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The case for work-life balance

• Why we need more worker friendly flexibility
• The changing working environment
• Benefits to employees
• Benefits to employers

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Why we need more worker friendly flexibility?

During the 1980s and '90s flexibility was usually used as an euphemism by employers for longer hours, greater job insecurity and less rights. However, in more recent times flexibility has become more worker focused. The changing working environment means that adopting work-life balance policies bring benefits for employees and benefits for employers.

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The changing working environment

Workers in the UK work the longest hours in Europe, and the UK is the only EU country that allows staff to opt out of the 48-hour limit set by the Working Time Directive. A number of surveys suggests that the number of people working more than 48 hours a week has increased in the last decade.

One in six workers now work over 60 hours a week, up from one out of eight just two years ago. A survey conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry's Work-life Balance Campaign and Management Today magazine, illustrates the link between long hours and stress, showing that almost a third (29%) of employees with high stress levels work more than 10 hours over their contractual hours every week. And seven out of 10 highly stressed workers do not have access to any formal flexible working practices.

Working patterns have LAO changed drastically as workers in service industries - such as banks, insurance companies and supermarkets - increasingly have to be available to offer 24-hour services to the consumer. Similarly public sector workers are increasingly expected to provide services beyond the traditional 9am to 5pm day.

At the same time increasing numbers of women with young children are in work. In two-thirds of families both parents now work outside the home, up from under a half in the 1980s. A growing number of parents now work "atypical" hours, with 14% of mothers and 17% of fathers working after 8.30pm several times a week, according to a national survey of parents by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It also found that 38% of mothers and 54% of fathers worked at least one Saturday a month.

The elderly population is rising and this means that greater numbers of workers have additional caring responsibilities. One in eight adults in Britain look after or provide some regular care to a sick or elderly person. People also travel further to get to work, and journeys times for many have increased significantly.

All of these factors add to the pressure on workers produced by juggling the demands of home and work and trying to fit more and more into the day.

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Benefits for employees

Some employers have responded to demands for more flexible working arrangements. However there are many more workers who would like to take advantage of more flexible working patterns. Only 24% of workers in the government-commissioned research, Work-life balance 2000: Baseline study of work-life balance practices in Great Britain, had the option to work flexitime, but a further 47% wanted this option. And it is not just workers with caring responsibilities that want greater flexibility. A survey of 18-24 year olds revealed that 80% would be more motivated at work if they had access to work-life balance schemes. Additionally graduates cite work-life balance as one of the key factors in deciding whether or not to stay with their current employer.

Having arrangements in place that enable employees to balance their work and other commitments can help:

• both mothers and fathers to care for their children;
• those with caring responsibilities for older or disabled people;
• employees to undertake study or training;
• disabled people to access work;
• workers to pursue interests outside of work; and
• people to play an active role in their local communities.

Respondents to an LRD/UNSION survey of UNISON branches who had been involved in activity on work-life balance, stated that benefits include:

"higher morale, loyalty to the hospital, positive attitudes" (Cumbria health branch)

"retaining staff through their life cycle helps to prevent discrimination because of roles outside work" (Nottingham Trent University)

"the empowerment of staff" (Burton Hospitals)

"it allows skilled workers the opportunity to return early to work while balancing social and domestic needs" (Sheffield Northern General)

"increased control of working time and patterns" (Bristol City)

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Benefits for employers

There is growing evidence that employers too are seeing the benefits in business terms of providing the kind of flexibility that employees want.

The Work-life balance 2000: Baseline study found that 91% of employers agreed that people work best when they can balance their work and other aspects of their lives. And the majority of employers (59%) also accepted that the employer has a "responsibility to help people balance work and other aspects of their lives". More than half (58%) of employers thought that work-life balance practices improved staff motivation and commitment, and 52% thought that staff turnover and absenteeism were lower as a result.

These findings are confirmed by research by Industrial Relations Services among leading companies which found that more than two-thirds reported that employee commitment and motivation, as well as recruitment and retention, had improved as a result of the introduction of family-friendly practices. Absence rates were also found to have dropped by 41%.

The public sector has had to make particular efforts to attract and retain staff, and has sometimes compensated for lower pay levels than the private sector by offering more attractive working arrangements.

The LRD/UNSION survey found high levels of flexible working arrangements, with 86% of respondents reporting that flexible working is available to at least some staff in their organisation, and 90% saying that job sharing was an option. Almost all (94%) offered part-time working. Reduced hours on return from maternity leave was considered by 73% of employers, and voluntary reduced hours by 65%. Homeworking was an option in 51% of workplaces, but often only for managers.

At the London Borough of Merton, problems with recruitment and retention led the council to decide to try and become an "employer of choice" by introducing a range of work-life balance practices. The UNISON branch played a key role in the project, right from the start. The pilot schemes resulted in increased productivity, a reduction in sickness absence down from 12% to 2% and a general increase in staff morale and happiness.

Managers often work the longest hours and it is sometimes said by employers that their jobs are least able to be done by part-time or flexible workers. However, increasingly it is becoming more acceptable for employees in management positions to work part-time. And a study of job-sharing and flexible working managers found that they outperform colleagues working standard full-time hours. The study, by consultancy The Resource Connection, found that job-sharing managers and those working flexibly had greater problem-solving and analysis skills, as well as better planning and organisational skills than full-time colleagues.

The government has been promoting good practice in balancing work and home life to businesses through the DTI work-life balance campaign, launched by prime minister Tony Blair in March 2000. One element of the campaign is the Challenge Fund, which has paid out a total of £11.3 million in three years to support employers and unions taking action. Another was the establishment of Employers for Work-Life Balance, an alliance of 22 employers committed to promoting work-life balance.

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