Did you realise that in some cases, flexibility is legislated by the ‘The Australian National Employment Standard’ (Fair Work Act 2009 ‘NES’).
There have been countless articles in regards to 4-day work weeks, flexibility and remote work environments. The concept is not new, combinations of these work solutions are already in place and adopted by a variety of businesses. The tides are changing. Slowly.
I think it’s clear now that these arrangements have a positive effect. They create more inclusive and diverse workplaces, better morale, higher engagement, longer-term employee satisfaction and access to a key group of worked – individuals staying home during child rearing years.
The 2017 census results concluded that an ‘estimated 246,700 (42%) women had started or returned to work since the birth of their youngest child.’ That is a staggeringly low percentage of women returning to work following childbirth and note this is after the birth of their youngest child. If families have 3 children, it’s unlikely that they will be able to return to work for a minimum of 6 years and at this point, many will require part-time employment for several years. Six years out of the workforce makes for a very difficult return to the corporate world. Increasingly, as many fathers opt to remain at home with children they will inevitably come up against the same issues, albeit not to the extent of women simply due to the remaining unconscious bias’s that still exist.