Flexible working might be beneficial for employees' health if they are allowed to have input into their own working patterns, a review by Cochrane researchers has suggested.
There is evidence to suggest that flexible working might be beneficial for employees' health if they are allowed to have input into their own working patterns, a review by Cochrane Researchers suggests. The study may throw some light on potential health benefits associated with current trends towards more flexible working in the UK and Europe.
In Scandinavian countries, flexible working arrangements for employees with families are commonplace. And last year, the UK government extended an earlier piece of legislation allowing parents of young children to request flexible working, meaning all parents with children under 16 now have the right to request flexible working arrangements. Although it is assumed that such policies are beneficial, it is important to try to understand health impacts in more detail.
UK Government Has Reneged on Pledge for Flexible Working in NHS
The government has reneged on its pledge to provide more flexible working in the NHS, says the Medical Women’s Federation in Postgraduate Medical Journal.
The government has reneged on its pledge to provide more flexible working in the NHS, says the Medical Women’s Federation in Postgraduate Medical Journal.
"Flexible working seems to be more beneficial for health and wellbeing where the individuals control their own work patterns, rather than where employers are in control," said the review lead, Clare Bambra of the Wolfson Research Institute, Durham University in the UK. "Given the limited evidence base, we wouldn't want to make any hard and fast recommendations, but these findings certainly give employers and employees something to think about."
Co-author Kerry Joyce, also based at the Institute, added: "We need to know more about how the health effects of flexible working are experienced by different types of workers, for instance, comparing women to men, old to young and skilled to unskilled. This is important as some forms of flexible working might only be available to employees with higher status occupations and this may serve to increase existing differences in health between social groups."
New UK Policy Threatens The Flexible Working Scheme
The British Medical Association (BMA) said that the financial crisis would put an end to the new scheme, which helps the lady doctors wanting to work part-time after childbirth.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said that the financial crisis would put an end to the new scheme, which helps the lady doctors wanting to work part-time after childbirth.
Source-Eurekalert
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BMA Calls for Flexible Working as Number of Women Doctors Swell
The NHS must provide more flexible working, the BMA says today, as new figures show that female doctors embarking on NHS careers outnumber men by almost three to two.
The NHS must provide more flexible working, the BMA says today, as new figures show that female doctors embarking on NHS careers outnumber men by almost three to two.
Home Workers Worry a Lot About Career Progression
A new research has suggested that employees who work from home have increased fears about career progression than office employees, despite having reduced stress levels.
A new research has suggested that employees who work from home have increased fears about career progression than office employees, despite having reduced stress levels.
