Cause for cheer on work-life balance

Part-time and reduced-hours workers are awarded higher performance ratings than full-time staff, according to a study of its member organisations by work-life balance charity Working Families.


The Working Families Benchmark 2018 has assessed the flexible, agile, and family-friendly working policies of its employer members, with the findings based on the experiences of 630,000 employees working in public, private, and third sector organisations.


The researchers found that the percentage of top performance ratings for part-time and reduced-hours workers is higher than the percentage of top performance ratings across all staff at 34% and 14% respectively.


Jane van Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, said: “This year’s benchmark shows that Working Families’ member organisations really are getting the most out of their part-time and reduced-hours workers in terms of performance, demonstrating that working ‘differently’ is not only good for working parents and carers but also good for business.”


The report also found that the over two-thirds of the charity’s employer members (68%) go beyond basic legislative requirements and offer their employees the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment.


And more than a third of the organisations routinely state the opportunities for flexibility in their job adverts.

https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-Top-Employers-for-Working-Families-Benchmark-Report.pdf