WORKPLACE CULTURE
Men Who Flex: Why more men are taking a flexible approach to work SARAH BEHENNA
H
ave you been noticing more of them around your office? Progressive male models and the emerging breed of flexible men are on the rise in private legal practice. These men may still look a little out of place, depending on where you work, and are certainly outnumbered in the senior ranks. But a generational shift in the partnership mix (and a little nudge from a pandemic) is changing the way law firms look. And it’s about time. Essential elements for the effectiveness of flexible work include modelling positive behaviours and a strong firm culture. Additionally, Paul Gabrynowicz, a Consultant at Sparke Helmore Lawyers, describes that the secret to working flexibly is to ensure relationships with your employer and with your colleagues are based on trust. “Give and take is required. The result may not always be equal as long as it is fair. Sometimes you will give more. Sometimes less is more. And so trust is engendered,” he explains. After a number of years away from practicing law, in 2005 Gabrynowicz, joined the Adelaide office of Sparke Helmore, a large, national, full-service law firm. “I generally work Monday to Thursday but that too can vary depending on workload and the needs of the team. During busy times, I have accumulated several extra working days which I then “cash-in” for extra long weekends and extended time off. Not only are my days and weeks flexible, but also my start and finish times. I’m often in the office early, but then leave early. On other occasions I start late so I can drop grandchildren at school,” he explains. Gabrynowicz observes that an exceptional few are able to work 10 hours a day, five or six days a week, but
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those who do are often unaware that they have become less productive in the process. Instead, he appreciates that working flexibly allows him to spend more time with his wife and family, to more fully engage in his sporting and non-work activities, and allows him to take a more relaxed approach to life. “As an experienced practitioner, I’ve become highly efficient too, making this arrangement a win-win for Sparke Helmore and for me.” In addition to their Flexible Work Policy, Sparke Helmore also has a Career Break Policy and the ability to purchase additional annual leave so that workers can access a number of options to suit their needs. “While policies and information are important, what is crucial for people to take them up is a culture and environment that demonstrates support and encouragement for people to do so,” says Katrina Cooper, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Sparke Helmore. Flexibility is positioned at the firm as a business tool to support the firm’s strategy by meeting the needs of their people and enabling them to better respond to clients’ changing needs. It is promoted as a gender-neutral offering available to men and women to assist them with managing their responsibilities and interests in and outside of work. The firm’s Flexibility Network was established in 2019 to shine a spotlight on the need for flexible arrangements in the workplace, to work towards removing the stigma sometimes associated with working flexibly, and to suggest positive ways working flexibly can succeed. Its members include people from each of their offices, across legal and support teams and all roles, including partners. Before the pandemic, 52% of Sparke
Helmore’s people worked flexibly and 79% of their people reported they had the flexibility they need to manage work and other commitments. With the emergence of COVID-19, the firm benefited from efforts that were already in place to support flexibility and was able to mobilise the majority of their workforce to work from home consistently without interruptions to servicing clients. They continue to encourage and monitor the uptake of flexible work arrangements, formal and informal, and seek their employees’ and managers’ views about how the firm can enhance the program.
DEFINING FLEXIBLE WORK The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) defines flexible working as an arrangement which gives employees the ability to have some control over when, where and how work is accomplished. Emma Walsh, the CEO of Parents At Work, a social enterprise providing education and policy advisory services to create family friendly workplaces, goes further with her definition. She explains that flexible work is a mindset; it’s not just about when you work or where you work. “It’s a way of working that adapts to the daily needs and challenges that arise in an employee’s working day and life.” Recent 2020 WGEA data1 shows that 60% of law firms say they hold their leaders accountable for improving workplace flexibility. The data also shows that 95.8% of law firms (within the data set) have a flexible working arrangement, such as a strategy or policy, in place. This has increased from 84.8% as first reported in 2014, the year the Agency started collecting data.
