The White House Is "Family Friendly" For Just One Family
There's a story in The New York Times about the insane hours worked by White House staffers who are parents. Rachel L. Swarns writes:
WASHINGTON -- When President Obama talks up the family-friendly vibe at the White House -- the nightly family dinners, the flexibility to attend school presentations and join impromptu plunges in the pool with his girls -- his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, sets him straight. "Family friendly to your family," Mr. Emanuel counters.The schedule of Christina D. Romer, the president's chief economist, is so packed, for example, that her first visit to her son's school this year came at 10 p.m. on a Friday. "It felt wretched, just wretched," Ms. Romer said of the evening that her 12-year-old boy pointed out his classroom in the dark.
Peter R. Orszag, the White House budget chief who is a divorced father of two, works so many weekends that he often imports his parents to help care for his 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. "We're still sort of groping here," Mr. Orszag said.
As for Mr. Emanuel, he recently squeezed in a swim with his two daughters, 9 and 11, at 5 a.m. "No matter how much the president tries -- and he and Michelle try, they do -- the White House is brutal on family life," said Mr. Emanuel, who has struggled to make time for his wife and three children since they moved here from Chicago.
The Obamas have vowed to create an accommodating workplace for their employees. For many advisers, though, the work-family balance that the Obamas enjoy remains elusive.
White House advisers often work 60 to 70 hours a week and bear the scars of missed birthdays and bedtimes, canceled dinners and play dates, strained marriages and disgruntled children, all for prestigious posts that offer a chance to make an impact and unparalleled access to the president. At a time when the nation is in recession and at war, the public expects no less, many argue.
As I commented over at the NYT, working in jobs like this is for BARREN! girls like me. I'm not a fan of helicopter parenting, but once you have kids, you have no right to disappear from their lives like this, plum job or no.
I'm sure most multi-millionaire CEO's didn't get there on a 40 hour week.
The prestige of the job is the same on a resume down the line.
But he would never say decrease his staff's pay because that's fair. But he'll accuse the CEO of being unfair be cause he sacrificed his personal life to succeed -- and want to keep his money.
Jim P. at July 5, 2009 5:42 AM
We all love attentive parents, but White House staffers are some of the most aggressive people on the planet. Someone like Rahm Emanuel is probably gonna give his kids anything they need.
In Iacocca's book he talked about how he ran Ford and the Chrysler with all his attention, but his daughters had a direct phone line to his desk. When they wanted to talk to him, they called and he answered. If they needed him, he went home.
(For you youngsters: That last part is a reference to olden days, when American car companies were [sometimes] successful, market-responsive enterprises.)
Crid [CommentCrid@gmail.com] at July 5, 2009 5:51 AM
That's just so typical of The Messiah's do as I say not as I do style.
Remember when he lectured us in a speech to "turn down our thermostats"? Then weeks later there was a story about Obama having the thermostats turned UP in the oval office.
The response from one of his spokespeople when he was called on it? "Hey, give the guy a break, he's from Hawaii."
sean at July 5, 2009 6:01 AM
So....the New York Times, after all this time, finally decides to run a story suggesting all is not perfect in Obamaland, and they can't come up with anything but this? No reports on how his and Congress's out-of-control spending is bankrupting the country, how he's taking over large portions of any industry he pleases, how Cap and Trade will impose trillions of dollars more drag on the economy over the next decades, or how Obamacare will lead to single-payer rationing and more federal control over everyone's life. But we get this instead. Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. This is why we have to go to the so-called "alternative media" for any discussion of any of the above.
The people working in the WH, just like their counterparts in the private sector, know what they signed up for. And just like them, they are free to leave and find a 40-hour a week family-friendly job somewhere else. To me, this is just another windmill they want us to tilt at instead of paying attention to what's really important.
cpabroker at July 5, 2009 6:27 AM
I'm with you Amy. They knew what they were buying into. And really, did they honestly expect Obama to care about them? Naive.
momof4 at July 5, 2009 7:14 AM
sure, it's easy to just say suck it up... but. When you are that CEO or president or whatever, YOU set the tone. You could change such things if you wanted to. 60 or 70 hours a week, must be bull, because even when I was working 80-85 hours a week, I was still home to put my children to bed. [remember Y2K? I worked that for 6months proceeding, to make sue that everyone thought it was a non-event] I'm betting the hours are longer, and probably not flexible. Obama sets that pace, demands that ethic. Normally, you would say that the staffing levels are wrong, and they need more people, or the people at the top need to trust their staffs and delegate.
This kind of work IS NOT a foregone conclusion, it is the top person that sets this. The guy who isn't walking the talk. It may never change, of course, but it will surely not change if people don't ask for it...
SwissArmyD at July 5, 2009 10:11 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/07/05/the_white_house_3.html#comment-1657096">comment from SwissArmyDMy friend Cheryl is a mom who works -- with now-teenaged kids -- but when she took a job, she took less money and a four-day work-week, and spends Fridays with her children. She's also generally very involved in their lives every minute she's home -- in a fun, attentive way, not a nervous helicopter parent way -- as is her husband/their father. They're my NYC adopted family, and I stay with them for weeks at a time, and I can see the influence of really good, loving parents on kids.
Amy Alkon
at July 5, 2009 10:17 AM
Imagine Obama being a hypocrite!
Who wudda thunk?
David M. at July 5, 2009 3:57 PM
> remember Y2K? I worked that for
> 6months proceeding
What do you do for a living?
Crid [CommentCrid@gmail.com] at July 5, 2009 4:05 PM
mainframe maint programmer at the time... now sysadmin amongst others...
SwissArmyD at July 5, 2009 9:15 PM
So what does the blogname mean?
Crid [CommentCrid@gmail.com] at July 6, 2009 12:14 AM
it's a reference to my habit of being a jack of all trades, and the swissarmyknife I've carried on my belt since I was a kid...
SwissArmyD at July 6, 2009 10:25 AM
Cool... now can you explain GogMagogCarpetReclaimers?
Crid [CommentCrid@gmail.com] at July 6, 2009 12:31 PM
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