Flexible working arrangements: a tool only for women?
Charles de Vries
Directorate LGBT and Gender Equality
20 October 2011, Cracow
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NL in EU top working women...
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... and EU champion part-time work.
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Women in NL work standard part-time...
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... at an average of 24 hours per week.
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Steadily growing female labour market participation...
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... after birthrate dropped (and remained constant).
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Less young mothersretreating from the labour market...
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... and the single earner making placefor the one-and-a-half earner.
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Women increased their working time between 1975 and 2005; but what about the men?
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0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21
zondag maandag dinsdag woensdag donderdag vrijdag zaterdag
1975 man 1975 vrouw 1985 man 1985 vrouw 1995 man 1995 vrouw 2005 man 2005 vrouw
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Although the number of part-time working men has slightly increased…
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… their working time per weekhasn’t diminished.
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Preferences arrangements on work life balance (INTOMART 2010)
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Legislation for greater flexibility of working hours
• Labour legislationreview of Health and safety act on obstacles for working from home
• Working time adjustment actchanging contractual hours according to need ofemployee (within possibilities of employer)
• Work and care actflexible use of parental leave (within possibilities of employer)
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Employers
• Corporate Governance: ‘Modern employership’
• To encourage ‘family-friendly’ HRM policies:- flexible working hours- working from home
• More chances for women to work
• More chances for men to care
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How to encourage employers?
• Legislation can be supportive, but can be dependent on national industrial relations.
• To encourage by showing the business case...- to keep present employees- to be attractive for new employees- more chances to recruit women and men- contented employees perform better- working from home gives higher labourproductivity per hour- allows for flexible use of workforce
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Thank you!