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20 Work and Life: Achieving a Balance and Planning for the Future
The Observer, in association with the Department of Trade and Industry (www.dti.gov.uk/work-lifebalance) published a special supplement on 3 March 2002 entitled Work Life Balance: Redressing an Imbalance. The government had launched its Work Life Balance campaign in March 2000 making it a priority to promote the benefits of flexible working practices. The problem caused by excessive hours is not only an issue in education as evidenced in the Teacher Workload Study, but requires a change to the pervasive UK work culture which makes people feel they have to be seen to work very long hours. The initiative is aiming to cultivate conditions where employers can see the benefits of adapting traditional working practices to enable workers to ask for alternatives. Increased flexibility means happier, healthier, more motivated and more productive staff. Current practice in schools needs to be reformulated to make this possible. The pace of change will not reduce nor will the need to perform better in a context in which transformations in technology require schools to meet the pace of change head on. Overwork and inflexible working practices mean a less productive teaching force with recruitment and, particularly, retention problems. A better work–life balance can support developments associated with many of the issues we have addressed in this book – productivity, motivation, performance, morale, loyalty and creativity – to help staff with family and caring responsibilities. If a school can retain its staff by looking after them better they will contribute more positively. The European Working Time Directive (1998) which limited working hours in the European Union (EU) to 48 hours, with an opt-out clause for the UK, needs to be explored more fully in the education context. A new issue which is emerging is for fathers who want quality time with their children, not just paternity leave. Are there staff in your school whose work–life imbalance is impacting on their effectiveness as staff and as people? How do you know if this is the case? Has the school policies or practice to manage this? EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEES AND THE LONG HOURS CULTURE The work–life balance originally developed as an issue for women with the recognition that significant numbers of married women and women in long-term relationships worked full time and managed the home largely on their own. 207
