First, I want to thank everyone for their inspiring and supportive comments and emails in response to my blog posting last week, “Mom’s Peaceful Passing—Eldercare True Confessions.” I promise to use my experience to keep the dialogue going. Now back to this week’s posting….

Imagine my excitement when BusinessWeek arrived with the cover story, “The Future of Work.” For organizations and individuals to thrive in the 24/7, high-tech, global work reality, work+life flexibility must be a core business and career management strategy. So, I was eager to see how this was presented in the article. What did I find?

First, I was happy to see work+life and flexibility were mentioned at all. However, I was disappointed that the topics were addressed separately and not as specific considerations in the management of global projects or 24/7 connectivity.

“Redesigning Career Paths and Jobs,” Is Not a “Perk” for Women

“Redesigning career paths, jobs and the workplaces to accommodate women with family obligations” was presented in a side bar article entitled “Shape of Perks to Come.” And that particular “perk” came under, “Women—Whatever They Want.” The fact is that redesigning career paths, jobs and the workplace are not just accommodations to get women to “stick around after having children.” They must be core organizational objectives if every employee is going to have a productive work and personal life in the workplace of the future. See my interview in this month’s Consulting Magazine where I discuss how consulting firms should rethink their traditional client service model that places a premium on constant travel. Continue Reading…

My mom peacefully passed away on July 6th after waging a heroic eighteen-month battle with lung cancer. I want to thank everyone who has sent messages of support and shared their personal stories of caring for an adult they loved. It has meant so much to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Over the past six weeks as my sisters and I provided 24/7 care until her death, then arranged my mother’s funeral, I had no capacity for blogging. But now, two-weeks into my “re-entry,” I would like to share some personal observations about eldercare. My experience has radically changed how I will professionally approach this major work+life transition going forward.

Throughout my mother’s illness, I blogged both here and Success Magazine about the challenge of caring for her while working full-time and raising two small children.

But I had to save my true confessions about eldercare until after her death, because reading them would have been too painful for her. Because the truth is that eldercare is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Continue Reading…