60% of working parents and carers
are not happy with their work-life balance. And
while flexible working patterns are key to the 40%
who are happy, those who have flexibility are often
concerned that it may have a negative impact on
their career.
These are among the findings of a
survey by
My Family Care of over 1400 working parents and
carers. The results should make interesting reading
for all employers and especially line managers of
the third of the workforce with caring
responsibilities.
Among the findings are that:
-
Flexibility and care are no
longer female issues. The survey found that
4 out of 5 parents caring for children are
female, but carers of adult dependents are more
evenly split: 60% female and 40% male. But while
many women work part-time, for men flexible work
is more about changing the times and locations
of full-time work.
-
Flexible working links
positively with work-life balance happiness,
loyalty and productivity, but not necessarily
career progression. The report notes: ‘There
is a striking correlation between employees
being “happy with work-life balance, given their
working arrangement” on the one hand and on the
other hand, employer flexibility and practical
support. This happiness is a valuable resource.’
-
The role of line managers is
absolutely pivotal. Having a good
understanding line manager who ‘gets’ flexible
working is key to making it work. Trust is key.
The role of line managers also impacts on the
question of consistency and fairness in an
organisation. It is very common to have
different standards applied in different parts
of an organisation.
-
Family networks are very
important. Having the domestic side sorted
is also a key ingredient of work-life balance –
and having family members supporting caring is
important for this. But 45% report that they
rarely or never have relatives helping out.
-
The lack of a care system is
most felt when there is a care crisis. 85%
of working parents report needing additional
support on occasions when their regular help is
unavailable. 50% report that they need emergency
care for 5 days per year. And 13% report taking
sick days themselves to deal with these crises.
The report found that the top
factors that link to being happy with their
work-life balance are:
And unsurprisingly, pressure on
work-life balance relates to lack of time. Working
parents ‘simply have more ‘mandatory’ elements in
their lives than their non-caring colleagues', say
the authors. Managers and colleagues need to
understand this and how different working patterns
can help liberate working parents so they can be
more effective on all fronts. Workload management is
very important, both for the employee and the
manager.
One of the key challenges is career
progression – or at least in perceptions about the
opportunities. And the only cure is for flexibility
to become normality, with the leaders in
organisations setting the example.
The report also links flexible
working to other measures that support working
family, such as proper management of maternity and
paternity leave, and company support for childcare.
And the overall message of the report is that
organisations need to address work-life balance
positively and proactively:
‘The building blocks of support
for work-life happiness are clear. These
building blocks provide support for practical
and emotional needs outside of work, and
practical, technological, managerial and
cultural approaches within work.
‘The employers whose employees
are reporting the highest happiness with
work-life balance – and concomitantly the
highest engagement, productivity and loyalty –
are making these available for employees to
access and call upon as needed. And they are
seeing them as a way of working to achieve
results, not a special personal favour to a
stigmatised group.’
