To ask or not to ask? Investigating workers’ flexibility requests and the phenomenon of discontented non-requesters

Abstract

Flexible working arrangements have attracted growing attention in workplaces across Australia and in many other countries in recent years. This contribution utilises the results of two large Australian employee surveys to analyse who asks for flexibility, why, and with what effects on work-life interference. This analysis is set in the context of Australia's 'Right to Request' (RTR) provisions which, at the time of the study, gave parents of preschool children and those with a disabled child aged up to 18 the RTR flexibility. The analysis also draws on a set of qualitative interviews of those we term 'discontented non-requesters' (that is, those who are not content with current arrangements but who do not ask for flexibility) to probe beneath the survey results to consider explanations about why some people do not ask for flexibility despite desiring different working arrangements. We conclude with the implications for policy and regulation. ARTICLE HISTORY

Working-time flexibility

“…Unfortunately, both new measures have failed to fulfil the promise of increased temporal autonomy for employees. They remain limited in scope and impact, running into difficulties because employees tend to be reluctant to put forward a request because they are worried about employer reprisals and do not see a change as feasible in their workplace (Skinner et al, 2016). A further difficulty in assessing the reach of the ideal types stems from the deficiencies of standard labour force data in identifying and differentiating new flexible working-time arrangements.…”

Multilevel Work–Family Interventions

“…In 2012, a randomized group of 29 "discontented nonrequesters" from the survey were interviewed about why they had not requested flexibility despite their discontent with their current work circumstances. Analysis of these interviews reveals a complex web of workplace-based constraints and barriers that prevent people from asking; these relate to job requirements, unsupportive workplace cultures, supervisors' attitudes, workload, fear of reprisals, and unequal power relations (Skinner, Cathcart & Pocock, 2016). The weak workplace effects of individualized enabling labour regulations like a RTR against these other prevailing factors reveals the power of workplace factors in outweighing the effects of law, especially law that is poorly enforced and weak.…”

Determinants of participation in childcare amongst fathers who work very long hours

“…Regarding leave provisions, these can include parental, paternity, or carer's leave, and access to and uptake of these provisions can differ considerably by country, as provisions may either be universal statutory provisions legislated by government, or they may also be employer-provided. In Australia, flexibility and leave provisions can be embedded in formal workplace agreements, arranged with line managers on a case-by-case basis, or can be used ad-hoc by some employees, often depending on professional discretion (Cooper & Baird, 2015;Skinner, Cathcart, & Pocock, 2016;Whitehouse & Baxter, 2019).…”

“…Despite the existence of the "right to request" provision in Australia, fathers rarely request or use flexible work provisions (Baxter, 2019;Pocock, Charlesworth, & Chapman, 2013;Skinner, Cathcart, & Pocock, 2016). When fathers do use flexibility provisions they are stratified by sector, industry, and gender balance within the workplace (Baxter, 2019 (Duvander & Löfgren, 2019).…”

“…Previous literature has indicated that giving employees a perception of freedom over their work hours signals to workers that their employers are flexible. This encourages a belief that workers have ownership and choice over the hours that they work (Skinner et al, 2016). However, this framing ultimately obscures the reality within many jobs that are characterised by high workloads,…”