Flexibility is all very well

Kim Dungey looks at two more workplaces already providing flexible working arrangements and gets the view from the employer's side.

• The art of the flexible 

Employers' representatives say new legislation giving employees the right to request flexible work arrangements has had little, if any, impact. They claim what has made a difference is the tightening labour market and employers realising they need to be more flexible in order to attract and retain good staff.

Phil O'Reilly, chief executive of Business New Zealand, describes the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007 - which was proposed by Green MP Sue Kedgley and supported by the Government - as the most "pointless piece of legislation" he has seen.

"Flexible hours is a great idea and people should be encouraged to think about it all the time. But passing silly laws is utterly irrelevant to that need and, in fact, is likely to get in the way of it."

Mr O'Reilly says the law fails to take account of the fact that flexibility is rarely an issue between just one employer and one employee but has an impact on everyone in a workplace. Traditionally, time off has been negotiated between staff on an as-needed basis, but the law would lead to "queuing".

"If you get your request in first, you'll get your flexibility. But if Dave gets in third, he won't."

Local employers' representatives say while it is early days, there has been no evidence of a rush of applications since the legislation took effect in July.

Duncan Simpson, chief executive of the Otago-Southland Employers' Association, and John Christie, his counterpart at the Otago Chamber of Commerce, say employers had become more flexible, anyway. And both see the trend towards flexible work continuing despite the economic downturn, with skill shortages in many areas, from IT and forestry to traditional trades such as electrical and plumbing.

A strong advocate of flexible work, despite misgivings about the legislation, Mr O'Reilly says different types of flexibility are suited to different types of workplaces. But no employer should use the excuse that flexibility is not possible.

"The traditional view of flexibility, where you allow people time off or to work from home, is much more capable of being put into place in offices and service environments.

"That's why it is most used in IT, consulting, banks and accountancy firms . . . But it is still possible in manufacturing plants, retail shops and bars. It just requires more thought and effort."

He says that as well as enabling employers to keep their "best and brightest", flexible work avoids what he calls "present-ism" - where employees are at work physically but their brains aren't.

"If you're stressing at work about something you want to be doing, if you're worried about your sick mum or about child care, you're much less likely to be a good employee at work."

New research from the Families Commission shows that for employees, the culture of a workplace plays a big part in whether or not they ask for flexible work arrangements. The need to maintain an adequate income and having the confidence to negotiate with managers are also important factors.

Mr O'Reilly says workers need to give the reason they are seeking flexibility and to engage with their employers rather than make demands.

Many employers have a "19th-century" mind-set of jobs being either full-time or part-time, but any job is just a collection of tasks, he adds.

Employees who can show how those tasks will be done each week under a new arrangement will increase their chances of success.

"An employer might worry that maybe the work won't get done or he might have to bring in a replacement and that will be expensive, or that he will have to put upon other employees to fill in.

"That's why employees should think not just about their circumstances but their workmates' circumstances and how [the arrangement] might work for everyone."

For more information on ways employers can introduce flexibility, go to the commentaries section of the Business New Zealand website, www.businessnz.org.nz.

For information on the Department of Labour's "Work-Life Balance Workplace Project", go to www.dol.govt.nz