Britain's Hidden Brain Drain
New Investigation Shows 5.6 Million Part-Time Workers Working Below Their Potential
EOC (September 15 2005) - Britain's flexible and part-time working
arrangements are failing to meet the needs of working women and men, leading to 5.6
million part-time workers - 4 out of 5 of Britain's 7 million part-time workers - working
in jobs that do not use their potential, according to the results of a year-long investigation by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Over three and a half million of these actually used higher qualifications or skills or had more supervision/management of staff in previous jobs, and a further 2 million believe they could 'easily work at a higher level'.
The report, Britain's Hidden Brain Drain, highlights the damage caused by old-fashioned thinking about work, which leads to men, who mostly work full-time, working among the longest hours in the EU and to women, over two-fifths of whom work part-time, ending up in low paid jobs with no prospects. Women part-time workers are earning 40% less per hour than men working full time - about the same pay gap as 30 years ago - and employers are failing to make best use of their considerable skills and experience. At the same time, employers and employees face an epidemic of work-related stress as work intensifies and Britain burns out. The DTI estimates that stress at work now costs the UK £3.7 billion a year.
The EOC is today calling on the government to extend the right to request flexible working to all, to halt this waste of potential and to stop the economic and human damage caused by work-related stress.
Jenny Watson, Acting Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said:
"Flexibility is Britain's future. Increasingly, people want to work flexibly at different points in their lives, whether as a student, a parent, a carer, or as we near retirement. Yet many employers who routinely update equipment and plug into the latest management thinking are still stuck in the past in how they think about work, confining flexibility to a "working-time ghetto" of low pay, and low prospects. With these out-dated attitudes, it's no surprise that the part-time pay gap is stuck at a shocking 40% - a figure that hasn't shifted for 30 years. The best employers are leading the way, moving away from "presenteeism" to giving people choice in how they work simply because they recognise it's good for business, fitting the demands of a 24/7 world and improving staff morale. But the pace of change is still slow.
"It's time for a transformation in Britain's workplaces, time for flexibility to become the norm at all levels of employment. Extending the right to ask for flexible working to everyone, not just to parents of young children, will help us all to manage our personal and work time better and enjoy a better quality of life. It will also have a significant impact on reducing the cost of workplace stress, estimated to be costing the UK £3.7 billion a year. And by providing targeted support for SMEs, government can ensure that every employer has the ability to reap the rewards that flexibility will bring."
The EOC is also calling for more support and training for line managers to help them manage flexible working, and particular support for small businesses.
Following on from Britain's Hidden Brain Drain, the EOC will work with Government, employers and trade unions in a new investigation, launched today, that will examine imaginative and practical ways in which the workplace can be transformed to meet the changing demands of the 21st century.
The Federation of Small Businesses has endorsed the campaign. Peter Firth said:
"The FSB welcomes the consideration given to small business needs in the EOC report. Small businesses are the original flexible employers and the FSB supports flexibility in the labour force. However, a further extension to the existing rights for employees to request flexible working would impose additional costs on small businesses, particularly if requests were for homeworking. Therefore we are pleased to see that a key recommendation within the report is the proposal to provide financial assistance to small employers to help them manage and meet the initial costs of flexible working requests. This would provide much-needed support to small employers."
Arthur Allen, managing director of Listawood, a Norfolk manufacturing company with just over 200 staff, has also given his support to the EOC's campaign:
"Work patterns at Listawood are extraordinarily diverse - and we've found that flexibility is a two-way street. It isn't just about us allowing our staff to work the hours they need - what we've found is that staff repay our flexibility with a commitment to help the company when it needs it. Listawood was built through the work of part-time mothers rejoining the work force as their children grew up. Many of our team leaders, including the Production Director, joined the company as part-timers and have contributed enormously to the company's development. I wholeheartedly endorse the Equal Opportunities Commission's campaign to encourage more companies to reap the benefits we've enjoyed."
Joanna Farmer, 33, said:
"I was a divisional manager in an education institution before having a baby. My experience of attempting to work flexibly after returning from maternity leave was unsuccessful and humiliating; I had to undergo a whole day of interviewing in order to return to my old job, only for it to be given to a junior colleague because I had expressed a preference for reduced hours. The only flexible option offered was for me to become a PA, even though I had a good degree, 10 years management experience and had handled million-pound budgets. Although I am currently in a management position, it has taken me years to get back to the level I was at before my maternity leave."
Copies of the report and executive summary can be found at
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