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The Flexi Exec report produced
by New Ways to Work contains detailed case studies of senior managers who
work in a variety of flexible hours arrangements - and who appear to do so
successfully.
The range of case study
organisations is impressive, though (perhaps inevitably?) leaning towards
the public sector:
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BP Amoco
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ASDA
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Lord Chancellor's Department
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Inland Revenue
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Department of Trade and
Industry
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Scottish Executive
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Several hospitals or health
authorities
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Local government bodies
The reasons for individuals seeking to work flexibly is
various: caring responsibilities, pursuit of outside interests, health
reasons. One way or another, each example can be related to work-life
balance issues.
Perhaps the most important aspect, however, is that of
leadership, and the example given within the organisations concerned.
Wider perspectives
Most of the case studies report benefits in productivity,
and also extra value that part-timers can bring to an organisation by
having a wider focus and broader perspectives.
Expected difficulties of communication and commitment are
also seen to be exaggerated, with no one admitting to problems in these
areas.
Training and career progression
People did, however, report some difficulties with
training - it can take up too much time, especially when the hours for
core work are limited. And flexi-execs do share the wider scepticism about
career progression, thinking it highly unlikely that working in this way
is a good springboard for hitting the very top jobs.
This raises an interesting issue, and one which has been
raised recently in an enquiry to Flexibility. While it seems in
these case studies organisations have been supportive, and some of the
case studies include tales of promotion, to what extent do employers make
an explicit commitment to acting in a non-discriminatory way? Do they
spell it out that flexi-workers have equal opportunities for career
progression?
We have not seen much evidence of that, apart from a draft
document for heads of service on the UK government's Diversity
- What works website. This could actually act as a useful model
for employers thinking of encouraging diversity through flexible working.
Some questions
Flexi Exec achieves what it sets out to do. But it
also raises some questions, such as:
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how widespread is flexible working in senior managerial
positions?
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is it far more common in the public sector than the
private sector?
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to what extent do companies set out explicit policies
which protect flexi-workers from the danger of being marginalised in
career terms - that is effective policies going beyond generalised
work-life balance and equal opportunities statements?
If you know of any examples of companies which have strong
policies to support flexible managers, we would be interested in writing
them up in a future update of Flexibility.
Flexi Exec, by Pam
Walton and Lucy Gaskell, is available from Jonathan Swan at New
Ways to Work, 22 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 0093
Fax: +44 (0)20 7930 3366
Email: info@new-ways.co.uk
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