RICHARD JAWORSKI: FLEXIBILITY WORKS
AGE
57
FAMILY
Wife at home; 11 children (9 adopted)
JOB
Project executive, IBM (IBM), Chicago
HOW THINGS WORK
This is Jaworski's fifth assignment in nine years at IBM. He started as a project manager on consulting contracts. Then, four and a half years ago, Jaworski learned that he had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He and his manager agreed it would be best for him to move to a less stressful job while he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Once the cancer went into remission in l994, he was reassigned to a $40 million outsourcing contract.
Now, he has a fair amount of control over his work, a function of IBM's policy of letting employees dictate their own flexibility. "When I need to take off work for one of the kids, I either go into work early or I stay later. I don't give a second thought about it, and neither does IBM." If he's outside the office, customers can reach him via pager. And IBM has equipped his home office with a PC, printer, fax machine, copier, and two business phone lines. "I can work at home without missing a beat" -- and he does, at least one day a week.
HIS TAKE
"It was a lot harder before joining IBM. There were parent/teacher conferences I couldn't attend at all. The burden was all placed on my wife. I still think that my wife carries the burden, but having more control over my schedule at IBM, and being able to leave if I need to has permitted me also to address my children's needs. It's made me feel terrific. I love it."
"The role of a father has changed in that there's more of a sharing of responsibility and caring for the children. It's a good thing. Basically it shows the child that parenting is not just the mother's role -- that the father plays an equal role, and I believe that most fathers want to."
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