work-life balancing act

14 Stories

In Australia, a 'Historic Day for Working People'

Nation implements 'right to disconnnect' law, giving employees right to ignore after-hours contact

(Newser) - Ever get an email or phone call from your boss at home just as you're settling down to binge-watch your favorite show? If you're in Australia, you are now free to ignore that after-hours communication. A "right to disconnect" rule is now in play for workers as...

The #LazyGirlJob Trend Could Backfire on Gen Z
The #LazyGirlJob Trend
Could Backfire on Gen Z
OPINION
Jul 29, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

The #LazyGirlJob Trend Could Backfire on Gen Z

Flexible, remote jobs are likely to be among the first cut, writes Megan McArdle

(Newser) - The idea behind the viral TikTok trend #lazygirljob, touted by influencer Gabrielle Judge and others, is to find a low-stress, extremely flexible, remote job that pays the bills while allowing for a decent work-life balance. The trend isn't specific to women. It's "the latest iteration of 20-...

CEO Accuses Workers of 'Quiet Quitting,' Taking Care of Kids

Clearlink's James Clarke made some eyebrow-raising comments on remote work at town hall

(Newser) - The CEO of a digital marketing and tech firm is taking a fair amount of flak after remarks that targeted remote workers and working moms. James Clarke, head of Utah-based Clearlink, spoke during a companywide town hall last week to discuss a recent return-to-work order now that the pandemic has...

Large Test of 4-Day Workweek Ends, and Everybody's Happy

Workers and companies will keep going in Britain

(Newser) - Work less, get more. A trial of a four-day workweek in Britain, billed as the world's largest, has found that an overwhelming majority of the 61 companies that participated over six months last year will keep going with the shorter hours, per the AP . Most employees reported having less...

Trial of 4-Day Workweek Hailed as Huge Success

NZ's Perpetual Guardian might make it permanent

(Newser) - Roughly half of 240 employees of a New Zealand company felt they had a solid work-life balance as of November. By April, the figure had risen to 78%. The reason: Over March and April, they were paid for five eight-hour work days per week, but only required to show up...

People Over 35 Are Less Happy at Work
Work-Life Balance
Gets Trickier
After 35
study says
Aug 27, 2017 1:30 PM CDT

Work-Life Balance Gets Trickier After 35

More people feel stressed and underappreciated

(Newser) - The older we get, the more of us there are who don't like our jobs—at least according to a recent survey of more than 2,000 employees in the UK. Age 35 seems to be a tipping point: The number of those who are unhappy at work more...

Swedish Workers Just Got Bad News About Their Sex Lives

Proposal to subsidize one hour of sex per week in Overtornea shot down

(Newser) - Finding the right work-life balance is always a challenge. But in Overtornea, Sweden, residents are going to have to have sex on their own time, just like everywhere else. The New York Times reports a 31-member town council on Monday voted down a local pol's proposal to grant the...

Japanese CEO Quits After Overworked Employee's Suicide

Matsuri Takahashi isn't only victim of 'karoshi,' or 'death from overwork'

(Newser) - "It's 4am. My body's trembling. I'm going to die." That was reportedly one of Matsuri Takahashi's tweets not long before she killed herself last year by leaping from a dorm at Dentsu, the ad company where the 24-year-old worked, per the New York Times ...

Paul Ryan's Demand for Dad Time Gets Cheers, Jeers

Would-be speaker applauded for taking a stand, knocked for hypocrisy

(Newser) - Paul Ryan put out a list of demands he'd need met before agreeing to become House speaker, and one is getting its fair share of attention. Ryan—who the New York Times notes is a regular at his kids' basketball and volleyball events, as well as the family's...

Goldman Sachs to Interns: Take It Easy, Go Home at 12am

And don't come back before 7am, Goldman Sachs says in new work-hours policy

(Newser) - When Moritz Erhardt, a 21-year-old Bank of America intern in London, died two years ago after reportedly putting in 72 hours straight at work, the banking industry turned the spotlight on its notoriously rough hours. Bank of America, for instance, suggested its junior workers take at least four weekend days...

Flexible Work Hurts Working Mothers

 Flexible Work 
 Hurts Working 
 Mothers 
OPINION
Mar 28, 2013 1:31 PM CDT

Flexible Work Hurts Working Mothers

Think twice before taking that telecommuting position: Dwyer Gunn

(Newser) - Amid all the uproar over Marissa Mayer ending telecommuting at Yahoo , the biggest concern of many was that the new policy would hurt working moms. But studies show it's actually flexible work policies that do the most harm to working moms, writes flex-worker and mom Dwyer Gunn on Slate...

5 Steps to Fix Work-Life Balance
 5 Steps to Fix 
 Work-Life Balance 
OPINION
Jul 19, 2012 3:25 PM CDT

5 Steps to Fix Work-Life Balance

US policy far behind other countries'

(Newser) - Following much-discussed articles like Anne-Marie Slaughter's Atlantic piece, the question of work-life balance—particularly for women—is again in the spotlight, and that's a very good thing, writes Sarah Seltzer at Salon . The fact is, the US is embarrassingly behind on the issue. But a few policy changes...

US Military a Better Place Than Disney to Work

But Google's still the best boss, survey finds

(Newser) - The US military may seem like grim duty, but it's actually a relatively nice place to work, a new survey found. In fact, members of all four branches of the Armed Forces and the National Guard were happier than employees of Disney, Microsoft, and Johnson & Johnson. “Despite challenges...

Dads Even More Stressed Out Than Moms
 Dads Even More 
 Stressed Out Than Moms 
Happy father's day
Jun 20, 2010 9:55 AM CDT

Dads Even More Stressed Out Than Moms

Expected to do more, fathers now feel mothers' pain at the balancing act

(Newser) - Happy Father's Day, Tara Parker-Pope writes in the New York Times: You deserve it, because it's gotten a lot harder to be a dad. Fathers, increasingly expected to pull their weight at home as well as in the office, are now as stressed about juggling it all as their wives,...

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