By Suzie Coen
Combining paid work with care responsibilities affects 44 per cent of the UK workforce, according to a report by the charity Business in the Community (BITC). The impact remains disproportionately shouldered by working women, who account for 85 per cent of sole carers for children and 65 per cent of sole carers for older adults.
ADVERTISEMENTNearly six out of ten women (58 per cent) say caring responsibilities have stopped them from applying for promotion or a new job, and one in five (19 per cent) have left a job because it was too hard to balance work and care duties.
They could be right. A recent CMI report found that three out of ten managers (31 per cent) agreed that people with caring responsibilities were less likely to get promoted (32 per cent disagreed). Hybrid workers are also losing out in career stakes.
One in three UK managers believe that people who spend more time in the office are more likely to get promoted. This is despite managers and workers both considering flexibility in where they work to be even more important than pay.
Seventy per cent of carers believe that business and government leaders need to increase their commitment to supporting gender equality in the workplace, including providing information on flexible working and educating workers about how they can balance work and caring responsibilities.
What governments are doing?
Promoting a better work-life balance among working carers was a key policy priority established in the EU Work-life Balance Directive, the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and more recently, the European Care Strategy, where there is promise for affordable and high-quality childcare support for everyone.
ADVERTISEMENTBritish employees have just received a new right to request flexible working arrangements from the first day of a new job. This is courtesy of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act, which came into force on April 6.
Under the new regulations, employees will be entitled to request part-time, term-time, flexi-time, compressed hours, and varied working locations.
The flexible working law changes came into force alongside a raft of other family-friendly rights, including an extension of the redundancy protection period for employees on maternity leave, adoption or shared parental leave, and the Carer’s Leave Act, which provides employees with caring responsibilities up to a week of unpaid leave each year.
What employers can do
Flexibility is key, thinking not just about where work is done, but also when. This could include options like flexitime, compressed hours or part-time.
A CIPD report on supporting working carers found that carers who receive support from their organisation are less likely to be considering reducing their hours of work or quitting their jobs, and are less likely to turn down promotions.
Enabling employees to work flexibly can help organisations narrow the gender pay and pensions gap. According to the Fawcett Society, 40 per cent of women who are currently not working said access to flexible work would mean they could take on more paid work, while 77 per cent of women agreed they would be more likely to apply for a job that advertised flexible working options.
Proximity bias
The danger of this new era of flexibility is that those most likely to choose home working — such as women with children or people with disabilities — may also be just the employees who are most likely to be overlooked come promotion time.
These groups are more at risk of proximity basis, where leaders and managers tend to treat employees who are physically closer more favourably than those who aren’t.
People who need to work from home to juggle work and caring responsibilities for years are far more likely to be under-appreciated. Managers who measure workers by the inputs they can see, rather than by their outputs, vastly underestimate the value of remote staff.
Experts agree that the best way to combat proximity bias is not to ignore the problem or bring everyone back to the office, but to build guidelines and operating models that address this particular challenge systemically.
ADVERTISEMENTThis may include investing in technology that supports remote and hybrid work, redesigning workplaces to accommodate flexible schedules, and creating a culture that values results and people over traditional working hours.
If you’re feeling overlooked, perhaps overworked and underpaid, now is your moment to seek out leaders and organisations that walk the talk when it comes to work-life balance. Your first stop? Head to the Euronews Job Board where you can browse hundreds of exciting jobs now. Here are three hiring this week.
Leading European outdoor online retailer Bergfreunde is looking to hire a French Translator to join its content team in Kirchentellinsfurt near Tübingen. You’ll translate German product content and newsletters into French and oversee quality content standards in the French shop.
To apply, you’ll need to be proficient in French at a native level (corresponds to C2 of the European Framework of Reference for Languages), possess a degree in translation or a comparable education as well as work experience in translation and/or e-commerce. Flexible working options include mobile working (with the possibility of full remote) and "workation" opportunities (EEA & Switzerland).
JobRad, the market leader in the bike leasing industry, is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer based in its headquarters in Freiburg. Your role will include helping to simplify the use of Kafka and build developmental tools as well as equip new products with APIs and events.
Applicants should be well versed in programming languages (Javascript/Typescript, Java/Kotlin and Python), and ideally have Kafka experience as well as familiarity with API management tools. JobRad offers hybrid working as standard plus the possibility to work up to 20 days a year from selected countries in other EU countries.
Leading European mobility service provider, Union Tank Eckstein has an open role for a Software Developer for its IT division in Kleinostheim near Aschaffenburg. You’ll be developing Java applications and overseeing quality assurance, as well as being the contact person for technical support.
To apply, you’ll need relevant qualifications or vocational training with a focus on IT and several years of practical experience in software development under your belt. Company policy regarding flexible working includes flexi-time and home working options.
Discover hundreds more opportunities on the Euronews Job Board today
