Contrary to numerous reports that imply women are “opting out” of the work force in large numbers, a study of professional women released today finds that the great majority of those women are negotiating flexible work arrangements as a way to remain in the
workplace, while continuing to see their incomes grow. Study authors say women are leading the way to a new career model for women and men.
The study found that more than 90 percent of the women surveyed have used some kind of flexible work arrangements during their careers; 88 percent of them used flexible work arrangements at some point in their careers to remain employed full time while managing complex lives.
And unlike earlier reports that warned that women who ask for flexible work arrangements will experience decreased earning power, the women surveyed who used flexible work arrangements reported financial success: their incomes were no different than those of women who did not employ flexible work arrangements. More than 85 percent of the women were responsible for at least half of their household incomes.
The women reported negotiating flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, flexible hours, and a limitation on traveling or evening work at various points in their careers, as their primary ways to continue working while managing busy lives outside of work.
Over the past few years there have been a series of media reports in national publications that women were beginning to “opt out” of the work force to stay at home.
The women in our study who used flexible work arrangements did not sacrifice financial success, when compared to those who didn’t use flexible work options. Women are at the leading edge of shifting the career paradigm for everyone. They’re no longer acting as agents of their employers, but as career ‘self agents,’ using flexible work arrangements and setting their own terms of employment as a way to make ‘work work.
SOURCE The Simmons School of Management