Recently in Work Category

College students are staring down the pike at one of the worst job markets in recent memory. Some are already defaulting to plan B: graduate school. Read the full story from

Sunday's paper: http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_9142289?IADID

CareerBuilder.com has come out with a few articles telling the truth about working from home, from the good to the bad to the ugly (full disclosure: I do preschool pickup in my PJs at least once a week, and frequently end up staying in them for the rest of the day).

They also list the best work from home positions and more practical tips.
*Five Great Work-at-Home Opportunities
*Get a Job Working from Home
*Telecommuting 101

Check out my story about Lori Hindman, whose got one of the coolest part time Momgigs I've ever come across: http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_8654482?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows workers to take off 12 weeks a year unpaid to care for a child or other family member with a medical condition. But advocates for work & family balance and Hillary Clinton are critisizing the Bush Administration this week for trying to make it harder for employees to take the leave. Some of the proposed changes to the law:
workers would need to give advance notice when possible; employers could directly contact doctors to verify the employees’ claims; workers would have to prove medical conditions twice a year from once a year currently. Here's the full text of the changes published in the Federal Register today: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/FedRegNPRM.pdf

An attorney sent me this information yesterday about a bus driver in Santa Monica who claims she was fired because she revealed her pregnancy. The jury agreed. Here are the details:

In 2005, Wynonna Harris was working as a driver for the City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus line. Two days after she gave her superior a doctor’s note indicating that she was pregnant, she was fired. A jury awarded her $178,000; the judge raised that to almost 600,000 this fall. “A lot of people think that if they are pregnant and their employer terminates them, it’s OK,’’ said Michael Nourmand, the plaintiff’s attorney. “I want [pregnant] women to know that they have rights.’’

MomsRising has more information on women's rights with respect to pregnancy and motherhood.

OK, slight exaggeration. But Savvy Mommy Victoria Pericon -- one of those perfect, beautiful mothers who has actually figured out how to turn being a Mom into a lucrative career -- is trying to generate some buzz by teaming up with Capital One Small Business to offer tips for aspiring Mompreneurs. And yes, after following the tips you too will be able to brush your teeth in a towel while checking your e-mail.

It's nothing earth-shattering, but these common sense tips will help focus your thinking if you're contemplating entrepreneurship. Here they are:

Be innovative – Research the competitive landscape and develop a business that stands out
Understand your Finances – Assess your financial well-being and take advantage of all resources
Know your market – Target your consumer
Create a web presence – Take advantage of the Internet
Become a multi-tasker – Balance work and play (a no brainer for Moms, so one down, four to go)

Not exactly a newsflash, but interesting nonetheless. In its third annual study of gender diversity at California’s top companies, UC Davis announced today little progress in getting more women into executive positions and boardrooms at major California corporations. Of the state's 400 largest public companies, 122 have no women in a top executive position or on the board of directors. Half of the 400 companies have no woman among their executive officers, and almost half have no women in the boardroom. Just 13 percent of the companies has a female CEO.

Davis also named California’s top 25 companies in terms of gender diversity. The winner? Nara Bancorp, a Koreatown (Los Angeles)-based community bank, where 70 percent of the employees are women.

In a conference call, chief executive Min Jung Kim said the bank attracts top talent with flexible schedules, flexible holiday time and, something Kim said she always swore she’d implement if she was ever in a position of power: lunch. “As a woman and mom it is really hard to prepare your lunch at home. When I become an executive officer I thought what can I do for my employees? Since I implemented that program, other Korean banks started.’’ Go Kim.

This is a must-read - really. Meredith O'Brien, author of "A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum'' and a contributor to Mommy Track'd, has a piece today in the Huffington Post about the myth of successfully juggling kids, career, sex and health that I'm sure every parent can relate to.

My favorite part is Mommy Track'd founder Amy Keroes' intro, where she conjures the ultimate retro multitasking image, the 70's commercial for Enjoli perfume (see it at youtube) . That commercial, along with "That Girl'' and ''Mary Tyler Moore'' made a very strong case for a young girl to go after her career fantasies. OK, so it wasn't entirely realistic. But it sure was fun.

DEATH TO CLUTTER!

Just when I needed it, Jen Levinson came through with a professional organizer who seems to understand the needs of disorganized Moms like myself. Lori Gersh of Leave it 2 Lori offers on her Website leaveit2lori.com to create an ‘Action Item’ filing system for storing papers, and introduce a toy storage system that will make clean-up a breeze for you and your kids. Music to my ears.

Lori will be speaking at the Westlake Civic Center for the Conejo Valley Mothers & More Chapter Meeting on Thursday, October 4th at 7:30 pm. The session is FREE.

Hopefully I will have an AFTER photo of this desk soon.

This is my "home office,'' basically. There is no separate office space in our house, so I use the kitchen table, which seems to work out better than the bedroom desk, because I can be online while the kids are doing their thing in the living room (or watching a video, ahem).

Obviously, I'm in need of a professional organizer/space manager. I know I'm not the only Mom working from home that could benefit from some advice in this area. Somehow, I truly believe that if only I was well organized, life with children and work would flow perfectly.

I've put the word out to a bunch of Moms to send in pics of their own cluttered spaces and suggestions for solutions, so stay tuned.

Patagonia, the Ventura-based maker of outdoor sports gear, wins the prize for best Southern Californian on-site child care and overall kid-friendly work environment. Patagonia kids trick or treat through the office and get read to by the company CEO.

See my story in today's paper for more from Moms about their working environment.

Many have on-site daycare. Some allow up to two months paid maternity AND paternity leave. They have lactation "programs,'' and flextime. They are the top 100 companies for working Moms, according to Working Mother Magazine's annual list, released today.

Most of the California companies in the top 100 are high-tech Silicon Valley firms, but a few Socal employers made the list: Ventura-based Patagonia and Scripps Health in San Diego, which each have on-site, discounted childcare, the Holy Grail of parent-friendly benefits.

Working Mother has taken some criticism in the past for its list because lots of the companies still fall short of what working moms really want to see (for instance, I noticed that more than a quarter of the 100 still don't offer maternity leave beyond the federal mandate). But more on that later -- look for my story in tomorrow's paper.