PROCEDIMIENTOS E INSTRUMENTOS DE EVALUACIÓN Y CALIFICACIÓN

Lewis and Smithson (2001, p.1457) use the notion of ‘sense of entitlement’, which derives from social justice theory in order to highlight the different uptake of FWAs between women and men. This concept suggests that workers differentiate between ‘entitlements’ which are perceived as rights, and others which need to be negotiated and/or reciprocated in that they are considered as ‘favours’. Consistent with more recent research e.g. (Russell & O’Leary, 2012, CIPD, 2012; McDonald & Jeanes, 2012), Lewis and Smithson (2001) found that the sense of entitlement is highly gendered and, in the seven EU countries which they studied, men had a lower sense of entitlement than women to use FWAs. The low uptake was also noted in Malta through a quantitative study on the demand of FWAs in the public sector in Malta (Debono & Borg, 2011). This revealed that nearly 27% of women and just 6% of men made use of some type of alternative work arrangement which fall under the umbrella of family friendly measures (FFMs). As an exception to the low uptake by European men, Lewis & Smithson (2001) note that Norwegian and Swedish fathers are more likely to use parental leave which is reserved for them exclusively through a quota than in countries without such policies. This suggests that the importance of FWAs may differ amongst other things, according to the country, its welfare regime and family-related policies, the lack or the availability of childcare, the extent of the gendered division of household tasks and the prevalence of the long hour culture (Eurofound, 2007). These important issues will all be tackled in a separate chapter which focuses on the context of this study (See Chapter 3).

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Gendered assumptions play a significant role in the uptake of FWAs and men, are less inclined to use FWAs for family reasons when compared to women (Mc Donald & Jeanes, 2012; Lewis & Smithson, 2001). Qualitative research suggests that men may be more willing to do so in order to study, in the run-up phase to opening up their business or during their pre-retirement years (Pini & Mc Donald, 2008). In times of economic crisis, which often bring increased job insecurity and heavier workloads, workers, especially those on fixed term contracts, may be more reluctant to use FWAs, as this may threaten their job stability or add problems to their overworked colleagues (Lewis and Smithson, 2001). In their breadwinning role, men are less likely to risk their job and hence are more likely to operate within the ideal worker norms of full-time work rather than opt for reduced workloads or part time work (McDonald & Jeanes, 2012).

Whilst part-time work and reduced work-loads are often seen as way of achieving some form of work-life balance, research suggests that reduced workloads, can also lead to work intensification and a lower income (Kelliher and Anderson, 2009; Lewis and Taylor, 1996). A qualitative study by Lewis & Humbert (2010) which was conducted with French scientists, revealed that women in the organisation were often ready to trade off their wages (20% wage cut) in favour of more flexibility (working a four day week). In spite of a shorter work week, to a large extent, the workers in this study had to assume the same workload. Whilst this arrangement made many of the women scientists happy, men in this organisation were not ready to consider the compressed week option. The implications of such decisions show that men may be less willing to

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cut down on the number of hours they work because this affects their wages negatively. At the same time, such reasoning suggests that on the organisational side, rather than measuring output and productivity, wages are still directly linked to the number of hours worked in-situ.

The reluctance of men to work in flexible ways that reduce their income becomes clearer when one looks at the issue of part-time work. Quantitative research from the UK (CIPD study, 2012) shows that part-time work is the most commonly used FWA arrangement amongst employees whose organisations provide some form of flexible working. Yet only 9% of men use this option when compared to 49% of women who do so. Eurostat Data (2013) confirms this trend across Europe where 32% of women employed in the EU-27 work on a part-time basis, which is a much higher proportion than the corresponding share for men at 9%. Malta follows the same trend, and for every three women working part-time, there is just one man doing so (LFS, 2013). One can assume that some of those working on a part-time basis may be doing so in order to supplement their income whilst studying, rather than as a long term choice (Broughton, Biletta, & Kullander, 2010).

Another possible reason for the low uptake of part-time work by men lays in the fact that FWAs do not all carry the same consequences for workers in terms of career prospects (Rau, 2003). FWAs which result in absences from the workplace (like part- time work or reduced hours) tend to bring more negative consequences with regards to career progression. In line with Single Agenda reasoning, some link this to the belief that the “bodily presence at the office is

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commensurate with organisational commitment and a necessary precursor to career progression” (Pini & Mc Donald, 2008, p.604). Various studies suggest that this underlying assumption seems prevalent not only amongst men but also amongst women who also believe that flexible work can have a negative effect on their career progression (Cahusac & Kanji, 2014; Pini & Mc Donald, 2008). However, it is vital to note that FWAs go beyond part-time work and whilst men may be less interested to reduce their working hours, they may be interested in other forms of flexible work (CIPD, 2012, Debono & Borg, 2011). Finding out which flexible ways of work are more likely to be used by men to integrate paid work with life is of relevance to this study. Recent indicators are showing that there are more men working from home on a regular basis (25%) when compared to women (15%) (CIPD, 2012). A similar pattern was noted in Malta (Debono & Borg, 2011) where the demand for telework from men working in the public sector at 44.1% was higher than the requests made by women (33.2%) to work from home. In spite of this trend, the same study showed that requests from women to work from home through telework were more likely to be approved than when a similar request was put forward by men, in this context (Debono & Borg, 2011).

In order to draw conclusions from this section, it is pertinent to note that whilst FWAs are often presented as a quick fix to the work-life challenge, on their own these do not seem to be sufficient to challenge the “deeply entrenched but outdated assumptions and practices” about ideal worker norms and women’s and men’s roles in the family, at work and in society (Lewis, Rapoport & Gambles, 2007, p.10). Conscious of the multifaceted and complicated

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relationships between gender, work and organisations, it is pertinent to ask how organisations typically react to demands for FWAs. This study uses the CIAR approach in order to look into the possibilities of organisational change. However, Lee, Mac Dermid & Buck (2000) provide a framework based on Organisational Learning theory, through which the readiness or barriers to change in organisations can be measured and assessed. This framework is useful for this study and will be discussed in more detail in the next section.

2.3. Assessing the Readiness or Barriers to Change in