Margaret Glover
In the Right Environment
When we last caught up with Margaret Glover, she had just left her position as director of planning and information services for Clean Sites, Inc., a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit involved in hazardous-waste cleanup, to become an environmental consultant. She made the switch, at least in part, so that she could have greater flexibility in her work as well as in her lifestyle. One of her clients, General Electric, soon hired her as a program manager in the Corporate Environmental Programs department at its Fairfield, Connecticut, headquarters. During her three years at GE, Glover notes, "I saw every aspect of the company, from light bulbs to medical systems to financial services. It was a very valuable time for me because I gained hands-on experience applying 'quality' principles to the environmental health and safety arena. I worked with wonderfully talented people on cutting-edge issues."
For years, however, Glover and her husband, Phil Stapleton, had dreamed of starting a business together. "Phil is one of the best thinkers and practitioners in the environmental health and safety field, and I knew it would be great to work with him," Glover says. In 1993, they formed the consulting company Glover-Stapleton Associates, Inc., which focuses on developing environmental health and safety management systems for companies worldwide in industries as diverse as manufacturing, medicine, and financial services. They moved back to Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1996 to be closer to family and old friends, taking their business with them.
With her husband as a business partner, Glover is well aware of the way her personal and professional lives overlap, but to her, it's all quite seamless. "I don't view my life in compartments," she explains. Content with a more fluid existence, it seems Glover is living the philosophy she laid out in her 1988 Bulletin interview: "The happier people are those who have succeeded in integrating the things they want to do, rather than carving their lives into pieces." She says of her current arrangement, "I am in love with my husband and I love my work, so merging my private and professional lives isn't a problem." Glover is quick to point out, however, that she and Phil are disciplined about keeping to a regular work schedule and about allocating time for the activities they enjoy: hiking, biking, canoeing, and spending time with relatives and friends.
While Glover says she feels lucky, she also notes that more than luck has been involved in creating a life that brings her satisfaction. "We've been very conscious about the decisions we've made," she explains. "We've avoided acquiring high-maintenance possessions or going for high-maintenance careers. I think the so-called rewards they bring are pretty overrated." Rather, Glover finds immense satisfaction in helping clients create safer workplaces and a cleaner environment. "The icing on the cake," she says, "is that we simultaneously get to help businesses improve their bottom line."
As for the future, Glover eschews forming any specific long-term goals. "I think you have to just keep making good decisions that reflect your values. Life continues to evolve," she concludes, "and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me."
by Jeffrey Lazar
Family Matters
* Some 78 percent of married employees have spouses or partners who are
also employed, compared with 66 percent in 1988.
* Nearly half of all workers have children under age eighteen who live with them at least half time.
* Seventy percent of all parents feel they do not spend enough time with their children; employed mothers spend an average of 3.2 hours each workday with their children, while employed fathers spend 2.3 hours each workday. Source: The Families and Work Institute's "1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce."