The Equality Authority today launched “Equality at Work? – Workplace Equality Policies, Flexible Working Arrangements and the Quality of Work”.
This research was carried out by the ESRI and shows that formal policies to promote equality of opportunity entail a wide range of benefits for both employees and employers. They are associated with lower levels of work stress, higher levels of job satisfaction and greater organisational commitment. It establishes a strong and convincing business case for equality strategies. The report is ground breaking in that it sets out quantitative data in support of this business case for the first time in the Irish context.
The study draws on a recent national representative survey of over 5000 employees in Ireland. It examines the impact of equality policies and flexible working arrangements on workers’ well being, on their attitudes to their jobs and employers, and on job quality.
Key Findings
Equality policies:
About three quarters of all employees work in organisations where there is a formal explicit policy on equal opportunities. Equality policies are much more common in the public sector and in large organisations.
- Employees who work in organisations with equality policies are much more likely to consider that opportunities for recruitment, pay and conditions and opportunities for advancement and career development are fair and equal, even when other relevant factors are taken into account.
- The presence of a formal policy on equality in the workplace is strongly associated with lower levels of work stress.
- The presence of a formal policy on equality in the workplace is strongly associated with higher levels of both job satisfaction and organisational commitment.
A key implication of the study is that equality policies, to the extent that they have these effects, are also likely to have a positive impact on organisational performance and hence be of benefit to employers.
Flexible Working Arrangements
The study looks at four different examples of flexible working arrangements: Part-time working, flexible hours, working from home and job-sharing. Almost one in four employees is involved in flexible working and one in five work part time. However just 8.4% of employees are involved in home working and 6.5% job-share.
Flexible working arrangements have mixed effects.
- Part-time working and flexitime are both associated with lower work pressure and part-time working also reduces stress and work-life conflict.
- However, employees who work from home experience significantly higher levels of stress and greater work pressure compared to workers with similar jobs and working conditions who do not work at home.
One of the implications of the study, therefore, is that not all flexible working arrangements promote work-life balance.
Speaking at the launch, Niall Crowley, CEO of the Equality Authority highlighted that “the report establishes that workplace equality policies have appositive impact on organisational performance. Equality policies within the workplace are a key element in a planned and systematic approach to workplace equality. Other elements include equality and diversity training for staff and equality action plans. This planned and systematic approach involves clear equality objectives, a proactive pursuit of equality and long term sustained equality initiatives. It involves a move away from ad hoc, informal and reactive approaches to workplace equality. The report underpins a business case for this planned and systematic approach to workplace equality”.
He added that “the report establishes that flexible working arrangements help employees achieve a better work life balance. However these flexible working arrangements have a more complex impact. It is therefore important to review flexible working arrangements in workplace to ensure that they meet not only organisational imperatives but also the needs of individual employees and to ensure they do not involve any discrimination. Otherwise the objective of work life balance will not be achieved and the potential benefits to employers and employees will not be realised”.
Dr Philip O’ Connell of the ESRI stated that “this report provides the evidence that promoting equality through workplace employment equality policies entails wide ranging benefits for both employers and employees. As such it makes the business and social case for equality”.
Ends