2.3 Flexible working time and work-life balance

Many older workers express a preference to work flexible hours, in some cases this can be shorter working hours, partial retirement, changes in shifts, longer periods of leave, job rotation, reductions in overtime or additional work responsibilities.

Flexible working hours can be the key factor in retaining staff, achieving company goals and having a productive, motivated and satisfied staff. Companies that have a flexible approach to working hours often have fewer staff taking sick leave and a more skilled and committed workforce, which in turn improves the company’s overall productivity and competitiveness. There is substantial evidence from companies and employee surveys across Europe to show that work-life balance is a major priority for a significant number of employees today. Creating a culture of work-life balance requires that organisations take a positive approach to flexible working.

Flexible working can best be promoted through the social dialogue and implemented through collective agreements. This is particularly important to ensuring that there is a benefit to both the employee and the employer, while also ensuring that policies are appropriate and relevant to the workforce. In many countries unions and employers have found that the development and implementation of flexible working time benefits from a social partnership approach. For example, a 2006 report by the ETUC Challenging Times: Innovative ways of organizing working time has shown the added value of a partnership approach for productivity, retention of staff and improved competitiveness.

Flexible working time is a key age management tool that can promote the retention of older works by helping older to workers to adjust to physical and mental changes that result from the ageing process. This can be particularly the case with physically demanding work, work that is highly stressful, or as older workers approach retirement age. However, it is important to stress that this is not just an issue of relevant to older workers, but can be of benefit to the health and well-being and work-life balance of all workers at different stages of their life-cycle.

For organisations, flexible working hours can be crucial to retaining valuable older workers by providing them with a better quality of working life, improved health and well-being and motivation:

For employees flexible working hours can enable older workers to achieve work-life balance so that they can reconcile their working lives with their personal interests, commitments or care responsibilities:

Older workers: testimonies

Arne Birger Sjursø, a 63 years old worker in Agder Energi Norway, has worked for more than 30 years in the company. He is an electrical engineer and has held several different positions in the company. Currently he is an Assistant Managing Director and works four days a week on electrical power network development. He says that he has had good experiences of working in the company. He recently had the opportunity to change his position within the company to a position that was more suitable to an older worker. He has combined this with a 20 per cent reduction in weekly working time and an extra week’s holiday, given by the company to workers over the age of 60 years (this is in addition to the extra week given to all workers in Norway from the same age). He says that the effect on his income has been negligible and it is important to note that his pension will be unaffected by this reduction in working hours. Arne says that the company has done a lot to promote active ageing in the workplace but stresses that it is important that old workers have a real choice concerning their own situation and that they have an occupation that is valued by themselves and the company. Arne says that is happy with his current situation and states that if his health remains good will probably work until his is 67 years of age.

Petter Sorensen is a 65 year old Chief Security Officer who has been working in Statkraft since 1993. Prior to his current position he worked as a Manager for Information Technology for nine years and in 2002 took up work in the security area of the company. The transition from IT manager to security manager was smooth as the position was vacant at the time. Although he believes that he has been better acknowledged at a corporate level, this has nothing to do with his age. The most noticeable benefit he has from company policies is the extra week’s holiday which employees receive after 62 years of age, followed by another week at 65 years. He believes that human resources policies in the company have been good and that his age has not affected his career path. In Statkraft that tendency has been to take early retirement at 62 years. He believes that the company should introduce an 80/100 scheme for employees at the age of 62, which would enable older workers to work 80 per cent for 100 per cent pay. He believes that this would be a very good incentive for people to stay in the company that the existing provision of an extra week’s holiday. Petter plans to retire at 67 years of age, which is the statutory retirement age in Norway.

What can electricity companies do to promote flexible working for older workers?

A visible policy setting out the range of flexible working time policies that workers can take up is important to providing workers with rights and entitlements. While in some countries, for example, in the UK, Netherlands and Germany, there exists a legal right for all workers to request a changing in working hours, in others these entitlements are negotiated through collective agreements or individual negotiations. Flexible working time policies should set out the range of possibilities.

