Workplace flexibility matters more to men than to women, at least in terms of who takes advantage of such benefits.
Men were more likely than women to report using such work-life balance benefits as flex time, child care, paid and unpaid leave and even transition back to work from leave, according to a study of 902 working adults by Harris on behalf of the American Psychological Association's Center for Organizational Excellence.
The pollsters asked workers how often they utilized various types of benefits that fall under the flexibility or work-life balance definition. They also sought input about tendencies to interrupt work time with non-work matters, such as personal communications or taking care of family matters. Finally, they asked how often work intruded on personal time.
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In all cases, men were far more likely to say they took advantage of work-life benefits, interrupted work with personal matters, and interrupted personal time with work, than were women.
Among the specific finding, men were more likely to:
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Use child care benefits (9 percent vs. 2 percent);
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Take personal time off (9 percent vs. 4 percent);
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Use flexible schedules regarding how many days a week they work (15 percent vs. 9 percent);
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Take paid leave (7 percent vs. 1 percent);
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Take unpaid leave (9 percent vs. 3 percent);
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Use phased transitions, including gradual return from leave (8 percent vs. 1 percent).
The study noted that men were "more likely than women to say their employer offers many work-life benefits, which could contribute to these disparities."
Asked about interruptions, men were more likely than women to report they interrupted work to:
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Take care of personal or family needs during work (46 percent vs. 38 percent);
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Respond to personal communications during work hours (64 percent vs. 56 percent);
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Address personal or family responsibilities when they are working from home (35 percent vs. 22 percent).
"Similarly, men are more likely than women to say work interrupts their non-work time," the study said. "More than a quarter of men say they regularly bring work home (30 percent vs. 23 percent), work during vacations (31 percent vs. 19 percent), allow work to interrupt time with family and friends (31 percent vs. 19 percent) and bring work materials with them to personal or family activities (26 percent vs. 12 percent)."
On the other hand, women appeared to be more skillful than men at making decisions related to work-life balance. They reported:
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Having more control over whether they are able to keep their work and non-work lives separate (79 percent vs. 70 percent);
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Investing a lot of themselves in family (77 percent vs. 67 percent);
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Feeling like they have gotten the important things they want in life (67 percent vs. 58 percent).
Finally, women were more likely to say they were motivated by their work (80 percent vs. 72 percent), were satisfied with their jobs (74 percent vs. 66 percent) and had a positive relationship with their boss or supervisor (80 percent vs. 71 percent). Perhaps not surprisingly, they were generally less likely to say they intended to leave their jobs in the next year.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
