Finding the Work You Love

Putting a Contract Out

In years gone by, the employment contract was a corporate lure designed to lock up key executives for a specified time. Today, by contrast, workers in many fields sign contracts to serve a company for three months, six months, a year—whatever they desire. This cyclical work allows an individual to alternate bursts of work with stretches of leisure.

Nowhere is the future more visible than in the nursing profession. A remarkable 55 percent of nurses surveyed say they intend to retire between 2011 and 2020. Yet with boomers aging, the demand for health services will only rise. What’s more, nurses are getting older. In March 2004, the average age of the RN population was estimated to be 46.8—more than a year older than the average age of 45.2 estimated in 2000, and more than four years older than in 1996, when the average was just 42.3. As if all this isn’t adequate cause for concern, some states, such as California, have imposed nurse-to-patient staffing-ratio requirements.

It doesn’t take a highly paid analyst to figure out that anyone with a nursing degree is going to be among the most popular girls (or boys) at the recruiting dance. Healthcare providers are responding with offers for higher pay, better pensions, and more clout. A few have gone so far as to offer free tuition and new cars. Meanwhile, many hospitals are willing to hire RNs on a contract basis, typically for three- to six-month stints. At some facilities, 60 percent or more of the nursing staff enjoys the flexibility of such contracts.

Yet contract work offers opportunities far beyond the world of medicine. Today, skilled professionals from a range of fields—engineering, software development, IT systems integration, finance—find themselves able to call the shots. In the years ahead, as the knowledge economy expands and older workers become the focus of recruiting and retention efforts, cyclical work is likely to go mainstream.

Getting Your Fair Share

Society has traditionally operated on the principle that a single person holds down a job. However, that’s changing. Starting around 1990, job sharing emerged as a viable opportunity. Typically, two people hold down the same position at the same company—each present during different days, or during hours within the same day. In some cases, an employer may match a candidate with someone else. In other cases, it’s up to an individual to find his or her own job-sharing partner in order to win the employer’s approval of a job-sharing proposal. Participants might range from an older executive working with a younger executive attending graduate school to two nurses who don’t want to log a full workweek.

Job sharing can involve different scenarios, including each participant putting in 2½ days per week, or partners splitting the week by working two full days each and overlapping on one day. The latter is considered a 1.2 employee arrangement, with each person receiving 60 percent of the total salary. Yet, like a marriage, job sharing requires a good deal of effort, constant coordination and excellent communication. Two individuals must be able to handle a single position as efficiently as one. Although working mothers have traditionally used job sharing, the trend is now fanning out to include older workers and others.

Employees aren’t the only ones who benefit from job sharing. Some companies find that it provides an alternative to layoffs and a steady stream of temporary help, smoothes over gaps due to vacations and sick days, improves morale, increases productivity, lowers training and overtime costs, and provides better job coverage. In some cases, it’s possible to match a person who is good with customer interaction and another who excels at administrative functions and create a more complete job profile. Although some positions aren’t sharable and not everyone is suited for splitting duties with another person, the two-for-one approach is redefining the concept of a job.

Check out "Finding the Work You Love" to obtain more information about job sharing and glean specific tips on how to make it work for you.  The road to happiness is paved with numerous opportunities. It's up to you to find the right ones.

Getting Flex-Able

A quarter century ago, the idea of a worker deviating from the traditional 9-5 schedule seemed outrageous. Bosses wanted to know where their employees were at all times, and, other than sales staff and a few others who had to hit the road for work, out of the office meant out of the loop.

No longer. Computers and the Internet have created new ways to work--and think about work. Flextime, as the name implies, allows employers and employees to carve out nontraditional work arrangements. For many older workers, including those juggling childcare, eldercare, or other needs (including a simple desire to work flexible hours), flex-time may be the ticket to greater satisfaction and work-life balance.

An employer might stipulate that an employee be present in the office from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., for example, leaving the remainder of the day available for a mix of work or personal pursuits. Another person might arrive at 6 a.m. and head out at noon, or from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Essentially, the employee agrees to be in the office for a certain number of hours each week, and handle the rest of the work at home or even in a coffee shop. The flex-time employee simply guarantees that the work will get done.

Fortunately, a growing number of employers recognize the value of a less rigid schedule and happier workers. According to the Boston College Center on Aging and Work, only 7.6 percent of employers do not offer any flex-time option. Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, co-director of the Center on Aging and Work, believes that demographics and technology will unleash far greater opportunities for flex-time in the months and years ahead. In fact, companies that eschew flextime "may be missing important opportunities to enhance both their business performance  and their employees engagement," she states.

For specific tips about how to sell an employer on a flex-work format, check out page 192 of my book, "AARP Crash Course in Finding the Work You Love."