Creating a culture of work-life balance requires organisations to be proactive, creative and innovative in balancing the needs and preferences of older employees with those of the organisation. It is very important that managers, particularly senior managers, believe in the benefits of good work-life balance. If they do they will be encouraged to implement it themselves.

Working time credit schemes can provide opportunities for career breaks and longer periods of leave from the labour market. This could be particularly important for older workers, who can credit their working time to enable them to take partial retirement.

Flexible or gradual retirement schemes that enable workers to progressively reduce their working hours as they approach statutory retirement age can be an alternative for workers who may otherwise, because of work stress or ill health, have taken early retirement.

Specific schemes can be developed for older workers that are working shift work, heavy work or stressful working situations. By simply reducing or changing the working hours of workers in these situations can be critical to retaining older workers who may in the past have taken early retirement. This can also help to enhance the company’s profile and culture. For example, some companies have changed shift patterns so that older workers can work part-time, in others schemes have been introduced to release workers from one shift per week, or through measures to increase holiday leave or reduce weekly working hours. These measures can help to prevent exhaustion and improve the quality of working life for older workers, as well as showing the older worker that the company values their contribution, while recognising their needs and requirements.

Make the case for flexible working hours in recruitment and retention programmes

Companies that visibly promote flexible working hours will find that they are attractive to older workers. This should be included in job advertisements and job specifications as a way of attracting older workers.

Provide training and support to managers so that they can effectively implement and manage flexible working hours and come up with solutions to work-life balance that accommodate older workers. Mangers need to be aware of the advantages of flexible working time to the organisation.

Statkraft, Norway

A concern about an ageing workforce and the need to retain the best staff has prompted the company to address age related diversity. An innovative life-course policy for employees aged 62 years and over has been introduced with the objective of providing greater flexibility and the opportunity for older workers to reduce working hours on a phased basis, without a major impact on pay. It works by enabling workers at the age of 62 years to reduce their working time by 10 per cent, at the age of 63 years by 20 per cent, at the age of 64 years by 30 per cent and at the age of 65 years by 40 per cent. This enables the company to retain older workers (who in the past used to leave the company at the age of 62 years) whilst giving older workers more choices of working for a longer period of time on reduced hours. The solution is agreed between the manager and the employee. In some cases flexible working hours can be agreed for older workers under the age of 62 years. The company has a comprehensive work-life balance policy designed to retain employees of all ages. The company’s human resources policy for older workers entitles older workers to extra holiday leave – one week extra from the age of 62 years and two weeks from the age of 65 years. Older workers can also have the opportunity to work part-time and with a ten per cent extra salary to compensate for this. A sign on fee and work only for the Spring, Summer and Autumn for maintenance work is available in different regions and also across the whole of the country. In this scheme, employees do not work during the winter months. This initiative was introduced three years ago to avoid laying off workers.

Carry out a survey to find out the working time preferences of older workers. You can also follow this up with focus groups and meetings with staff to examine what are the best arrangements to meet the needs of employees and the needs of the company.

By offering flexible working hours to everyone you can help to make everyone feel valued and let people that are working full-time know that this is an option for them in the future if their circumstances change. This can also help to change culture by sending the message that flexible working is positively encouraged. Include older workers that are working flexibly in training, professional development and team meetings. Do not assume that if someone works flexibly or part-time that they are any less committed to their work.

The participation and consultation of trade unions in the development of policies and practices on flexible working hours are an essential prerequisite to balancing the working time schedules of all staff. Agreements can be developed on flexible working hours that are age neutral, but agreements can also specify flexible working hours options for older staff.

Facts about flexible working

Accommodating older workers who wish to remain in the labour market means acknowledging and recognising that they may face limitations and require flexible working, part-time work or reduced working hours (Loretto et al 2005).

According to research by the UK’s National Audit Office (2004) there are up to one million potential workers above the age of 50 who are partly discouraged from actively seeking employment by the lack of flexible work options. Government’s cannot afford to ignore these factors if it is serious about reaching its targets for increased labour force participation.

Many governments also recognise the need for a sustainable framework for retirement provision, including more choices about retirement. Several governments have considered flexible retirement as a way of retaining older workers in the workplace.

