Gig Mums: How to Attract and Retain the Female Workforce

Women are a key part of a growing contingent workforce of freelancers, consultants and part-timers, but despite numerous government policies to attract more women back into the workplace once they become mothers, retention is still a significant struggle. John Williams, Head of Marketing at The Instant Group, asks, what if it is our offices themselves that are not fit for modern lifestyle requirements?

Our research indicates that, in general, working mums who return part-time, combining professional careers with raising a family, are increasingly frustrated by the type of space they work in. It appears that the modern workplace often fails to cater for their needs as they face the pressure of combining busy working lives with lifestyle and family obligations.

Numbers Tell the Story

Recent research in the UK shows that nearly one in five working mothers (18%) have been forced to leave their jobs because a flexible working request has been turned down.

In the survey of over 2,000 women, 12% said their employer did not even seem to consider their request at all, and over a quarter (27%) said the reason given for turning down the request was not one which is allowable under flexible working legislation.

Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk, said: “Our survey shows 10% of women describe their job as extremely flexible, for instance, but there is still more to be done to create the kind of workplaces that work for people who need flexibility, for whatever reason.”

Of those surveyed, 41% on maternity leave said the refusal of flexible working would mean they might not return to their job, while 50% said they had not even discussed flexible working before going on maternity leave.

Engaging Women in the Workplace

“My company allows me balance between work and my private life”. Research shows a clear disparity between male and female workers around this statement. Nearly 20% more women than men felt this question was not applicable to them, highlighting the disparity between the sexes and their attitude to the office.

Chloe Hamman, Lead Insights Strategist at CultureAmp, said: “The data highlights a clear difference between the ways men and women are experiencing the workplace, and this comes through with a demonstrable effect to the way they engage with the office and their company.

Additional workplace engagement data from CultureAmp’s study centres on development and opportunity, as well as equal workload sharing, hint at the differences between male and female respondents. This can be linked to spaces that don’t encourage equal participation:

• “People from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed at my company” (-14% difference for women).
• “At my company, there is open and honest two-way communication” (-12% for women) – are conversations going on behind closed doors, or are females being excluded from conversations, particularly decision making?
• “Perspectives like mine are included in the decision making at my company” (-15% for women)
• And then, of course, there is the pay disparity gap that still appears to exist “I believe that my total compensation is fair, relative to similar roles at my company” (-9%). Perhaps not surprising if women feel they are picking up the extra admin tasks and not being compensated appropriately.

The Rise of Female Workspaces

The growth of the contingent workforce has been one of the key drivers behind the move towards coworking, and the promotion of collaboration and flexibility of occupancy and payment. The rise of female-specific coworking spaces is a significant extension to this trend, and highlights some of the limitations of conventional space for female workers.

In the US, female-focused spaces are a growing niche but are also seen as a more adult departure from the “free beer and table tennis” culture that is viewed to be the domain of predominantly male technology startups. While this is a generalisation, it seems to have struck a chord, as female-only spaces are sold out and looking to expand.

• In the US, there is The Wing, a business space just for women, SheWorks Collective, also in Manhattan; New Women Space, in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Hera Hub, in Phoenix, Southern California, Washington, D.C., and Stockholm. “Women are craving community, connection, and confidence, and that’s what we’re going to give them,” says Stacy Taubman, 38, founder of Rise Collaborative.
• In Melbourne, Australia, One Roof is now home to nearly 70 women-led businesses (those with a female founder, co-founder or CEO), across all industries and at varying stages of growth. The space offers a range of flexible membership options from hot-desking to private offices. More than just a coworking space, it offers the targeted support entrepreneurs need to succeed. This includes the One Roof PLUS accelerator programme, networking events, mastermind sessions, business coaching, mentoring and expert seminars.
• In the UK, The Wing is a US-based women-only workspace that has recently ventured into the London market. Blooming Founders is focused on female start-ups and entrepreneurs. One Girl Band is s space that encourages like-minded women to create community over competition. The Cuckooz Nest, while not specifically female-only, does provide crèche and breastfeeding areas, welcoming all parents alike.

While these spaces may initially be viewed as coworking spaces, their ultimate objective is to become networks that facilitate female entrepreneurship and support women at every stage of this journey.

The Blend of Lifestyle and Work for Working Mums

Research shows that lifestyles and workplaces are blending, as the working day demands more of our time and technology encourages an “always available” work culture. For women, in particular, office design is starting to recognise the pressure to achieve a lifestyle and workplace balance – particularly for those who are in part-time roles and arguably have to juggle time more than ever before.

A survey of over 50,000 office occupiers showed that engagement in the workplace stays reasonably consistent between men and women of all groups, but it is the retention of female workers that drops, with 69% of people leaving being female (across all age brackets).

The WorkingMums.co.uk data shows that the number of female workers seeking part-time work, at all levels of the company, is increasing rapidly, but that the number of available opportunities is failing to increase at the same rate. What more can be done?

The survey shows that availability of flexible working is the key career development issue for working mums, with homeworking being valued highly, particularly for those wanting to work full-time. Other barriers included childcare costs – half of women currently on maternity leave said childcare costs could prevent them from returning to work.

