeheartedly support your decision. You have to be very clear about how you will continue to meet business objectives under the new arrangement.
2. Be aware. 
   Think about how your decision will affect your colleagues.  Will anyone be disaffected?  If so, how can you proactively manage the situation before resentment starts to fester?
3. Be firm. 
   While an occasional emergency may require that you respond immediately, think about how you can manage things so that the flexible schedule that you have designed doesn’t get eroded.

TAGS: Building workplace relationships, career derailment, Fairness at work, flexibility, Negotiation, negotiation skills, The National Association of Women Lawyers, The Opt In Project, Women In the Professions, work life balance

One of the things I like best about weekends is more time to enjoy the New York Times. Lots of interesting items this weekend:

1. Paul Brown (What’s Offline) reports that Paula Spencer (writing in Women’s Day) opines that there is no way for one to actually achieve work life balance. Her advice is to accept it and move on. I agree - especially since the guilt many women feel about not being able to do it all, all at the same time takes time we just don’t have.

2. M. P. Dunleavey writes that new research by Tahira K. Hira and Cazilla Loibl shows that women often abdicate responsibly for financial planning. It seems that the majority of women they studied find making decisions about saving and investing stressful. If you didn’t find yourself in the minority of women who stay engaged in making decisions about money before now, hopefully, the sorry sordid mess that Eliot Spitzer made will remind that no matter how theoretically able your partner is to take the reigns, you still need to pay attention.
3. In much more encouraging news, Norway’s law requiring companies to fill 40 percent of corporate board seats with women by 2008 worked. In 1993, women held only 3% of board seats, in 2002, the number was 6%. Now, the goal’s been met and the value of board diversity is spreading to other parts of Europe. While chances are we won’t benefit from a law requiring more women on boards of US companies, we can choose to exert our economic power by keeping an eye on how well the companies in which we invest accept women. Read more about how you can take action

TAGS: corporate boards, economic power, New York Times, where are the women?, work life balance