Jobs not careers

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Over a period of three years, our research tracked a sample of 80 out of work mothers facing significant barriers to working. It investigated their career trajectories over three stages: making an initial decision about returning to work, looking for a job, and experiences whilst working.

Key findings

• Most mothers had a preference for part-time employment, but many struggled to find this.
• Most shared a common set of barriers to work: low confidence, concern over the lack of part-time and/or flexible jobs, and concern that childcare was unavailable or unaffordable.
• Of those who entered employment during the 3 year period, most found work through social and professional networks, rather than through job adverts or recruitment agencies.
• Many mothers compromised on working hours, salary and level of responsibility, in order to achieve balance with their family lives.
• Many mothers were unable to move into work that was secure, allowed them to balance work and family life, and offered opportunities for progression.

Recommendations

Addressing the issues that women face in finding and sustaining work requires action in three key areas:

• Providing integrated employment support and advice which covers the spectrum from confidence building to high-end careers advice.
• Opening up intermediate and senior level roles to flexible and part-time working patterns, to prevent women (and others with caring responsibilities) from having to compromise their career aspirations.
• Providing affordable, flexible, quality childcare.

Published in 2014

From how we fund social care to the growing pressure on the NHS, the implications of our ageing population is a hot, and often contentious, topic. And recently, the World Economic Forum has raised another issue, warning that the retirement age in Britain will need to rise to 70 by the middle of the century to head off a pension crisis.

So it’s not surprising that the government’s business champion is calling on organisations to commit to employing more people over the age of 50 – with the aim of having an additional million older staff in the workplace by 2022.  And the staff want it too; according to the government’s Fuller Working Lives report, there are currently almost a million 50- to 64-year-olds who are not in employment at all, but say they are willing or would like to work.

So if it’s good for employers, and popular with employees, why isn’t it happening – and what needs to change? Well, as a recent Guardian article pointed out, the drive to keep people working for longer presents a real opportunity to design roles that suit an older workforce – with flexibility at its core. Here at Timewise, we couldn’t agree more.

We need to think creatively about what works for the over 50s

Older workers have a valuable role to play within any organisation. They will have banked a huge amount of experience which no amount of training can buy. They make excellent mentors for younger team members, able to offer guidance and encouragement as well as sharing their insights into how to get on and get ahead. And they are likely to know their industry, and the people within it, inside out.

So if we want to keep hold of them for longer, as the Guardian article says: “We simply need to think more creatively about what work is, how it can change and how we can change over a longer lifetime… That could mean working at a different pace at different stages, for example.”

Flexible working could be the solution

Certainly, it’s not a huge leap to suggest that older workers might be looking to reduce their hours, or work remotely, to make staying in the workplace more appealing. And if that means redesigning their jobs to make them work on a flexible basis, we’d argue that it’s well worth it.

That’s why we’re delighted to be working with the Centre for Ageing Better to carry out employer focused research that will help us all understand how to make workplaces more age-friendly. We’ll be exploring the barriers as well as the possible solutions for designing roles with flexible working options that will help attract and retain our older workforce. We’ll keep you posted about how the project is developing.

In the meantime, the onus is on employers to start thinking flexibly about the path towards retirement. Don’t write off the upper end of your workforce, or lose the experience that they have spent so many years acquiring. Instead, look at how you could flex their roles and responsibilities, so you can make the most of their talents whilst accommodating their changing needs.

By doing so, you’ll hang on to some of the most experienced people in your industry and keep their skills in house.  What organisation wouldn’t want that?

To find out more about our consultancy and training services, call 020 7633 4444 or email info@timewise.co.uk

Published July 2017

There’s no question that the gender pay gap is high up on the agenda. From 6^th April 2017, all businesses and charities with over 250 employees will be legally required to collect data on the gap between the average hourly pay of the men and women who work there. And they’ll also need to report on their figures by 4^th April each year, starting in 2018.

Clearly, asking organisations to report on this issue is a positive step – and a much needed one. A 2016 assessment of the gender pay gap from the Institute of Fiscal Studies put it at just over 18%, and Deloitte have predicted that, at the current rate of change, we won’t hit true pay parity until 2069. To be frank, we can’t afford to wait that long.

Closing the gap through flexibility

But hidden behind these gloomy predictions, there’s a devastatingly simple solution, waiting to be found; and it’s this. According to the 2016 Women and Equalities Committee report: “Flexible working for all lies at the heart of addressing the gender pay gap.”

Can it really be as simple as that? The answer, as we at Timewise know well, is a definite yes. The report also states:

“A large part of the gender pay gap is down to women’s concentration in part-time work which doesn’t make use of their skill…. Old-fashioned approaches to flexibility in the workplace and a lack of support for those wishing to re-enter the labour market are stopping employers from making the most of women’s talent and experience.”

It follows, then, that if we can make flexible working work for everyone, we can accelerate the narrowing of the gender pay gap. And that’s going to be more critical than ever once organisations are legally required to publish their figures; your reputation as a fair employer, and your ability to attract and retain the best talent, will depend on it.

Making flex work for you

At an organisational level, there are some key principles that you need to embed in order to make flexible working work, from creating a supportive culture to thinking about the best way to design flexible jobs. It’s not rocket science, but it certainly won’t happen by accident; our training and consultancy programmes can help.

But at a wider level, it’s actually the job market itself that needs fixing. Our research shows that only 8.7% of quality jobs are advertised as being open to flexibility at the point of hire; so people who need to work flexibly only have 1 in 10 jobs to apply for. It’s no wonder so many of them end up stuck in low-paid roles beneath their skill set; there’s simply nowhere else for them to go.

