2014 Gender and Race Benchmark Trends: Agile Working. Trends analysis from the 2014 Gender and Race Benchmark

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1 2014 Gender and Race Benchmark Trends: Agile Working Trends analysis from the 2014 Gender and Race Benchmark

2 Headline findings Over three years, benchmarking organisations have recorded benefits of agile working: 47% have seen an increase in morale, 39% have seen increased retention, and 36% have seen reduced absenteeism Organisations with more female managers are more likely to highlight senior agile workers as role models (61% of these organisations do this) Organisations with more female managers are more likely to invest in technology to make agile working viable (89% of these organisations do this) The proportion of male agile workers (21.4%) in benchmarking organisations is catching up with the proportion of women (35.1%), particularly in the public sector at 29.5% and 36.3% respectively Trends summary Agile working saves time and money and brings enormous benefits to business. It improves recruitment and retention of staff and is viewed as a significant factor in an employment offer. i Being able to work flexibly empowers employees, reduces stress and gives employees more control over their work/life balance, ultimately resulting in a more motivated and productive workforce. Although everyone has the legal right to request agile working after 26 weeks of employment, our Benchmarking analysis suggests that organisations continue to perceive agile working as better suited to women than men: Women are more likely to be agile workers across all sectors Applications made by women for agile working are more likely to be accepted than by men particularly within the private sector Women are more likely to be formal agile workers (where working hours and patterns are written into contracts) than men This tells us that agile working isn t equally available to male workers, despite the benefits it brings to employers and employees alike. We would like to see more organisations apply the business benefits agile working can bring. This requires employers moving away from viewing it as a women s issue and doing more to reduce the stigma some agile workers experience. Agile working must be made equally available to the entire workforce (where appropriate to job roles) by ensuring approval and decision-making processes are equality-proofed. Unconscious bias training can also support organisational culture change towards accepting male agile workers and normalising agile working as a whole. Where there are more women in senior positions, the organisation is more likely to support agile workers and understand the business benefits of agile working. Even so, organisations need more senior men to advocate agile working to prevent it being seen as a women s issue, and to ensure the organisational culture aids male agile workers as well as female. Page 2 of 8

3 The agile working benchmark data NB: Within the race and gender benchmark, detailed information on agile working policy and monitoring is requested from employers participating in the gender benchmark, whilst race benchmark participants are only asked to provide this data if it is available. Female and male agile workers by sector Women are far more likely to be agile workers than men in every sector. In total, just over one third of all female employers are agile working. Yet in the private sector, women are almost twice as likely to become agile workers as men. It is a different picture for men, who are far more likely to be agile workers in the public sector than the private sector (Evidence 2). The sectors in which the proportion of female agile workers is far greater than male agile workers include utilities, manufacturing, industrials and engineering, legal and support services (Evidence 1). There are two sectors (government and accountancy and management consultancy) with only a small difference between the proportion of female agile workers and male agile workers. This suggests agile working is perceived by these sectors to be more gender neutral. Evidence 1: Female and male agile workers by sector Utilities Uniformed & Armed Services Support Services Retailers Manufacturing, Industrials & Engineering, Aerospace & Defence Legal Government - Central & Local & Public Sector Financial - Banks & Building Societies & Insurance Construction, Housing & Property Accountants & Management Consultants IT Female agile workers average (%) Male agile workers average (%) Page 3 of 8

4 Evidence 2: Female and male agile workers by public and private sectors Private Public All Male agile workers average (%) Female agile workers average (%) Female and male agile working applications Requests for agile working from women are more likely to be accepted than those from men. This is apparent in both the public and private sectors, but the private sector has a slightly bigger gap between the acceptance rates for women and men. This suggests that it is still more acceptable for women to work flexibly than men, and that agile working is seen as a women s issue (Evidence 3). Evidence 3: Female and male agile working applications (%) Private Public All Male agile working request success rates (%) Female agile working request success rates Formal and informal agile working There is a dramatic difference between the average percentage of men and women formally employed as agile workers, with women more likely to have agile working and the working patterns this entails formally agreed with their employer. This could be due to a higher rate of agile working requests from women and/or that employers are less likely to approve formal requests from male workers (Evidence 4). However, there is very little difference between the proportions of male and female informal agile workers. This is encouraging, as it indicates that making agile working acceptable and available for men is less of a shift in mindsets and processes than employers might expect. Page 4 of 8

