The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 37 that dictates where people go. Assignment is often based on the interaction of personalities.” One USAID officer tells us that several colleagues are enrolled in training for languages not spoken in the country to which they are assigned. It may be that the intake of a larger number of new hires than usual accounts for some of the recent difficulties with the bidding and assign- ments system at USAID. “The bidding system over the past two years has become very disorganized, with last-minute scrambles to create positions,” says a USAID officer serving in southern Africa. “Some staff find it hard to find positions that meet their professional and family needs. I hope this will be resolved soon, as Human Resources adjusts to the huge influx of new staff.” Work-Life Balance Family concerns (e.g., spouse/partner employment, children’s education, frequent moves) are a factor for almost everyone considering the Foreign Service career. We asked respondents whether they would describe their agency as “family-friendly.” Overall, a majority at both State and USAID say yes. But as one cautioned, “family-friendly” is a “loaded term.” Many explain that it depends on factors that change by assignment, such as managers, the ambassador and specific conditions at post. Positive assessments center on children and related issues— but are less so when it comes to spouses and partners. State is “very family-friendly,” says one FSO without children. “We are repeatedly told: ‘the State Department loves children.’ And it does.” Many respondents point to long hours, but commensurate opportunities for extra time with family, including travel. A consular officer at a post in Russia says she works “far more than eight hours a day, and it does make it difficult to spend enough time with my family. But I compensate by taking short breaks whenever possible, and we travel together. Fortunately, there are a lot of holidays that allow long weekends.” Several respondents say that the increased focus on “expe- ditionary diplomacy” and unaccompanied tours makes the Foreign Service less family-friendly. The number of unac- companied posts has risen dramatically over the past 10 years, from about 200 to more than 1,000 positions, and this certainly takes a toll on separated families. “I believe the State Depart- ment makes many efforts to ensure that families are taken care of and that family issues are addressed,” says FSO Salman Khalil. “But I do feel that unaccompanied tours are very difficult for families. I can say that from personal experience.” “Family-friendly is hard to define and every family is differ- ent,” says management-track officer Jennifer Rizzoli, serving in Cape Town. “I think there are attempts to meet a definition of family-friendly, but that doesn’t mean that your family’s needs will be met. Also, it’s inconsistent; while one family may have a great experience at one post, that same family may have a ter- rible experience at the next one.” “State’s policies are trying to move in the right direction, particularly in regard to same-sex partners, opposite-sex unmarried Members of Household, and nontraditional fam- ily situations in general,” says State public diplomacy officer Rachael Zaspel from Bridgetown. “However, there is still prog- ress to be made.” USAID responses are mixed. One female USAID officer sums it up this way: “I would not describe my agency as family- friendly. An agency that requires a significant percentage of its work force to serve in unaccompanied, war-zone assignments by nature will struggle to be family-friendly.” Respondents who are single tend to describe the agencies as “too family-friendly,” noting that family considerations for their colleagues often put them at a disadvantage when it comes to assignments, housing and time off. One new management officer says, “Yeah, families are taken care of very well; singles, not so much.” A single female State officer at a post in Mexico speaks for several others when she points out that it is “hard for single women to find a husband; not many men in the U.S. or world are willing to follow you around. But that’s not really something State can solve for single women.” Tandems have certain advantages by sharing the Foreign Service career (two salaries, ability to work at the same post, U.S. government support), but also face periods of separation and no guarantee of being assigned to the same post. “An agency that requires a significant percentage of its work force to serve in unaccompanied, war-zone assignments by nature will struggle to be family-friendly.” —A female USAID officer