Forties People

Employers are being warned of the potential difficulties of giving all employees the right to request flexible working – leading to possibly harmful consequences for both individuals and businesses.

As things stand, to have the statutory right to make a flexible working request, an employee has to meet certain employment and care criteria, although there's no reason why you can't consider requests from employees without this right.

But giving evidence at Westminster to the All-Party Parliamentary Small Business Group inquiry into flexible working, Colin Coulson-Thomas, the author of Winning Companies; Winning People, warned of the unintended consequences of inappropriate regulation and legislation such as a proposed right to request flexible working, and argues that the unintended results of the new proposals could get in the way of the benefits of flexible working.

Nevertheless, female business leaders claim it is time to 'get rid of the boys' club in business and push more flexible working policies to increase female leadership.

Coulson-Thomas suggests that: "An effective and desired way of working for one role or person might not be appropriate for another. In some cases ‘being there' might be important, while other work could be ‘location independent'.

"A new way of working needs to be right for the role, the organisation and the individuals concerned. Flexible working suits particular individuals undertaking certain tasks, and effective operation often requires new practices and support arrangements."

Flexible working could undoubtedly have a dramatic impact on the gender balance in the management of companies, with most business leaders recognising that men and women have different styles of leadership which require different approaches.

Maggie Berry, director of Womenintechnology, said. "The business world definitely needs to learn that women and men are different but that having these different skills on board is actually beneficial to them.

"If more of these suggestions were implemented, then we'd see more women climbing the ranks - this would lead to more female role models to encourage women to strive for the top."

Coulson-Thomas opposes the imposition of standard approaches to flexible working. He added: "Inappropriate legislation could be a burden for companies and a disservice to individuals who might not be cut out to work flexibly and/or independently, and for whose roles it might not be appropriate.

"Any move to grant rights to flexible working should address the reality that a particular way of working will not suit all individuals, in all roles and in all circumstances, or all of those with whom they will be required to collaborate."

Allowing people to work at whatever time and place best enables them to harness their potential and be effective can benefit both individuals and organisations and address a range of social issues. But Coulson-Thomas called for regulatory barriers to innovation and diversity to be reduced, in order for Europe to compete in international markets and to prevent the marginalisation of older citizens.

He said: "A new way of working must be appropriate for the tasks to be performed and the people concerned. Tasks should be defined in terms of delivering a specified ‘output' with fixed parameters of cost and time. Ideal flexible workers are those who are inner directed and able to apply their knowledge and skill independent of any particular physical location. We may have to work differently from one day to another depending upon the particular assignment."

"People likely to be involved in a new way of working - and those who work with them - need to be involved and prepared. Clear objectives should be set and health, safety and security issues addressed. Voluntary programmes are far more likely to succeed than those that are imposed. Regular communication with those who are working flexibly is also highly conducive to success.”

Sources: David Woods, humanresourcesmagazine.com , businesslink.gov.uk