Does the ‘right to request’ flexible work policy influence men’s and women’s uptake of flexible working and well-being: findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study
Baowen Xue, Heejung Chung, Ran Gu, Anne McMunn · 2025
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Description
Baowen Xue and co-authors assess a United Kingdom policy that lets workers ask for flexible work, in a 2025 study. By 2014 the right covered all workers with at least half a year in the job, but its effects were unclear. Using a long household study from 2010 to 2020, the team compared changes for men and women. They tracked uptake of flexible work plus health, mood, and satisfaction with life and job.
The reform raised women's use of reduced hours, and the effect grew over time. No rise appeared for men, and no strong shift hit flexitime or home work for either sex. Women's mental distress fell and life satisfaction rose. Readers learn how a neutral rule can still widen gender gaps at work.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Baowen Xue, Heejung Chung, Ran Gu, Anne McMunn |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 28 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |