A call for organisations to implement fully flexible working
by Dr Elina Militello Asp, Scenarios Team Lead - UK Atomic Energy Authority and Executive Committee Member - Women In Nuclear UK
Image - #DesignHerIn panel event hosted by the Women’s Engineering Society annual conference 2023.
This was the first time I’d been invited to be on a panel at a major event and I was super excited and nervous in equal measures. Speak Out Revolution had contacted me a few weeks earlier to ask if I wanted to be on a panel with them to promote their upcoming #DesignHerIn campaign, which has identified the top ten barriers for women in the workplace. I had to choose a barrier to champion, and I picked #6 “Flexible Working” as I have greatly benefited from it to intertwine work with school runs etc, allowing me to fit in regular exercise instead of commuting to reduce my stress levels and stay healthy in general. It can be seemingly small improvements but with big impacts such as I now have a better relationship with the teachers and other parents at my daughter’s school, being able to hang the laundry during my break rather than at 10 pm when the house is gone quiet and being home when my older daughter comes home from school. Modern technology allows me to read and reply to emails on my phone while my daughter is falling asleep beside me or at other random times and places. Most of all though I appreciate being able to spend more time abroad by working partly when visiting family and friends in Sweden and Italy as it allows my daughters to spend more time with their grandparents and cousins.
“ I’ve put “I’m working flexibly - so whilst it suits me to email now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working hours.” in my email signature not to put pressure on others to reply immediately”
Unfortunately, I’m privileged to benefit from flexible working. As mentioned above, lack of it was identified as #6 of the top ten career barriers by women in STEM in dedicated think-tank workshops when Speak Out Revolution started their #DesignHerIn campaign. It can lead to women abandoning a STEM job in favour of a profession where the flexibility they need for work-life balance is available. Offering a wide range of flexible working options will increase the talent pool when recruiting and improve staff retention in general.
Flexible working, which for me includes both when and where you work, should therefore be a no-brainer for anyone who cares about their staff and the productivity of their organisation. Simply put, flexible working enables people to perform at their best. Instead of fitting life around a very strict work schedule, you can fit work into your circumstances. This can be anything such as caring responsibilities, health, or something as trivial as being a morning/evening person and then be allowed to make an early/late start to make the best use of the time when you are the most efficient.
Of course, the concept of reasonable adjustments plays a role here. Some jobs are not very flexible, like operational roles or due to safety concerns. Nonetheless, allowing for flexibility whenever it’s possible, even in these roles, will earn you a lot of goodwill amongst your staff.
Another important aspect to consider when working flexibly is how to ensure that you can interact efficiently with the people you need to in order to do your job well. This might imply that at least some of the hours you work must overlap with those of your colleagues.
Still not convinced of the benefits of flexible working? Start measuring output and productivity rather than hours spent at work. And trust your staff to do a good job! Most people take pride in doing a good job and flexible working allows them to do so on their own terms within their capacity. For instance, some disabilities may make it difficult to concentrate over a whole day, but with regular longer breaks, they may still be able to work a considerable number of hours each day. This way they can accomplish more, have greater job satisfaction, and improve their self-confidence. Whereas without flexible working they may be forced to work fewer hours, which could result in feelings of uselessness and erode self-confidence and self-worth. Not allowing for longer breaks during the day to do school runs or help elderly relatives, can also force those able to work a full day around that, to work and earn less. In either case mentioned above, as an employer, you would lose out of what your staff could actually accomplish for your organisation. Moreover, it’s well established that diversity boosts innovation and creativity, so allowing everyone a seat at the table, through flexible working among other measures, will improve your organisations productivity and ability to overcome setbacks, big and small.
So, this is a call to all leaders out there, to put a fully flexible working scheme in place in your organisation that allows your staff and organisation to perform at their best. Ask yourself, are your job roles advertised as full-time, part-time, job share or flexible? Can your staff work term-time, compressed or reduced hours with or without longer breaks during the day? If you have answered no to one or more of these questions, there is room to improve your flexible working policies. And remember, allowing for 100% remote working can also let you tap into potential and competencies you lack!
What are your views on flexible working? Tell us in the comments 👇👇👇