5 Our next steps are to understand the barriers to men formalising their agile working patterns. It could be that: men fear stigmatisation if agile working is formalised, so are happier to agree to informal agile working (Evidence 5); and/or that women are more likely to be penalised when agile working informally, and so formal working patterns provide protection from this. Evidence 4: Formal agile workers by public and private sector Private Public All. Male formal agile workers average (%) Female formal agile workers average (%) Evidence 5: Informal agile workers by public and private sector Private Public All Male Informal Flexible Workers Average (%) Female Informal Flexible Workers Average (%) Actions and impacts Organisations where there are more women in senior management and management positions are more likely to have: Evidence of the benefits of agile working Better management of agile workers Support for agile workers Agile working role models Senior buy-in for agile working A defined business case for agile working Page 5 of 8

6 They are also more likely to support homeworkers through grants and to introduce flexibility for location independent workers. Crucially, these employers are more likely to hold line managers, senior managers and board members accountable for diversity and inclusion (Evidence 6). What we now need to see is this translating to more equal take up of agile working between men and women, rather than it being positioned as a women s track. Evidence 6: The business case, D&I and agile working D&I values and behaviours are part of board members' performance appraisals D&I values and behaviours are part of senior managers' performance appraisals Our business case includes quantifiable figures The benefits of our D&I work are fed back into the business case We publish our diversity strategy in the public domain Line managers tested on ability to give 360- degree feedback Organisations with fewer female agile workers (%) Organisations with more female agile workers (%) Evidence 7: Female senior managers and agile workers Organisations support homeworkers through grants Organisations have mapped workforce and introduced flexibility for location independent workers Organisations have evidence of the benefit to our organisation of flexible working 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Organisations with more women in senior management positions (%) Organisations with fewer women in senior management positions (%) Page 6 of 8

7 Evidence 8: Female mangers and organisational agile working actions and policies Have senior buy-in on the importance of flexible working to the organisatoin Have defined business case for flexible working Support homeworkers through grants Support flexible workers adjust to their new work patterns Highlight senior flexible workers as role models Have evidence of the benefit to our organisation of flexible working 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100% Organisations with more women in management positions (%) Organisations with fewer women in management positions (%) Case Study: BAE Systems With traditionally rigid working hours and a culture of presenteeism, BAE Systems has revolutionised how its Naval Ships business works. The introduction of Smart Working has maximised the level of flexibility for employees and driven a cultural change towards agile working. The business has achieved significant savings in the first year of Smart Working. 76% of the workforce is engaged in Smart Working and there has been a 14% reduction in paid leave of absence. Both male and female employees have benefitted from new ways of working. Read the 2015 award winning BAE Systems case study in full online. Calls for Action Senior leaders: Define a clear business case for agile working to ensure it is not just seen as an employee benefit or as a women s or parent s issue Invest in the technology and infrastructure required to support agile working Ensure embedded flexibility is jointly owned via HR, IT and Facilities Management Senior level buy-in on the importance of agile working to the organisation is crucial Ensure male and female senior managers walk the talk HR and line managers: Encourage line managers to take a lead on agile working and ensure that the agile working message and overall organisational support comes from the line manager Integrate work/life balance in the annual review processes Page 7 of 8

8 Actively discourage presenteeism Promote male and female agile working role models Make agile working options open to the widest group of people, female and male, not only for caring responsibilities, but for out of work learning, volunteering, travelling, religious commitments, and at all stages of a career ii Provide the widest possible range of agile working options iii Draw up individual Agile Hours Contracts to enable employees to work the hours that best suit them and bank extra hours during busy periods Business in the Community s Out of Office II research is a comprehensive guide to employers. It spells out the business benefits, identifies the barriers to agility employers will come across, and provides the solutions to take up including detailed guidance on team and line management and more Learn from best practice case studies. Case studies from all the finalist and winning organisations of our Agile Organisational Award are available online. i Business in the Community, Out of Office 2: Agile Working Solutions ii Business in the Community, Agile / Flexible Working Toolkit, available at: iii Ibid Page 8 of 8