The Advantages of Flexible Working
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It is good for business
The advantages of flexible working clear to some of the world's largest companies. It is no surprise that 85% of Microsoft employees in the UK work flexibly [1].
Research shows that adopting flexible working practices allows businesses to recruit more high quality staff and retain them. DTI research in 2000 found that some small businesses saved up to £250,000 through reducing staff turnover, simply by using flexible working policies [2].
Flexible working not only improves recruitment and retention, but reduces absences caused by child care necessity and reduces sick leave through reducing stress. The CBI estimates that absence cost £13 billion in 2005 [3]. 66% of organisations responding to a Work Foundation survey in 2002, said that they found flexible working helped reduce absenteeism [4].
Moreover, the DTI’s Second Work-Life Balance Survey (2003) said that the majority of employers who provide work-life balance practices reported that they had a positive impact on employee relations (71%), employee commitment and motivation (69%) and labour turnover (54%). Nearly half stated that these practices had a positive effect upon recruitment (47%), absenteeism (48%) and productivity (49%) [5].
Some small businesses may feel unable to offer flexible working; however, a request for flexible working can be turned down if the employer can demonstrate a valid business case.
It is good for children
Children benefit from having their parents around, especially during stressful times like changes between schools and exams. Furthermore a recent report has shown that children who spend less time with their father are at greater risk of developmental problems [6].
It is good for equality
Lack of flexible working often forces one parent to move to part time work or to give up work entirely. This is usually the mother. This reduces a woman's income; forces her to be economically dependent on her partner; reduces her future job prospects; and reduces her national insurance contributions in turn reducing her state pension.
Part-time work often tends to be low-skilled and poorly paid. The hourly pay gap between men working full-time and women working part-time is 40% and has hardly altered, despite 30 years of equal pay legislation. Even 15 years after returning to full time work, women who moved to part-time employment for just one year can earn up to 10% less per hour than those who worked the whole period full time [7].
Unfortunately, women represent just 10% of directors at FTSE 100 companies [8]. The reality is that unless women can combine work and caring roles successfully, they are unlikely to reach the top in great numbers.
It is good for well-being
Flexible working gives employees more control over their own lives. Psychological research shows that the more you feel in control of your own life the greater your subjective well-being, the less your stress and the greater your achievement [9]. The benefits for employers are obvious.
References
1 Workingfamilies.org.uk - Case Studies [Link]
2 Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) (2005b) Women in the IT industry. Towards a business case for diversity. Interim report. London: HMSO.
3 Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and AXA (2006) Absence minded: absence and labour turnover 2006. London: CBI.
4 The Work Foundation (2002) Managing Best practice No 96: Maximising Attendance. London: The Work Foundation.
5 Woodland, S., Simmonds, N., Thornby, M., Fitzgerald, R. and McGee, A. (2003) The second work-life balance study. Results from the employer survey. London: DTI.
6 Dex, S. and Ward, K. (2007) Parental care and employment in early childhood. Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) Sweeps 1 and 2. Manchester: Equal Opportunities Commission.
7 Britain's Hidden Brain Drain - Final Report. Equal Opportunities Commission
8 Sex and Power - Who Runs Britain? 2007. Equal Opportunities Commission
9 Twenge et al (2004) It’s Beyond My Control: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Increasing Externality in Locus of Control, 1960–2002, Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 308–319
