Transcript Improving sustatainability of TfL's office portfolio

Why do we need flexible working?
The Case for Flexible Working
Rachel Skinner, President
Women’s Transportation Seminar London
Demographic and Social Trends
Current trends:
 In 2008, there were more pensioners (65+) than children (<16) in the UK
 Average age of first time mothers: 28
 Average family size: 1.8 children
 47% of the workforce is female (rising to 48% by 2012)
 By 2010: just 20% of workforce will be white, non-disabled men <45 years
working full time
DWP suggests that 80% of current workforce growth is women
Source: work foundation
Demographic and Social Trends - 2021 and Beyond
Future predictions:
 By 2021:
12m people will be over 65 - up to 10m people will be carers
44% of the female workforce will work part-time (compared with 11%
of the male workforce)
 By 2030:
25% of the population will be single parent families
20% of the workforce will be mothers
Source: work foundation
Construction Industry Needs in Greater London
Growth generated by Olympics, Crossrail, Thameslink, M25 widening, tube
upgrades, Thames Gateway growth area etc
London construction sector overview
Infrastructure construction growth is five times
higher than the average across all sectors
5
25%
4.1
20%
4
2.8
3
2.2
10.5%
2
1
15%
10%
8.2%
0.7
1.1
0.9
1.1
5%
1.2%
0.2%
0.3
0
0%
Public housing Private housing Infrastructure
Public nonhousing
Industrial
-0.8%
Source: Office of Government Commerce, Jan 2009
New work
Commercial
-2.3%
Housing
-0.2%
Non-housing
1.1%
Repairs & maintenance
(2009-2013)
Output
Growth
Annual average growth %
Current construction output (£bn)
Current output and projected growth
UK Transport Resources - Demand & Supply Estimates 2007-2013
112
2007
110
2013
105
100
96.9
Nos of People (000’s)
95
90
87.4
85
83
75
72.9
Demand
Supply
70
65
60.7
60
54.5
55
25
52.4
22.8
20.3
20
18
15.8
16.8
16.5
14.7
15
All Transport
Transport
Planning
Source: Project Brunel Industry Report – Final Jan 2009
14.0
Highways
Engineering
Railway
Engineering
All Transport
Transport
Planning
Highways
Engineering
Railway
Engineering
Key Demographics
(Source – ECUK 2008)
6
Why flexible working?
 People want flexibility for different reasons, e.g.
 Parenting
 Caring for older relatives
 Studying
 Reducing hours around retirement
 Work in the community
 People want flexibility over time and space
 Research shows a preference for:
 variable working hours, while ensuring their job is done
 a combination of workplace and home working
Source: Work Foundation
Who benefits?
 Flexible working can benefit both women and men
 In recent years, women who leave or languish in the workplace can
be likened to
“the canaries in the coal mine, the first and most conspicuous
casualties of an out-dated, dysfunctional career model”
Patricia Fili-krushel, Executive Vice President of
Administration, Time Warner
Work/Life Balance Benefits: a Case Study
 Steve Newman, Environmental Team Leader in Mouchel's Brighton
office and retained fire-fighter
“Most of the time my fire-fighting doesn’t conflict with my work, but
there are times when I get called out .. and may be out for much of
the day at an incident”
 Steve has negotiated a contract with fixed yet flexible hours
 The company also benefits from Steve’s skills and training
 e.g. as a qualified risk assessor, he trains for work colleagues
Retention Benefits: a Case Study
 Staff turnover costs £7,750 per employee, rising to £11,000 for senior
managers
(CIPD average)
 Even in a downturn, employers need to retain skilled staff to retain their
competitiveness
 BT Business Case
 Implemented a flexible working strategy: ‘Freedom to Work’
 Staff turnover has dropped to just 3% per year
 UK average is 22.6% (private sector) and 13.7% (public sector)
 99% of BT’s female employees return to work after maternity leave
 UK average is 47%
 This level of retention saves BT
an estimated £5m per year
Employee satisfaction & productivity benefits
People who work flexibly are more emotionally engaged and satisfied
CIPD Research
70 million working days are lost each year for mental health reasons;
employees say that 1 in 7 of these are due to stress and depression directly
caused by work or working conditions
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health study
on Mental Health in the Workplace
Productivity of BT home workers has steadily risen since 1998, by as much
as 30% in some years
BT
89% of workers agreed that “having more choice in working arrangements
improves workplace morale”
DTI
Current good practice
Examples identified in WTS London Workshop – January 2008
 Revisit the job definition – does it really need to be full-time with fixed hours?
 Analyse the business needs and find out what works
 Get senior level buy-in, then lead by example
 Educate HR teams and line managers in good practice
 Articulate the business benefits, using best practice examples
 Have pragmatic discussions with employees – what is (and what is not) possible
 Build in performance objectives to meet demands and agreed targets
Source: Work/Life Balance: Work/Life Choices
WTS London
In summary
“Flexibility is one of the elements of the overall model of work that has
the greatest potential for opening up choices for individuals,
improving employee engagement and, if other conditions are met,
improving productivity.”
Transforming Work – Research report by the Work Foundation