‘We’re not slacking, we’re parenting’: Mums call for fairness and flexibility

Data shows parents are very productive workers, but they operate in a different way, reports Susan Edmunds.

JULIA Kerr can still remember trying to call in sick at work, when her then 21⁄ year-old son had conjunctivitis and could not go to daycare.

She worked in a travel agency and rang her boss. ‘‘Her response was ‘I needed you here 10 minutes ago, so figure it out’.’’

She worked from the time he was three months old until he was 41⁄ ‘‘I found it difficult working with people who didn’t have children,’’ she said. ‘‘They didn’t understand how complex their needs are, and that having childcare arranged doesn’t always mean you will be there hands down. I often felt that colleagues thought it was ‘unfair’ I had extra – unpaid – ‘time off’ because I had a sick child.’’

The issue has come to the fore again after an opinion piece went viral on the internet, in which the writer complained single workers were ‘‘not there to pick up the slack for their married bosses and colleagues’’.

But management experts say the idea of slacking working parents is a misconception.

An Ernst & Young report found women in flexible work were the most productive members of the workforce. They wasted only 11.1 per cent of their time, compared to an average 14.5 per cent for the rest of the workforce.

The research found Australian and New Zealand companies could save at least A$1.4 billion (NZ$1.46b) on wasted wages if they employed more productive female employees in flexible roles.

‘‘In an average year, these women effectively deliver an extra week-and-a-half of productive work, simply by using their time more wisely. In other words, for every 71 women employed in flexible roles, an organisation gains a productivity bonus of one additional full-time employee.’’

Statistics New Zealand research showed 70 per cent of mothers with partners worked, 58 per cent of single mothers and 83 per cent of all women.

Women with partners were likely to take their work home – almost 40 per cent were doing some of their work at home.

Ministry of Social Development data showed that in two-earner households with dependent children, almost 30 per cent worked more than 40 hours a week between them.

Jarrod Haar, professor of human resource management at AUT, said the reality of working parents ‘‘skiving off’’ was nowhere near what people thought.

He said many workers who took time off for family commitments were making up for it at other times.

‘‘When your child finally goes to sleep, whether they are six months or six years, you do more work to catch up in the evening... while those workers with no children might binge-watch TV series. So the co-worker who is grumpy at you doesn’t know what you did after you left the office at 3pm, they think you’ve got it sweet.’’

Elizabeth George, a professor in the Graduate School of Management at the University of Auckland Business School, said workplace resentment signalled a failure of management, particularly around flexi-time arrangements that meant reduced hours for parents.

‘‘Managing people on different time schedules is difficult. Employers have been figuring that out, but the easiest way is to blame the person who is working a part-time job,’’ she said.

‘‘There’s a co-ordination cost in co-ordinating different people doing the same job. Firms don’t always take that into account very well.

‘‘The onus is on organisations to figure out how to create conditions so women can work and it’s organised well, not putting extra work on to someone else.’’

Sometimes one full-time job would end up being more than equivalent of two part-timers, she said. ‘‘It’s a difficult issue, it needs a lot more thought and planning.’’

Haar said trust and communication was important. ‘‘Fairness is such an important workplace factor and people want to be trusted.’’

Kerr said there should be more support for people returning to the workforce. ‘‘More understanding and appreciation for all the roles they’re juggling and more flexible work-from-home options, too. We’re already doing a really hard job but we’re not all cut out to be stayat-home mums. Returning to work would be so much easier and more appealing if we knew we were going to be in a supportive environment.’’

The onus is on organisations to figure out how to create conditions so women can work.’ ELIZABETH GEORGE