Forget about full-time and go for flexibility
The Fair Work Act might now include the right to request flexible working arrangements but the Utopian ideal of working at home has remained out of reach for many people, particularly in financial services. Penny Pryor discovers the real state of affairs.
It's been over thirty years since Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlinson created a productive flexible workplace in 9 to 5, but the reality has been slow going, particularly in financial services.
Assisted by technology, which now makes working from almost anywhere possible, there has been some real progress but it's the culture, rather than the technicality, that is often the big stumbling block.
"The reality is, you can do any job part-time." Catherine Fox, Author
"I think financial services is a tough nut to crack," she says.
Opting for part-time or flexible hours is often seen as a career-limiting move for mothers.
"I think there is a bit of a default position that it's very much a 'mummy track'," Fox says.
But it's not all bad news; there has been real change over the past twenty years.
There is more willingness to offer flexible working practices. The right to request these arrangements is now part of the Fair Work Act, and was widened to a greater range of employees in July 2013.
Employers can only refuse such requests on reasonable business grounds. Flexible working arrangements that can be requested might include changes to start and finish times or split shifts and job sharing.
Some of the large banks and financial services companies have been at the forefront of the flexible work place and many, such as the Commonwealth Bank, provide priority access to nominated childcare centres and options around salary sacrificing childcare costs.
In its 2013 annual review and sustainability report, Westpac reported that its Diversity & Flexibility Survey indicated that 62 per cent of respondents used some form of flexible work arrangement.
That was an increase of 18 per cent since 2010 and 82 per cent said they would require flexibility over the next three years.
"To meet this growing need, our challenge is to further build our employees' capability to lead flexible teams, to continue to rethink job design, and to review policies and provide tools to support employees and people leaders," Christine Parker, Westpac group executive, human resources and corporate affairs said in the report.
Funds management, combined with broking, may be the last bastion in terms of flexible working arrangements.
The reason often given for the lack of women in these jobs is that they require somebody's full-time attention. But as Fox points out, no one really works full-time.
"You go home, you go to sleep, you might even have a bit of a weekend," she says.
"The reality is, you can do any job part-time."
The structuring of it - whether that is via job share or allowing employees to work from home at hours that suit them - might be a little unorthodox but it's not impossible.
And it's not just a women's issue.
Suncorp Group struggled to find appropriately qualified people for claims processing and some bank call centres in areas in Victoria and Queensland. But when it offered those jobs under flexible arrangements - i.e. workers could choose what hours they worked - they found it much easier to employ people with the required skills.
"[The Work@Home hub] is good for regional Australia." Michelle Barry, Suncorp
Suncorp ensures that each employee's home is a suitable workplace and they provide training at a nearby Work@Home hub in a shopping centre.
Suncorp has a hub in Fountain Gate in Victoria and Carindale in Queensland. Combined those centres can support 600 employees who live within a 30-minute commute from the hub.
Barry says the kinds of employees that work via the hub includes workers with disabilities, who find it easier to work from home, and some elite athletes who need to train in daylight hours and want to work at night.
The staff turnover rate at these centres is much lower and these teams have some of the highest employee engagement scores within the Suncorp Group.
"We've actually got 100 people in Gosford which has just become a Work@Home hub," Barry says.
"This is good for regional Australia."
Once they understand the benefits - both to employees and the bottom line - companies are embracing flexible work practices. The hard part, as always, continues to be changing the mindset and culture.