2.3.2 The role of the social partners

Partnership working between employers and unions can help organisations to implement and develop a culture and practice of age diversity and work-life balance. Partnership working requires there to be a shared commitment to the objectives, goals and success of the organisations. A key outcome of partnership working is the achievement of joint solutions, achieved through joint discussions, projects and initiatives. One way of taking these issues forward is to establish a partnership group made up of union representatives, staff and managers. By promoting partnership working unions, staff and managers can promote shared solutions. This can help to create an organisational style of discussion rather than negotiation. It will also be important to take time to consult with managers, employees and trade unions in order to achieve commitment to changing patterns of work and the smooth introduction and implementation of changes.

What are the working time options available to older employees?

There are a large number of different working time options available to older workers. The most commonly used flexible working time arrangements are described below

Working hours/ the number of hours worked: Full-time, part-time, job-share, flexible retirement and reduced overtime. Working hours/ when people work: Flexi-time, compressed hours, annualised hours, shifts and shift swapping, reductions in the number of shifts worked by older workers, self-rostering, extra hours and time banks, and working time accounts. Working hours/ where people work: on employers premises, tele-working, working from home. Leave arrangements: short and long leave (paid and unpaid), career breaks, holiday leave, family and carers leave. Other work-life balance arrangements: health, fitness and sports facilities, lifelong learning, personal development and training.

2.3.3 Developing a company work-life balance policy

A work-life balance policy can be useful in establishing clear rules and entitlements, whilst also showing that the organisation has a visible commitment to work-life balance that can help with the recruitment of staff. As a life-cycle initiative it should be made available to all staff. It is important to agree the policy with unions and staff as this is an area that has a direct impact on the working lives of staff.

Consulting with older workers can be a very effective way of finding out about their needs and perspectives. This can be carried out through a variety of methods including staff surveys, focus groups, staff seminars and discussion groups.

Checklist of issues to consider in carrying out a work-life balance survey in your company

£ On average what are normal working hours? Do employees regularly work over these hours? Do meetings extend over normal working times, thereby making it difficult for parents or older workers?

£ What work-life balance options would employees like to avail of (e.g. changes or reductions in shift working, flexi-time, part-time work, partial retirement, shorter working hours, longer working hours, working from home etc) ?

£ If employees change their working patterns, how would the new work arrangement affect colleagues and service provision?

£ What would be the main purpose of a change in working hours (e.g. leisure, hobbies, personal developing and training, improve health and well-being, participation in voluntary or community work etc.)?

£ What are the main causes of imbalance in work and personal life (e.g. long working hours, work pressures, stress, caring responsibilities, ill health, etc.)

Axpo, Switzerland

To enable workers between the ages of 55 and 58 years to progressively reduce their working hours to between 80 per cent and 70 per cent of normal working hours. This is a voluntary scheme that allows older workers to discuss working hours flexibility with their line managers. Because normal retirement age in Switzerland is 65 years, the objective is to retain older workers in the workplace until they reach this age. The company is currently discussing the implications of shorter working hours on pensions and social insurance.

Agder Energy, Norway

Agder Energy has a scheme to motivate employees to stay at work beyond 62 years has been achieved by reducing the working hours of older workers, without an adverse effect on their pay and pension rights. The initiative has been well received and there is a reflection of a more positive attitude to older workers in the company. From 1^st July 2008 Norwegian employees at the age of 60 years became entitled to work shorter working hours. Employees in Norway have 25 working days holiday per year. Employees over the age of 60 years have an entitlement of six additional days holiday per year. In Norway, the ordinary retirement age is 67 years for all employees. Collective agreements make it possible for some groups of workers to retire at an earlier age, while workers can continue working until the age of 70 years. Due to a relatively large uptake of disability pensions, the average retirement age in practice is around 60 years. All employees covered by a tariff agreement – this covers around 60 per cent of all employees in Norway - have the possibility to take early retirement from the age of 62 years. Norwegian government policy has emphasised the need to keep older employees in the workplace for as long as possible. Surveys show that three out of every four people at the age of 60 years want to work. In the past specific problems have existed regarding taxation for people between the ages of 67 and 70 years, which meant that it was not possible to have income from work without loosing a proportion of their pensions. However the government has changed this so that pensions are not adversely affected.