That’s why, last year, we launched our Hire Me My Way campaign, calling on organisations of all shapes and sizes to promote flexibility at the point of hire. So far, more than 30 major organisations have signed up to our campaign, unlocking thousands of quality jobs to flexible working; we hope you’ll consider joining us, too.

Start now as you mean to go on

So our call out to employers today is, start as you mean to go on. Be prepared to shout about the fact that you believe in flexible working and that you know how to make it work. Develop a recruitment strategy based on finding the most talented people you possibly can, and be prepared to flex your roles to suit them.

It’s a sure-fire way to improve your gender pay gap figures, and the evidence suggests it will improve your profits and boost your productivity. But, most importantly, it will mean you’re playing your part in a much-needed job market revolution – and that’s great news for all of us.

Published April 2017

Getting back into work after a career break can feel a bit daunting. In aid of understanding what women returners want, we surveyed over a thousand potential “women returners” who had taken a career break of a year or more, and were seeking flexible work. We found that while there is a high demand for “women returner programmes” among those who have taken a long career break, the overwhelming majority are looking to return to part-time or flexible work.

Key findings:

The context

Of the women we surveyed:

• 71% took a break of at least one year. 42% took 2 years or more
• Only 26% returned to work with the same employer
• 58% had chosen to return to work on a part-time basis
• 63% of those returning to a part-time job had taken a lower salary than in their previous role
• 60% of part-time returners and over half of full-time returners feel they have fallen behind in their careers and would like to get back on track.

What do women returners want?

Of the women we surveyed:

• 93% of career break women wanted to return to a part-time job.
• 45% are interested in returner programmes.
• 70% want the returner programme to result in a flexible job, compared to 13% wanting a full-time job.
• 49% want the returner programme to update their knowledge of industry sector trends
• 47% want the returner programme to be confidence building

Timewise’s recommendations to employers

As there is little interest in returning to full-time work, employers should open up to flexible hiring, so they can offer appropriate flexible working arrangements. More specifically, employers should consider whether a 4 day working week can be accommodated, as this is the most preferred working pattern.

Published October 2015

This research set out to explore what barriers face part-time workers as they attempt to progress their careers. To do this, we conducted interviews with 1000 people working less than 30 hours a week, and earning full time equivalent salaries of more than £20,000 per annum. We found when it comes to part-time and progression: Britain still has far to go.

Key findings:

A step down to part-time

Among the part-time workers interviewed:

• 81% say their current part-time job is at least a step down, or at the same level, as the last full time job they held
• More than a quarter say they are overqualified or over skilled for their current job
• 7 in 10 respondents say that if they were looking for a new part-time job, they would downgrade their expectations of salary and level of seniority.

The part-time plateau

Many respondents reported reaching a plateau in their career, with the prospect of promotion fading with their reduction in working hours. Among the part-time workers interviewed:

• 77% feel “trapped” in their current part-time jobs because of the perceived lack of good quality part-time vacancies to move into.
• 73% have not been promoted since they started working fewer hours.
• 63% believe that promotion within their current organisation would only be possible by increasing their hours.
• Only half of respondents say they feel as valued as their full time colleagues in their office.

How Timewise is addressing the stigma of part-time

Following this research, Timewise has launched a search for the second Power Part Time list: a roll call of 50 people working at the top of their profession in any way but the standard 9-5. By sharing these leaders’ stories, the list hopes to prove that success and progression in part-time is and should be possible.

Published in 2013

In a bid to give Britain’s part-time executives a voice, this research set out to understand what it’s like to work in a professional part-time job and how working part-time affects office status. We surveyed senior part-time workers and found that the term ‘part-time’ carries a strong stigma, even though the overwhelming majority of respondents hit their targets and are successful in their roles.

Key findings:

The context

Although UK workers are unconvinced that you can work in a senior role on a part-time basis, 650,000 people work in a quality part-time role, earning more than £40,000. Among the senior part-time workers who responded to our survey:

• 90% say they hit their targets and feel they are successful in their jobs
• Part-time work is no longer just for mothers: 30% cited the enjoyment of working fewer hours while earning a sufficient salary as their reason for working part-time, a higher percentage than those citing childcare.

The benefits to employers

When senior part-time employees were asked what benefits they felt their employers experienced through hiring them on part-time basis, the main responses were:

• “My employer knows I’m more likely to stay for the long term” (43% cited retention as a benefit)
•  “My employer gets more talent and experience for less cost” (42% cited a talented workforce at a lower cost as a benefit)
• “My employer gets happier, more refreshed employees” (29% cited welfare and employee morale as a benefit)

The stigma

Juxtaposing the clear successes of part-time working, our findings highlighted hesitation in being recognised as working part-time. Among the senior part-time workers who responded to our survey:

• 39% would not admit they work part-time, a figure that increases to 67% amongst those earning over £75,000.
• Of those who wouldn’t refer to themselves as part-time, 41% cited the negative stereotype surrounding part-time work.
• 14% let colleagues assume they work full time hours.

How Timewise plans to tackle the negative stereotype

Our research has inspired the Timewise Power Part-time Top 50 awards. The awards hope to bring part-time workers and flexible pioneers out of the shadows, telling really inspirational stories of what can be achieved on a part-time basis. By providing role models, these awards hope to trailblaze a path for future generations who want to work in the best jobs on a part-time basis.

Published in 2012