Higher education institutions rely on staff working in a variety of roles to perform their core functions, including custodians, librarians, food service workers, career counselors, and residence hall directors. Research within and beyond the field of higher education offers multiple approaches leaders can consider to improve their workplace…

The price tag on a college education is higher than ever--but not having a degree is even more costly, according to recent studies. However, for lower-income students, getting to a college degree isn't so simple. Student financial need after grant aid (commonly referred to as "unmet need") averages $6,000 for students, even at…

Although many employers think that people are most creative when under time pressure, research indicates that the opposite is true. Data from 177 employees' diaries showed that creative thinking under extreme time pressure is unlikely when people feel on a treadmill or on autopilot; more likely when they feel they are on an expedition or a…

Employers are feeling the strain of needing to offer alternative work arrangements to retain and recruit employees. Due to a change in demographics, dual-career couples and increased technology; people are demanding a transformation in the workplace environment. Two alternatives, which are being offered by employers, are flextime and…

Discusses and reviews the literature on issues involved in attempts to balance roles in employing organizations and family organizations. The following types of programs are reviewed: (1) maternity and parental leave; (2) child and dependent care; (3) alternative work schedules and workstations; and (4) employee assistance and relocation programs.…

Between 1981 and 1984, during the budgetary crisis of the European Community, significant negotiations were held between the Ten in connection with the reform of the European Social Fund. At the same time, there was a major political change in France: the left--led by Francois Mitterrand--came to power. In the social field, Francois Mitterrand had…

More than 250,000 federal employees nationwide are participating in a three-year voluntary experiment to find out if the federal government can successfully use flexible and compressed work schedules as alternatives to the traditional eight-hour day, forty-hour workweek. If the experiment is a success, the Congress may modify laws to allow…

Discusses recent changes in industry practices designed to make worklife more accommodating to family life. Cites examples of companies which are establishing new work schedules (flex-time, four-day weeks), providing counseling services and day care, and giving increased consideration to family impact when making job transfer decisions. (SJL)

Research in distance and online education has focused on how to improve students' learning and support services. Faculty satisfaction, as one of the five pillars in Sloan-Consortium's quality framework for online education, has received less attention in research. Besides online teaching, little research has examined the experiences of academics…

The numbers of women entering the workforce have steadily risen since the mid 1950s. The nature of the family unit has correspondingly changed; the family in which the man was the husband and breadwinner and the woman was wife and mother devoted full time to home and family is a rarity. The attempt on the part of working family members to…

Experiences of black women, who migrated from the rural south to the District of Columbia between 1900 and 1926, are examined in order to illustrate the nature of household work during this period. While previous research on black private household workers usually attributed changes in household labor to architectural and technological trends,…

Canadian business is changing. Competition is stiffer, markets are shifting. The workforce is also changing. Flexibility in when, where, and how work gets done is key to attracting the employees organizations need to gain a competitive edge. Many companies, organizations, and unions are recognizing the interdependence of work life and family life.…

While teachers and school administrators play a highly visible role in education, other school team members work behind the scenes: food service workers, school nurses, school security, custodians, maintenance workers, classroom instructional assistants, bus drivers, secretaries and office employees. In the American Federation of Teachers (AFT),…

The Skills, Attitudes, and Values for Employment (SAVE) project was designed to explore the needs of women in the workplace. An exploratory design was selected for the study with a target population consisting of 200 women working in companies in Morris County, New Jersey. From a self-administered questionnaire used to elicit information, the…