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In This Issue:
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Upcoming events put on by the SHRM-Texas State Council
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Use this listing of monthly activites to ensure your chapter stays on track for a successful year.
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NEWS
With fluctuating gas prices and the increasing call for work-life balance, telecommuting has become an attractive option for busy professionals. Yet according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin, for most employees who work remotely, telecommuting equates to working more hours.
The study, co-authored by Jennifer Glass, professor in the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Center, shows that most of the 30 percent of respondents who work from home add five to seven hours to their workweek compared with those who work exclusively at the office. They are also significantly less likely to work a standard 40-hour schedule and more likely to work overtime. In fact, most telecommuting hours occur after an employee has already put in 40 hours of work at the office.
Using two nationally representative data sources — the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 panel and special supplements from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey — Glass and her colleague, Mary Noonan, associate professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, analyzed trends in the use of telecommuting among employees and employers in the U.S. civilian workforce.
The results, published in Monthly Labor Review, indicate that telecommuting causes work to seep into home life, a problem previously identified in the 2008 Pew Networked Workers survey. According to the survey, a majority of tech-savvy workers claim that telecommuting technology has increased their overall work hours and that employees use technology, especially email, to perform work tasks even when sick or on vacation.
"Careful monitoring of this blurred boundary between work and home time and the erosion of 'normal working hours' in many professions can help us understand the expansion of work hours overall among salaried workers," says Glass, who is the Barbara Pierce Bush Regents Professor in Liberal Arts.
The researchers also found the labor demand for work-family accommodation does not seem to propel the distribution of telecommuting hours. In fact, parents with dependent children are no more likely to work from home than the population as a whole. According to the findings, employees with authority and status are more likely than others to have the option to work remotely because they have more control of their work schedules.
The authors conclude that telecommuting has not permeated the American workplace, and where it has become commonly used, it is not very helpful in reducing work-family conflicts. Instead, it appears to have allowed employers to impose longer workdays, facilitating workers' needs to add hours to the standard workweek.
CHAPTER CHATTER
On April 18th, FWHRMA hosted our 14th Annual Employment Law Symposium. The annual event was presented by Lynn, Ross and Gannaway, LLP and sponsored by Imperative Information Group. This year the 202 HR professionals in attendance earned an impressive 7.5 general HRCI credits. Next year’s 15th Annual Employment Law Update will be held on Thursday, April 17, 2014.
But in the meantime, our May meeting will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth. Our extremely popular, Legal & Regulatory Hour, will begin at 10:15am and is free to those who have registered for the luncheon. The topic for the L&R hour is "Identity and Eligibility Confirmation – E-verify and other Tools" presented by Mike Coffey, President of Imperative Information Group and our FWHRMA President.
The May luncheon, which will begin immediately following, is "The Good, Bad & Ugly: Critical Communication Skills for Conflict Resolution" presented by Jeff Hiller, Director of Training, JB Training Solutions. To register for the May luncheon, visit http://www.fwhrma.org
The Board of the North Texas Chapter of SHRM donated $500.00 to the UNT Student Chapter. Participants will be attending the conference and competing in case competition in Austin the end of April.
April luncheon at Holiday Inn Centre Place in Denton, TX, will feature guest speaker Fiona Hunter. Her topic is HR Career Development Business Trends and Emerging HR Roles which has been approved for one recertification credit. You may go to www.northtexasshrm.org and make your reservation to attend and pay for the luncheon.
A Lunch and Learn will be held May 2, 2013 from 11:30-1:00pm at Asset Control, Inc. (Corporate Office) at 1300 Fulton St. Suite 300, Denton, TX. Class size is limited to 12 attendees. Contact Cynthia Delaney to reserve your space. Russ Rosenburg will guide participants through the changes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The 2013 North Texas SHRM Annual Conference will be held May 16 and May 17. The opening session will feature Suzie Humphreys. The conference will be held at the beautiful new MAC Building in Denton with a variety of speakers on both May 16 and May 17. All are welcome to attend. Conference registration and more information can be found on our website www.northtexasshrm.org. You may also register and pay for the conference on the website. If you would like to stay over on the 16 the following two hotel will offer participants a discount: The Best Western Premier (940-387-1000) located on Brinker near I-35 will offer a rate of $89 versus their regular rate of $128 and the Homewood Suites (940-382-0420) which is on Shoreline directly across from the MAC Building will offer a king suite at $99 and will include breakfast; their regular rate on a single is $125.
The May luncheon at the Holiday Inn Center Place in Denton, TX will feature our guest speaker, Thomas J. Montgomery MHA,MBA,CFWC, who will speak on "Financial Wellness To The Rescue". Go to http://www.northtexasshrm.org/ to make your reservation and pay for the luncheon
HR CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE
WORKFORCE READINESS
One Texas lawmaker is doing her best to help veterans after their military service
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