Tag Archives: Family Values at Work

Michelle Smith crisis as opportunity

Crisis as Opportunity: Advice from Certified Divorce Financial Analyst Michelle Smith

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A recent wealth management podcast interviewed Source Financial CEO, Michelle Smith. Smith’s unique experience as a long-time financial advisor, premier money manager, divorcee, and co-parent of a child with special needs is insightful and informative. Of the many lessons learned from this interview, perhaps the most pertinent are those that relate to our current Covid-19 reality as well.

Surround Yourself With Positivity

According to Smith, any big crisis brings out the best and worst in us and those around us. When her son was born and she received his Down syndrome diagnosis, she channeled all her energy toward doing what needs to get done. Her husband at the time, however, didn’t make that switch. As she helps many separated couples navigate the corona emergency, she sees those who are rallying and figuring out how to co-parent during a lockdown, and others who are fighting more and harping on old grudges. When she was a new mom, Smith says she used her own positive nature to propel herself forward. She also made sure to leave no room for negativity in her life and surrounded herself with those who shared her optimism. She extends this advice now too: the familial and financial realities of this crisis are not easy, but if you remain positive and focus on action, things don’t have to be catastrophic.

Ask for Help

Divorce is not something anyone should do alone. Individuals going through a divorce must surround themselves with capable legal and economic professionals to ensure their best interests are fairly represented. Encouragement and love from family and friends provide guidance and support. Smith has dedicated her career to helping women build a financially stable and sustainable life after their marriage. The same is true for co-parenting a child with special needs: it takes a village. Now, more than ever, we are seeing the value of community. We all need to get comfortable asking for help and letting our virtual, and literal, villages be there for us when we need them. The key, according to Smith, is to be specific with our requests.

Focus on Shared Goals

Even as a marriage crumbles, it is important to focus on the values and objectives that once brought you together. Remember the respect you have for one another and direct that toward the settlement. Your ex-spouse is not someone you will ever be “rid” of, especially if you share children, so keep things cordial and constructive. Now is an opportunity to rethink the tactics of decoupling: nobody wants to prolong the process of divorce or excessively litigate matters. Mediation, with the right professionals and the proper mindset, can yield fair, equitable, and civil outcomes for all involved. As more families (married, divorced, or otherwise) spend increased amounts of time together during this crisis, concentrating on shared goals – like cohesion, health, monetary sense—can be empowering.

Fight for Paid Sick Leave Escalates Feverishly

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The Fight for Paid Sick Leave in New York is On
The Fight for Paid Sick Leave in New York is On

This year’s flu season has started early and has many people worried about the spread of disease, since about one third of all workers do not get paid sick leave making them often forced to decide between coming to work ill or staying home and getting poorer.
Low-paid workers will often come to work sick and contagious rather than stay home and loose a day’s pay. Supporters of legislation to create mandatory paid sick-leave say that this year’s flu season has made people more aware of why it is worth fighting for sick leave. Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, an organization that supports paid sick-leave legislation around the world said:

“There’s people who say, ‘OK, I get it — you don’t want your server coughing on your food,'” she said.

Business owners, especially of small businesses, disagree on the issue. They say it is an unfair and an impractically heavy burden for them. Critics of the legislation say the timing is bad, coming so soon after Superstorm Sandy, leaving many businesses vulnerable and in “survival mode.”

“We’re at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives,” said Michael Sinensky, owner of seven bars and restaruants around New York. About 500 of his employees switch shifts if they can’t work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn’t include tips.

“Right now, where companies’ incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

At the moment there are only four places in the US with a mandatory paid sick-leave law on the books; San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC and all of Connecticut. Now it may be New York’s turn to pass such a law. Councilwoman Gail Brewer’s law would require as much as five days of paid sick leave each year for businesses without at least five employees.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a probable mayoral candidate, generally supports the legislation, but she is not convinced that it is the smart thing to do now to create such legislation. Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg agree that the time now might not be ripe for such legislation which would be a challenge to New York’s recovering economy.