Over 100 business executives, union representatives, worker advocates, researchers, academics and policymakers gathered for the White House forum on Workplace Flexibility, held on March 31, 2010. The following are excerpts from remarks by President Barack Obama at the White House Workplace Flexibility forum:
We're all familiar with the economic and demographic changes that have brought us to this point -- how over the past generation or two, as costs have risen and wages have lagged, many families have found they can no longer survive on just one income. And at the same time, we've broken down barriers and opened up opportunities, so more women have entered into the workforce, bringing home paychecks that are increasingly critical to supporting families.
Today, two-thirds of American families with kids are headed by two working parents or a single working parent, and the result is the rise of what one expert I know refers to as "the juggler family." For these families, every day is a high wire act. Everything is scheduled right down to the minute. There's no room for error. If the car breaks down, or somebody gets sick, or there's a problem at school, that begins a cascading domino effect that leaves everybody scrambling.
And I have to say that this is something that Michelle and I have struggled with in our own family. As she told you earlier today, it wasn't that long ago that both of us were working full-time outside the home while raising two young daughters. I was away for days on end for my job, and Michelle was working hard at hers, so a lot of times we felt like we were just barely keeping everything together. When we were at work, we were worrying about what was happening at home. When we were at home, we were worrying about work. We both felt our overloaded schedules were taking a toll on our marriage.
And we had it relatively easy. We could afford good health care. We had a wonderful mother-in-law, grandmother -- who could help out. We had to ship her in, even in the White House. We both had jobs where we could rework our schedules in an emergency without risking being fired or having our paychecks docked.
Now, most folks just aren't that lucky -- particularly in today's economy when many people aren't just working one job but are having to work two or three to get by, or they're working longer hours, or they're out of a job and they can't afford to be choosy about things like flexibility and benefits.
And this disconnect between the needs of our families and the demands of our workplace also reflects a broader problem, that today, we as a society still see workplace flexibility policies as a special perk for women rather than a critical part of a workplace that can help all of us. There's still this perception out there that an employee who needs some time to tend to an aging parent or attend to a parent-teacher's conference isn't fully committed to his or her job; or that if you make a workplace more flexible, it necessarily will be less profitable.
Now, it's true that women are still disproportionately affected by this issue -- something Michelle always reminds me of -- which is another reason why it's such great concern for me. But plenty of fathers out there wish they had more time to spend with their kids. Plenty of sons wish they could do more for their elderly parents. Plenty of workers -- both women and men -- wish they could go back to school so they can beef up their skills and advance their careers. And there are plenty of communities that desperately need the new jobs we can create when we embrace teleworking and mobile workplaces.
And as for how this issue affects companies' bottom lines, a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers that we're releasing today found that companies with flexible work arrangements can actually have lower turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity, and healthier workers.
So let's be clear: Workplace flexibility isn't just a women's issue. It's an issue that affects the well-being of our families and the success of our businesses. It affects the strength of our economy -- whether we'll create the workplaces and jobs of the future we need to compete in today's global economy.
And ultimately, it reflects our priorities as a society -- our belief that no matter what each of us does for a living, caring for our loved ones and raising the next generation is the single most important job that we have. I think it's time we started making that job a little easier for folks.