The survey shows a divide between those women who have extremely flexible jobs [10%] and those who have no flexibility at all [9%] or whose jobs are “not very flexible” [26%]. It also reveals that:

• Many employers are failing to retain employees after they have finished maternity leave, leaving a gap in skills in the workplace.
• 60% of women said they changed jobs after maternity leave.
• 58% say they are interested in starting their own business or becoming a franchisee.
• 40% of these are actively pursuing ideas and plans.

Research has shown that the ability to be more in control of their hours – not necessarily to work fewer hours – is a key driver for those women who want to start their own businesses after having children.

Flexible working legislation was extended to all employees in 2014, but some provisions of the original legislation, such as the statutory right of appeal, were watered down.

Women in Property Survey

We asked 100 members of Women in Property to fill in a survey about working practices and attitudes to workspace from a female perspective to validate our findings:

Could more be done for office space to appeal to female workers?

• 55% agreed or strongly agreed

How could office design work better for female employees?

• 39% said more space to concentrate
• 23% said childcare facilities
• 20% said amenities like gyms or yoga studios

The next question took a slightly different tack, aimed more at real estate portfolio strategy rather than specific workplaces.

Should future real estate strategy include the provision of workspace nearer to home (to reduce commuting time and ensure we are nearer our families)?

• 35% strongly agreed

Should future real estate strategy include the provision of a wider selection of different workspace choices?

• 86% agreed or strongly agreed

A key element of the move to more remote working and provision of alternative workplaces in real estate portfolios is the provision of technology that enables this form of working.

Should future workplaces include the better integration of technology between home and work?

• 85% agreed
• 4% disagreed

We took the opportunity to ask this cross-section of women from the property sector whether they believed the growth in female-only workplaces was positive, such as those highlighted in NYC and Australia, and the response was interesting. More than 30% disagreed, 11% did so strongly, and just over half said that they neither agreed nor disagreed. Not quite the reaction we had anticipated, despite the anecdotal evidence in the market from those coworking centres that are already supplying female-only workplaces.

In fact, the strength of the reaction was borne out by the comments that accompanied this question – with more than three quarters choosing to make a direct reply. Comments ranged from “working in a workplace where the employees are talented and motivated is more important to my business than the gender of the employees” to “a mix of all genders, ethnicities etc. makes for a more productive workspace and nicer environment” and “diversity is critical to maximising the effectiveness of a business.”

The potentially greater male emphasis on workplace design is also raised again by one respondent, “Women and men, both based on emotions, hormones and realistically how their physiology has been built over time, respond differently to various situations, both in the home and work environments. By providing a workplace which allows women to react based on instinct, rather than in a more masculine way (industry often calls for this method of approach), and balancing the wider workplace with this type of culture and environment, will see enhanced support to businesses. Making thought processes more dynamic or widely understood, and ways of approaching tasks and activities more suitable for the person, be they female or male.”

Some of the answers did relate to the previous question on the provision of better amenities and onsite childcare as being critical to enticing female workers back to the office after having children. One respondent said, “As an HR practitioner, I have witnessed the difficulty women face returning to work following childbirth. In too many cases, the financial cost of childcare precludes them from returning, especially if they have more than one child. Having an on-site childcare facility which is subsidised by the employer would be a great help. An on-site facility would also enable mothers to breastfeed as required and give peace of mind, knowing that they are close by should their child fall ill. Offering flexible working hours and enabling parents to work from home would also aid retention.”

Bringing Balance Back

The vast majority of responses reflected the need for a balanced workplace, one that has a proportionate mixture of male and female employees. One participant flagged the interesting issue of pressures on fathers returning to work, and also the potential knock-on effect of those colleagues without children. “I think the work-life balance and flexibility should apply across the board. Fathers deserve just as much opportunity to be part of their children’s lives. Similarly, the childless should not always be expected to work longer hours and take on additional pressures simply because they have not had children themselves. Work-life flexibility and a balance with home life should be universal.”

This sentiment is echoed by other respondents who flagged the pressures on both parents. “For us to fully make it a flexible office space, it must first look at the deeply embedded sexist culture of assuming the man’s job will not be affected after having a child. To be truly progressive; offering a number of ‘family days’ for both mum and dad to attend assemblies and doctor’s appointments, etc., would enable a fairer system for all involved. Flexible working with multiple offices/sites and 4G connectivity would be a great help, allowing for fully mobile working.” The same respondent also flags other interesting policy approaches such as company-sponsored childcare schemes (and removing them from state-control) that would put the onus on on-site childcare that would improve quality and offer a more practical solution.

A variety of other interesting ideas around amenity provision were raised, such as making air-con more female-friendly. “For instance, air con is always tuned to men in suits (hence cold), which is an issue particularly in summer when societally accepted dress codes suggest light dresses and shoulder-free tops for females”.

Other suggestions included more private space to facilitate phone calls to carers, more flexible hours to work around pick up/drop off hours, and a change in working hours during long summer holidays when childcare becomes problematic. The idea being that all of these ideas work for both male and female family members, thereby removing the emphasis on the mother.

Workspace is responding to customer choice in a more flexible and agile way, driven by market demand for a variety of space and options. Our research clearly shows that among the divergent demands of much of the workforce, the requirements of working mothers, in particular, need to be addressed.

This does not mean segregation or any form of separation via design but rather integration – integration of workplace and lifestyle elements to alleviate pressure on work/life balance – and recognition of the demands the working day places on them.

 

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