Work-Life

Video: Work-Life Myths & Realities

Video of AWP's conference presentation on the myths and realities of work-life practices.

Article: US: Lack of Paid Leave Harms Workers, Children

This article, published by Human Rights Watch, discusses the Human Right Watch Report on how US workers are harmed by weak or nonexistent laws on paid leave, breastfeeding accommodation, and discrimination against workers with family responsibilities.

Article: How Should a Small Business Handle Parental Leave?

This article, from the Harvard Business Review Blog, weighs the pros and cons of having an overarching parental leave policy versus a policy on an individualized basis.

Presentation: Living Our Values and Leading the Way

Speech delivered by Shifra Bronznick about AWP, specifically about the Better Work, Better Life Campaign and paid parental leave, at the Wexner Foundation.

Article: Balancing Career and Family in Jewish Communal Service

Cindy Chazan writes on striking the balance between being a Jewish professional and a private Jewish citizen: the inside story from one of the few women to ascend to the top ranks of the Jewish communal field.

Report: Good Business: A Best Practices Guide to Retaining and Advancing Women in Jewish Communal Service

Concrete recommendations intended to help Jewish communal professionals maintain and improve job performance, stay in their current positions for longer, and increase job satisfaction.

Report: The Jewish Sector’s Workforce: Report of a Six-Community Study

A major study of American Jewish communal professionals finds that instituting mentoring programs, creating family-friendly policies, and eliminating gender bias would improve recruitment and retention.

How To: Flex Works

A tool created by Catalyst is built on insights on the new global workforce and the flexibility needs of all. Includes recommendations and examples from leading organizations to help you implement flexibility within your own organization.

How To: Workplace Flexibility: A Guide for Employees

When employers and employees partner in finding flexible ways to work, both benefit. A step-by-step guide to conceiving a plan, making the case, and putting into action.

Article: Work and Life: The End of The Zero-Sum Game

Using actual examples from front-line managerial situations, this article explains and explores three work-life principles executives can adopt to create wins for their organizations and individual employees.

Infographic: Work is Not a Place, It’s a Thing You Do

Infographic detailing statistics of how flexible work programs improve the lives of employees.

Article: Winning the Talent War for Women, Sometimes It Takes a Revolution

In 1991, Deloitte & Touche got a wake-up call about its efforts to retain women professionals. While it was recruiting almost as many women as men, the company had a much higher turnover rate for women.

Template: Flexible Work Options Guide

Detailed article about how formal flexibility works including a sample flexible work arrangement agreement.

Article: Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Women On The Road To Success

Are women really “opting-out” of the workforce as last year’s media uproar suggested? New data in the form of an article and report says “absolutely not,” at least not in the way the stories indicated.

Presentation: Formalizing Flexibility – AWP Work Life Convening

Presentation given at the AWP Work-Life Convening on February 7, 2011.

Article: Making Motherhood Work – With Work

Deena Fuchs talks about her experience as an executive and new mother, and how the flexible policies of the AVI CHAI Foundation help her balance it all.

Article: How to Make 100 Organizations in the Same Industry More Flexible – Key Lessons Learned

Article by Cali Yost detailing AWP's Better Work Better Life Initiative and the main lessons learned during the process.

Presentation: Work-Life Fit: A Candid Conversation – Agenda

Agenda for the Work-Life Fit Convening that took place on June 13, 2013 in conjunction with UJA Federation of New York and the JCC Association.

Article: The Equity Imperative: Reaching Effectiveness Through the Dual Agenda

Dealing with inequities in the workplace serves to provide equitable conditions that allow employees to realize their potential, thereby creating effective organizations, argue Lotte Bailyn and Joyce K. Fletcher.

Article: How Jewish Workplaces Can Right Gender Disparities

This article offers solid arguments for formalized flexible work arrangements as a key strategy for advancing Jewish women professionals, based on the experiences of Renanit Levy and Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield.

How To: How (And Why) to Cross-Train Employees

Helpful explanation of cross-training, especially for small businesses, to discourage, “That’s not my job” type thinking in your organization and increase overall effectiveness and teamwork.

Video: Work-Life Myths and Realities

A helpful video from a June 2013 convening on work-life fit featuring Anne Weisberg of the FutureWork Institute, Shifra Bronznick of AWP and Sari Ferro, VP for Human Resources at UJA-Federation of New York.

Sample Policy: UJA-Federation of New York Flexible Work Arrangements

UJA Federation of New York's policy provides guidelines for requesting and managing flexible work arrangements.

Sample Policy: T’ruah (Rabbis for Human Rights) – Flexible Work Arrangements

T'ruah offers a clear and helpful policy regarding a wide range of formal flexible work arrangements.

Sample Policy: UJA-Federation of New York – Paid Parental Leave

UJA Federation of New York offers a paid maternity leave policy that meets AWP's "gold standard" by offering up to three months paid leave to mothers who've worked for three years or more.

Sample Policy: T’ruah (Rabbis for Human Rights) – Parental Leave Policy

T'ruah, with less than 10 employees, and a budget of under $1 million, offers a policy that meets AWP's "gold standard" by offering up to three months paid parental leave to employees who've worked for three years or more.

Sample Policy: JDC – NYHQ – Parental Leave Policy

The JDC New York Headquarters, with more than 100 employees, offers a policy that meets AWP's "gold standard" by offering up to three months paid parental leave to employees who've worked for three years or more.

Report: JBFCS Flexibility Brochure

An internal guide for Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services employees on workplace flexibility, including goals, options, and procedures.

Report: JBFCS Flexibility Report “The Benefits of Flexible Work Arrangements”

An internal guide for Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services employees on workplace flexibility, including goals, options, and procedures.

Report: Better Work, Better Life: Practices and Policies in Jewish Organizations

AWP, in collaboration with JESNA's Berman Center for Research and Evaluation, fielded an online survey to 227 Jewish organizations to evaluate formal work-life policies and/or receptiveness to adopting the policies, including parental leave and flexible work arrangements.

Paid Parental Leave

AWP has joined with advocates nationwide to advocate for paid family leave. The United States remains the only industrialized nation without a paid leave program for employees who need time off to care for a new baby, sick child, spouse or partner in need, or elderly relative.

Better Work Better Life

Build smart, healthy Jewish workplaces: The Better Work, Better Life Campaign aims to improve parental leave and flexible work arrangements in Jewish organizations of every type and size. These work-life policies are critical to advance women professionals, who still carry the majority of personal caregiving and household responsibilities.

Presentation: Life and Work

Shifra Bronznick in this article writes how bone-weary professionals and over-programmed volunteers are exhausting our community. We must experiment with creative ways of working to bolster job recruitment, retention and satisfaction.