The surge in popularity and availability of flexible working is widely believed to benefit groups that are underrepresented in the workforce. And people with disabilities and health conditions are the most underrepresented of all equalities groups, being 28% less likely to be in work than their non-disabled counterparts. However, there is very little evidence on whether the new ways of working established during Covid lockdowns are impacting on disability employment outcomes positively. And the record number of people not in work due to long term ill health suggests this may not be the case.
As such, my new study (with Ben Geiger and Kim Hoque) seeks to understand the nature and extent of flexible working practices in the post-COVID era, how much further they can be pushed, and what is holding them back. Through interviews with a range of businesses we will uncover the factors that either prevent or enable the kinds of flexible working practices that could increase disabled people’s employment opportunities. Our specific focus is on particularly innovative forms of flexible working, which we refer to as ‘Flex Plus’.
What are ‘FlexPlus’ jobs?
FlexPlus is a concept that has emerged from research into the working arrangements people with long term health conditions say they need in order to enter, or remain in, work. Flexibility over hours and location of work has been shown to especially benefit people with fluctuating conditions, as well as conditions causing fatigue, pain and mental distress (i.e., fluctuating energy limiting conditions (FELCs)).
Previous research shows that people with FELCs typically need three types of flexibility in combination:
- Worktime flexibility – the autonomy to spread working hours across the working week, or sometimes across multiple weeks, to accommodate fluctuations in symptoms and capacity for work.
- Reduced hours of work – to accommodate energy limitation, fatigue, and/or the requirements of treatment regimes.
- Working from home – by removing travel and over-stimulating work environments, working from home accommodates limited energy and reduced hours of work capacity. Working from home also allows for much greater autonomy in managing fluctuating symptoms and medical needs than a typical workplace environment.
FlexPlus is so-called that because it involves more than one dimension of flexibility and because it goes further than common understandings of flexible working.
Our research presents case studies of employees and job-seekers who require FlexPlus working arrangements. This allows us to explore the organisational barriers and levers to hiring or retaining such individuals. Below we outline our emerging findings.
Emerging findings from the interviews
- The need for FlexPlus working is recognised. Some employers are already providing FlexPlus or similar ways of working in response to employees developing a long-term condition, usually as a ‘reasonable adjustment’. Most say that these types of health condition and the need for a combination of flexibilities is familiar to them. They also point to other categories of workers to benefit from FlexPlus, such as older workers seeking semi-retirement. Many note that FlexPlus working arrangements, at least for some roles, are easier to provide since remote working became an established practice during Covid lockdowns. Where the role permits, FlexPlus arrangements are working well.
- A possible downside to flexible working legislation. Nonetheless, there are signs that the recent strengthening of flexible working rights may bring risks for disabled employees needing FlexPlus arrangements. Following the introduction of a new law in April, many businesses appear to be redrawing their flexible working policies to prescribe which kinds of flexible working are “reasonable” and which are not. Often these policies appear designed to benefit parents and carers specifically and are not connected in any way with the organisation’s commitment to disability inclusion. In this new landscape, there is a risk that provisions for disabled employees will be overlooked within flexible working ‘menus’ that are not designed to meet their specific needs.
- No benefit for disabled jobseekers. Whilst employers are often willing to carve out a part time, FlexPlus role for an existing employee, disabled people seeking to re-enter the jobs market are almost entirely excluded from FlexPlus working opportunities. There are two key barriers regarding this. First, very few roles are designed and advertised as fully remote, although employers do now anticipate that candidates may seek to negotiate home working during the hiring process. Second, there remains a paucity of jobs advertised on a part-time basis. This remains the most intractable barrier for jobseekers needing a FlexPlus job. The default job in desk-based or knowledge-based roles which can be done from home is full time by design. Negotiating reduced hours at any stage of the hiring process is typically seen by employers as problematic and unwelcome. This poses a formidable barrier for jobseekers with FELCs who can (and want) to work but need significantly reduced working hours.
- Embracing proactive FlexPlus job design. FlexPlus jobs need to be designed or crafted more proactively if employers are to create pathways for disabled people with FELCs to move back into employment. The good news is that all employer participants in the research recognised and acknowledged this need. They unanimously expressed a desire to be able to offer FlexPlus opportunities as a way of bringing disabled talent into the organisation, and they perceived multiple advantages in doing so. Many saw this as the next stage of evolution in new ways of working. But none felt confident that their organisation would, in its current form, be able to proactively offer FlexPlus jobs to disabled jobseekers. They called for research evidence, case studies and toolkits to enable them to find out how to embed FlexPlus ways of working within organisational and job design. They also expressed a need for support in directly targeting jobseekers who need FlexPlus jobs.
Final thoughts
The project will report on its full findings later this year. However, it is already clear that current government policy approaches to getting disabled people into employment (e.g. by placing them under greater pressure to seek work) fall significantly short. Our preliminary research findings suggest that government policy that involves partnering with businesses to create pathways and opportunities for FlexPlus working could prove to be an important part of the solution.