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Right to Request could provide more work/life balance than extra annual leave time posted by Robert LaJeunesse - 14 May 2009

Right to Request could provide more work/life balance than extra annual leave time.

By granting employees a “right to request” work time variations through the Fair Work Act, Australia is joining an elite class of European nations that take a pragmatic approach in addressing the polarization of hours endemic to market economies today. (See Aequus Partners’ April 09 Diversity and Flexibility e-newsletter for a comparative review of right to request laws in Europe). Pioneered in the Netherlands, the “right to request” has afforded many Dutch workers the ability to voluntarily switch to part-time work. Indeed, such labor supply adjustments have been a significant factor in the “Dutch Miracle” of low unemployment and stable economic growth. In the midst of the global financial crisis, unemployment has averaged 2.7 percent (OECD harmonized rate) for the last six months in the Netherlands.

Leveraging the Dutch experience
Witnessing the success of the Dutch economy, many labour market observers have called for an increase in annual leave as a work-sharing program that would stabilize employment and improve work/life balance (See www.timeday.org). Although increasing access to annual leave may give harried parents the opportunity to recharge their batteries or take time off to address some urgent need, it is does little to relieve the hustle and bustle of a hectic weekly routine. Having an extra week of vacation or sick leave does not allow workers to commit an extra afternoon a week to their children, ageing parents, or community members. Giving time-starved workers access to regular weekly work time reductions will afford them a better work/life balance across the entire year and encourage a more “socially-redeeming” use of leisure time.

The stress paradox
In some cases, having an extra week of vacation time may increase work/life stress as many families might feel compelled to use the extra time on holidays or on greater consumption. When they return from their marginally longer holiday, they are likely to find that their weekly life is just as harried and perhaps more so if they are now forced to work longer weekly hours to pay down the vacation debt. Alternatively, if workers were given a few hours off per week or stayed home every other Monday, they could schedule activities that improved their work/life balance and were not dependent on greater consumption. The environmental benefits of less conspicuous consumption and fewer days commuting to work should not be overlooked.

Unexpected employer benefits
Employers are also likely to prefer the predictability of revamped weekly schedules to the uncertainty of longer vacation and sick leave requests. Moreover, it is important to note that many “right to request” laws (Germany and Netherlands) allow workers to request longer hours. Although the number of workers actually making such requests is minuscule, their presence has made it easier for employers to accommodate those seeking shorter hours.

Going forward
Given that “right to request” laws are a pragmatic and largely voluntary means of addressing the polarization of work hours that has caused time and income stress for many working families, the Australian Government should continue to expand and improve the legislation in line with the best practices emerging from around the globe.

Robert LaJeunesse is the author of Work Time Regulation as Sustainable Full Employment Strategy: The Social Effort Bargain. http://www.routledgeeconomics.com/books/Work-Time-Regulation-as-Sustainable-Full-Employment-Strategy-isbn9780415460576

Robert LaJeunesse, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Newcastle