Fathers’ perceptions of the availability of flexible working arrangements: Evidence from the UK

Cook, Rose, O'Brien, Margaret, Connolly, Sara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6714-3493, Aldrich, Matthew and Speight, Svetlana (2021) Fathers’ perceptions of the availability of flexible working arrangements: Evidence from the UK. Work, Employment & Society, 35 (6). pp. 1014-1033. ISSN 0950-0170

[thumbnail of Published_Version]
Preview
PDF (Published_Version) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (277kB) | Preview

Abstract

A conditional right to request flexible working arrangements (FWAs) has existed for most UK employee parents since 2003. However, there are growing concerns about access, particularly among fathers. Using nationally representative data from the 2015 UK Household Longitudinal Survey, this article examines fathers’ perceptions of the availability of hours reduction, schedule flexibility, and working from home. Results show that almost one-third of fathers believe that FWAs that reduce working hours are unavailable to them, compared with one-tenth of mothers. There are no gender differences in perceptions of availability of schedule and location flexibility. Among fathers, those with lower education levels, in lower status occupations, working in the private sector and in workplaces that do not have trade union presence are more likely to believe that FWAs are unavailable. Therefore, even though most employees now have the right to request FWAs, a significant minority of fathers do not perceive FWAs to be available to them.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: entitlement,fathers,flexible working,work-family policies,working time arrangements,work-life balance,sdg 8 - decent work and economic growth,3*,submitted to ref 2021 ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/decent_work_and_economic_growth
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Economics
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Employment Systems and Institutions
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 09 Jul 2020 00:08
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2023 16:31
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/75975
DOI: 10.1177/0950017020946687

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item