Here’s about Flexible Working: A Right or a Privilege for Working Mums?
Flexible working has been hailed for decades as a progressive panacea for working mothers. In reality, however, it tends to feel more like a favor bestowed sporadically rather than an entitlement.
The Reality Check
Although the law permits employees to ask for flexible working, most mothers are still able to find it difficult to obtain arrangements that meet their childcare needs. Part-time work is still in short supply, and even where flexibility exists, it has hidden expectations—e.g., being asked to deliver the same amount of work but in a shorter time.
Structural Gaps and Cultural Barriers
Limited Opportunities: Fewer than one-fifth of jobs are ever posted as flexible or part-time, though these jobs are extremely sought after.
Employer Resistance: Most of these requests are denied, generally on unstated business reasons, so that mothers are discouraged from applying in the first place.
Workplace Stigma: Flexible mothers who request flexibility will probably be perceived to be less committed and thus less likely to receive a promotion or any advancement.
Fake Flexibility: The Hidden Strain
Even when flexibility is granted, it does not function in practice. Most mothers indicate that they work outside office hours; commute between childcare and office work; and give up career advancement. This so-called “phony flexibility” produces burnout, lagged development, and anger.
Legal and Cultural Shifts Needed
Courts have said that refusals of flexible working should be justified on sound business grounds, but cultural barriers are entrenched. Change requires more than provisions in legislation—it requires a workplace culture de-stigmatizing flexibility for all workers, not merely as a treat for mothers.
Conclusion: Flexible working should be a right, and not a privilege, for working mothers. For this to happen, businesses need to integrate true flexibility into their systems, accommodate parents without penalizing them, and impose a cultural change that values delivery over hours. Where flexibility is true, families and workplaces both benefit.
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