A 2014 policy introduced in the U.K. under which almost all employees are legally given the right to request flexible work has had only a “limited” impact and could be exacerbating gender inequality, a new study based on a decade of data shows.
In 2014, the U.K. government introduced the policy, which extended the right to request flexible working conditions from parents and carers to all employees who had worked for their company for at least 26 weeks. The move was inspired by research showing that many employees wanted to be able to structure their working hours and arrangements to fit around personal needs.
One 2017 study conducted by the consultancy Timewise found that 84% of male full-time employees and 91% of female full-time employees were either already working flexibly, or said they wanted to do so. Similarly, a survey of UK businesses by HSBC conducted in 2021 found that flexible working and salary were equally important when attracting and retaining staff.
Policymakers were hopeful that the law would bolster worker motivation, recruitment and retention, but this new study—led by researchers from King’s Business School, University College London and City St. George’s, University of London—implies that legislation alone is not enough to normalize flexible working.
Based on data from more than 15,000 U.K. employees collected between 2010 and 2020, the academics concluded that, after the introduction of the policy, women became more likely to work reduced hours, such as part-time, and that uptake continued to rise over time. Men’s use of reduced hours, by contrast, did not increase, and there were no significant changes in the use of so-called flexitime or remote working by either men or women. Women reported lower levels of psychological distress and higher life satisfaction after the reform — but these benefits are likely linked to reduced hours rather than other forms of flexibility, the researchers noted.
“Our findings show that policy alone is not enough,” said Heejung Chung, director of the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, King’s Business School. “Without addressing workplace cultures and entrenched gender roles, flexible working risks reinforcing existing inequalities rather than reducing them.”
Chung also said that the fact that women were more likely to shift into part-time work, while men’s patterns of work remained largely unchanged, could reinforce existing divisions in paid and unpaid labor, with long-term risks for women’s career progression and financial security. It could, she said, even risk the well-being of the family and men as well.
The study’s lead author echoed these concerns. Baowen Xue of University College London, noted that while part-time work could potentially ease the burden of long hours and family responsibilities in the short term, it might also compromise women’s long-term financial security and overall well-being.
In 2024, the researchers point out, the right to request was further expanded in the U.K., allowing employees to make such requests from their first day in a job. It will take several years before the impact of this latest change can be properly assessed, the academics noted.