Oxford Study: Flexible Working Hours For Men Result In Successful Women
In a research conducted by Dr. Laura Langner at the University of Oxford's Department of Sociology it has been found that once men started working flexible hours, women's hourly wages increased.
The study investigates changes in heterosexual couples' hourly wages once one partner enters work-hour flexibility. As per the study, a working woman's hourly wages, specially those of mothers, increased significantly after their husband's or male partners entered work hour flexibility (14.2% after four years). The study also found that the wages of the husband's also increased by 7.4% over the following four years.
Dr. Langner whose study was published in the journal 'Work, Employment and Society' said that "The results suggest that men may use flexible working hours as an alternative to part-time work to support their wives' careers. The couple is in a win-win situation - both partners' hourly wages increase when the man enters the flexible arrangement. It also tells us that employers can play an important role in supporting not just their employee's but also the whole family's work-family compatibility."
The study was conducted on west German couples which entered flexible work between 2003-2011. The study also revealed that the arrangement was beneficial only when the male partner entered flexible work arrangement.
In the context of the study, flexible working hours contract means an arrangement where an employee is able to determine when they work during the day and week.
The study reveals that employers can not only sustain an employee but also help in maintaining work-family compatibility.
The research comes at a time when there are debates going on in various corners of the world about equal wages for equal work irrespective of the gender of an employee. The study, although conducted on West German couples, can also be applicable to couples back home.
According to India Development Report by World Bank, India ranks at 120 out of 131 countries surveyed when it comes to participation of women in workforce. The percentage of women in the urban workforce was 14.7% in 2011-12. The
percentage of women working in urban areas is lesser in comparison to women working in rural areas. Some of the prominent reasons for women dropping out of jobs range from marriage to child birth. Although the Indian Parliament, raised
maternity leave for working women to 26 weeks in March this year, there is still a long way to go.
Dr. Langer's study provides an alternative approach as well as another dimension to the relationship between a family as a workforce unit as also offering an opportunity to bridge the gender gap and pay gap in Indian workforce.
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