The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

18 OCTOBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ere are some statements that many of us in the Foreign Service hear all too often when discussing work-life chal- lenges: “I’ve been very lucky that my office allows me to telework one day a week.” “I was lucky to land in an office that allowed me to take the maternity leave I wanted.” “I was lucky that I had an understand- ing boss when I needed to take leave due to elder care issues.” Indeed, luck seems to be a key ingre- dient when it comes to the implementa- tion of work-life balance policies at the Department of State. Many employees are aware that State ranks seventh on the list of “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.” But they may not know that it ranks only 19th out of 30 on work- life balance and 27th out of 30 for having a family-friendly culture. The demographics of the Foreign Service have changed tremendously over the last several decades, with more tandems, dual working and single par- ents, and individuals living with a parent than ever before. We should recognize the changing needs of our employees by implementing policies that ensure State can compete with the federal agencies and many private companies that long ago recognized the benefits of investing in such policies. Work-life balance now ranks as one of the most important workplace attributes, second only to compensation, among more than 50,000 global workers polled in a 2009 research study conducted by the Corporate Executive Board. And employees who feel they have attained work-life balance tend to work 21 percent harder than those who don’t. We owe it to ourselves, particularly the new classes of Foreign Service employ- ees, to evaluate how well we implement our personnel regulations, advocate for flexible application of workplace and leave policies, and promote work-life balance at State. Doing so will enable the Foreign Service to recruit and retain a 21st-century work force without relying on luck. Speaking of Luck… I have been fortunate to have under- standing supervisors who valued me as an employee and trusted that I could successfully telework one day a week for a short time when I returned to work after the birth of my son. As one manager later told me, “You changed my mind about telework, and I realized it can work.” Other colleagues have not been as fortunate, however. There are still too many managers who won’t approve personal leave, or who refuse to allow telework even for those in positions that are eligible for it, simply because they don’t trust their staff to perform. This is in spite of the fact that State has a policy of encouraging supervisors to approve such arrangements, and the Office of Personnel Management has instructed every federal agency to look into increasing telework arrangements as a means of improving the productivity and continuity of operations. We should take a leaf from the book of our sister agency, USAID, which has made telework such a priority that it requires every new employee to complete a short online telework training course. Now, I have no doubt many readers at this point are thinking to themselves, “Telework isn’t practical for most Foreign Service employees because they need access to classified material.” While it is true that those in jobs requiring classified Achieving Work-Life Balance at State BY L I L L I AN C . WAHL-TUCO H We want to see State become the best federal agency in which to work, with a culture known for work-life balance and family-friendly policies. Lillian C. Wahl-Tuco, a consular-coned Foreign Service officer, is currently the Czech desk of- ficer in the Bureau of European Affairs. A State representative on the AFSA Governing Board, she is also on the board of Balancing Act at State, an employee organization that addresses work-life balance issues. SPEAKING OUT