Guess Who Holds the Most Negative View of Flexible Workplaces? You Whistle and I'll Point
Now this one wasn't hard to guess. Did you know that negative views of flexible workplaces are mostly held by -- men?
Big surprise, right, ladies? I've worked from a home office for over 20 years and I must admit, it's easy to put the assignment aside and do laundry, or make hamburgers for dinner.
But, according to newswise.com, negative views of working from home are prevalent, especially so, among men.
"Flexible working often leads to negative views from other employees, with 1/3 of all UK workers believing those who work flexibly create more work for others, while a similar proportion believe their career will suffer if they use flexible working arrangements, according to new research," the web site reports.
Newswise explains that Dr Heejung Chung from the University of Kent set out to analyse data from the 2011 Work-Life Balance Survey conducted by the government. Specifically she wanted to examine whether stigma against flexible workers exists, who is most likely to hold such beliefs and who is most likely to suffer from it.
The research also found, not surprisingly -- at lest, to me -- that the majority of respondents who held negative views against flexible workers were male, while women and especially mothers were the ones who were most likely to suffer from such stereotypes.
My husband would often come home from work and ask what I did all day, once even taking the risk of saying, "Watch Oprah?"
"Furthermore, one out of five workers (18%) said they had experienced direct negative career consequence as a result of working flexibly," newswise notes. "This perhaps accounts for the very low uptake of the right to request flexible working since it was made law in 2003 and expanded to cover all workers as of 2014."
It was women, especially mothers who worked part-time and on reduced hours, rather than full-time workers who work flexibly - teleworking or on flextime - that reported that their careers had negative impacts by working flexibly. On the other hand, men, especially fathers (almost half of respondents), were likely to have reported that their own jobs was negatively affected due to others working flexibly.
"It is clear there are still many people who view flexible working as a negative and for different reasons," says Dr Chung, from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at Kent..
Her suggestion? "A simple introduction and expansion of the right to request flexible working will not be enough. We need to challenge our prevalent organisational cultures which privileges work above everything else, with long hours considered to be synonymous with productivity and commitment. Such change is crucial especially if flexible working is to help reduce the gender wage gap."
Big surprise, right, ladies? I've worked from a home office for over 20 years and I must admit, it's easy to put the assignment aside and do laundry, or make hamburgers for dinner.
But, according to newswise.com, negative views of working from home are prevalent, especially so, among men.
"Flexible working often leads to negative views from other employees, with 1/3 of all UK workers believing those who work flexibly create more work for others, while a similar proportion believe their career will suffer if they use flexible working arrangements, according to new research," the web site reports.
Newswise explains that Dr Heejung Chung from the University of Kent set out to analyse data from the 2011 Work-Life Balance Survey conducted by the government. Specifically she wanted to examine whether stigma against flexible workers exists, who is most likely to hold such beliefs and who is most likely to suffer from it.
The research also found, not surprisingly -- at lest, to me -- that the majority of respondents who held negative views against flexible workers were male, while women and especially mothers were the ones who were most likely to suffer from such stereotypes.
My husband would often come home from work and ask what I did all day, once even taking the risk of saying, "Watch Oprah?"
"Furthermore, one out of five workers (18%) said they had experienced direct negative career consequence as a result of working flexibly," newswise notes. "This perhaps accounts for the very low uptake of the right to request flexible working since it was made law in 2003 and expanded to cover all workers as of 2014."
It was women, especially mothers who worked part-time and on reduced hours, rather than full-time workers who work flexibly - teleworking or on flextime - that reported that their careers had negative impacts by working flexibly. On the other hand, men, especially fathers (almost half of respondents), were likely to have reported that their own jobs was negatively affected due to others working flexibly.
"It is clear there are still many people who view flexible working as a negative and for different reasons," says Dr Chung, from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at Kent..
Her suggestion? "A simple introduction and expansion of the right to request flexible working will not be enough. We need to challenge our prevalent organisational cultures which privileges work above everything else, with long hours considered to be synonymous with productivity and commitment. Such change is crucial especially if flexible working is to help reduce the gender wage gap."
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