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Are Britain's companies
serious about work-life balance? Two recent surveys provide
insight into progress so far.
According to part-time
recruitment specialists
Working Options, though progress is being made there's still
more in the way of talk than positive action.
Working Options surveyed 95
of the professionals (mostly women) registered with them who are
looking for part-time work. 61% thought work-life balance was
being taken more seriously by companies, but 93% thought it
amounted to little more than lip service.
According to Working Options,
there is variable progress in part-time professional work
opportunities between sectors. Law firms seem to be showing the
most progress, with considerable growth in flexible working
practices and a decline in the traditional view that lawyers
have to be full-time.
Around 60% of those
questioned were currently working part-time, 3 days on average.
Only 13% had previously had a full-time position made part-time.
One change, however, is happening for professionals: almost
three-quarters of those polled, whether working full or
part-time, are able to do some or even all of their work from
home.
A different story
on parental leave, perhaps
Meanwhile, a survey of HR
managers has found that 8 out of 10 UK employers are already
offering relatively generous paternity leave schemes. Employers
generally offer new fathers time off when their baby is born,
with 46% offering at least one week's leave. And more than half
of UK employers offer maternity provision beyond the legal
requirements.
However, employers for the
most part do not go beyond the statutory minimum with
parental leave schemes. Only a fifth operate parental leave
schemes that go beyond the minimum. And despite the fears about
it being a burden on business, parental leave is an under-used
benefit as it is unpaid.
The study, based on a survey
of 122 senior HR managers in mostly large organisations, was
conducted by
IRS
Employment Review. The survey found that two thirds of
organisations will have to alter their leave policies to meet
the requirements of the Employment Bill 2001 - its provisions
come into force next year.
The survey identified the
motivations for offering family-friendly leave arrangements:
-
compliance with legal
provisions (93%)
-
maintaining effective
equality (78%)
-
enhancing the image of the
organisation (69%)
-
recruiting/retaining skilled
workers (62%)
-
reducing absenteeism (46%).
And the main drawbacks
identified were
-
cost of providing cover for
absent parents (61%)
-
difficulties in arranging
cover (44%)
-
resentment from non-parent
co-workers
-
bureaucratic burden (15%).
So, is it more than lip
service?
It's a mixed picture that
emerges on employers' attitudes to work-life balance from these
two surveys. Maternity and paternity leave score well, boosted
by statutory provision or the prospect of a statutory right.
Wider aspects of parental
leave are slower making headway, despite legal back-up. And so
are options for reduced hours working, where those who seek it
are finding the opportunities limited.
At the moment it seems there
is still more discussion than action, but much of the problem is
perhaps to do with ingrained culture, leading to a hesitant
approach to less familiar family-friendly options.
Options for reduced hours
working may be in due course receive some weak regulatory
support, in terms of a right to request it. We'll have to see if
that is sufficient to lead to the kind of cultural change
to give the boost that is needed for these far from radical
flexible working options.
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