21st-Century Company Town: The End of Privacy?

By Michael Johnson (PhD Student at UMass Boston, OSC Track).

Would you want to live just footsteps away from work? The question stayed in my mind as I read the recent Wall Street Journal article about Facebook’s plans to build a “394-unit housing community within walking distance of its offices” that will include amenities such as an “on-site café, convenience store, resort-inspired pool, rooftop entertainment deck, etc.” (Albergotti).  Facebook corporate headquarters are located in Menlo Park, CA, an area with high real estate values and a shortage of housing.  The lure of a one-stop work-life environment can be incredibly attractive to today’s workers who want a company that is accommodating to both their personal and professional needs.  With many companies vying to attract and retain talent, Facebook is taking a popular strategy to a new level.

The flexibility debate: A morass of gendered assumptions, poor evidence, and imprecision

By Mary Still

Two high-powered, high-tech executives have reignited glass ceiling debates recently, with workplace flexibility emerging as a central issue in the conversation. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s edict that the company’s “work from home” program end sparked considerable outrage nationwide, as did Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg’s exhortation that women must “lean in” to fight workplace barriers preventing gender parity.