Chapter 5: Equity and diversity

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Work-life balance

Work-life balance in its broadest sense can be defined as a person’s satisfaction with their level of involvement in the multiple roles in their life. The broader adoption of work-life balance as distinct from work-family balance recognises both a broader concept of family and the recognition that care of dependent children is not the only important non-work function that employees struggle to balance. In addition to the care of dependent children, other life activities that need to be balanced with employment may include caring for ageing parents or extended family members, study, volunteer work, sport and exercise, and hobbies.

Research has shown that work-life balance initiatives can have a direct impact on employees’ levels of engagement and provide real benefits to organisations through increased productivity, organisational commitment, improved morale and job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, and reduced turnover.²⁶

This year the employee survey asked employees if having family responsibilities and/or using flexible working arrangements were barriers to success or not in their workplaces. Results were encouraging. Sixty-two per cent of employees agreed that family responsibilities were not a barrier to success; 16% of employees thought that having family responsibilities was a barrier to success in their workplace. Fifty-eight per cent of employees agreed that using flexible work practices was not a barrier to success and 16% of employees thought that it was. However, when asked specifically if working part-time was a barrier to success only 47% of employees agreed that it was not a barrier; 23% disagreed and thought that working part-time was a barrier to success.

Agency support for work-life balance

Support for work-life balance is an area of particular strength for the APS and is something that can be built on to market the APS as an employer of choice and to attract and retain employees in a tight labour market. Agencies provide an extensive range of work-life balance options to employees. Employees have a high level of take-up of these options and are generally satisfied with their work-life balance in their current job. It will be important for the APS to continue to do well in this area, particularly as a new generation of employees enters the APS that is likely to view many of these initiatives as their right.

The most frequent work-life strategy used by agencies was part-time work, with all agencies providing this option. Maternity leave at half pay and flexible working hours were used in all but a few agencies. Other very widely used strategies were purchased leave arrangements and working from home (see ATAC study). The use of time off in lieu arrangements, although still used by the majority of agencies, fell in 2006 and the provision of paid paternity leave increased. Table 5.13 sets out the overall frequencyof strategies used by agencies to promote work-life balance.

Around a fifth of agencies reported using other work-life strategies than those included in the agency survey. A wide range of strategies were mentioned including school holiday programmes, health initiatives, and the salary packaging of child care fees.

Table 5.13: Work-life balance strategies available in agencies, 2005–06
Work-life balance strategies	Number of agencies (N =84)
	Yes	Being developed	No	No, but measure provided on an informal basis
Flex-time arrangements for non-APS level employees (e.g. for ELs)	35	0	28	21
Time off in lieu arrangements for ELs	54	1	3	26
Time off in lieu arrangements for the SES	25	0	14	42
Purchased leave arrangements (e.g. 48/52)	71	2	11	N/A
Recreation leave entitlement available at half pay	52	0	31	N/A
Maternity leave entitlement available at half pay	82	0	2	N/A
Paid paternity leave	56	3	25	N/A
Paid adoption leave	62	5	17	N/A
More than 12 weeks paid ‘maternity’ leave	39	3	42	N/A
Paid ‘parental’ leave other than those specified (e.g. maternity, paternity, adoption)	21	0	62	N/A
Job share arrangements	51	1	20	12
Flexible working hours	80	0	1	3
Compressed work week (37.5 hrs in less than 5 days)	29	0	42	13
Working from home	70	2	6	6
Part-time work	84	0	0	0
Other	15	0	21	1
Note: Agencies that did not respond to the question about a particular strategy are not included in the table. Source: Agency survey

In addition to specific agency measures in relation to maternity and paternity leave, all APS agencies are required to provide 12 weeks paid maternity leave under the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 also provides a minimum entitlement to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child, one week unpaid paternity leave around the birth of a child and up to three weeks of unpaid leave as a couple when adopting.

There has been an increase in the total number of women commencing a period of maternity leave (from 2471 in 2004–05 to 2538 in 2005–06). The number was substantially higher than was reported five years ago (1624 in 2000–01). Of the women who commenced maternity leave in 2004–05, 8.0% (198) had separated from the APS by 30 June 2006.

Use of flexible working arrangements

Flexible working arrangements are one of the top five workplace factors that impact on how satisfied employees are with their job, and high levels of satisfaction with this factor were reported in Chapter 3.

Reflecting this satisfaction, employees report high levels of access to a range of flexible working arrangements (see Table 5.14). Eighty-six per cent of employees report using flexible working arrangements in their current job. Women and people with disability were more likely to use flexible working arrangements as were those with carer responsibilities and those working part-time. Employees outside the ACT were more likely to use these arrangements than those within the ACT. Classification had a strong impact on whether flexible working arrangements were used, with APS 1–6 employees more likely to use flexible working arrangements (91%) than either EL employees (73%) or SES employees (52%). The level of use of flexible working arrangements was high across all large agencies ranging from 66% to 97%.

The use of different types of flexible working arrangements among employees varies considerably. By far the most commonly reported mechanisms are flexible working hours and flex-time. The majority of other flexible working arrangements were predominantly used on an ad-hoc basis by a minority of employees. The exception was part-time work, which was not widely used, but when it was used, was used on a weekly basis. Job-sharing is still not widely used in the APS.

Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC)

In March 2005, the formation of the Australian Telework Advisory Committee was announced by Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan to advise on options and impediments to the development of telework for employees and businesses. The committee consisted of representatives from government agencies, industry and small business. This committee provided an opportunity for Government, the private sector and members of the public to share telework experiences and consider strategies to maximise the opportunities and benefits provided by telework for Australian workers.

Telework refers to activities that contractors and employees perform away from an employer’s primary site; it is facilitated by information and communications technology and can contribute to a positive work-life balance. A final report by ATAC that went to the Government early this year (February 2006) found that:

despite research that suggests that employees undertaking telework can be 40% more productive than those in office environments the majority of workers and businesses are still reluctant to use these arrangements
impediments to increased uptake were attitudinal, educational and management related rather than ICT related
telework is able to meet and support society’s changing values and practices by removing traditional constraints of location and time, offering new and innovative working arrangements, satisfying changing expectations of many workers, especially younger workers who are seeking increasingly flexible lifestyles, and facilitating greater workforce participation.

Table 5.14: Use of flexible working arrangements by employees , 2005–06
Flexible working arrangements	Weekly %	Fortnightly %	Monthly %	Ad-hoc %
Flexible working hours	40	7	5	28
Flex-time	18	11	19	38
Time off in lieu	1	1	2	31
Purchased leave	1	1	1	14
Compressed weeks	1	1	0	3
Working from home	2	0	1	15
Working from locations other than your usual place of work	1	1	3	26
Part-time	13	1	0	2
Job share	0	0	0	1
Source: Employee survey

Reflecting the high use of flexible working arrangements, the majority of employees (54%) reported that their flexible working needs were currently being met. However, 22% of employees indicated that they would like to access working from home but currently could not, 10% would like to access flex-time and 9% would like to access flexible working hours and compressed working weeks. Only 5% had no desire to use flexible working arrangements.

The key reasons given for not being able to access flexible working arrangements were that the work demands in an employee’s work area do not allow that degree of flexibility (61%), followed by not being allowed to by management (28%) and not having enough people to allow for that degree of flexibility (23%).

Employee satisfaction with work-life balance

Consistent with the wide range of measures provided by agencies and the high rates of access to flexible work arrangements, satisfaction with work-life balance for APS employees continues to be high. Sixty-eight per cent of employees were satisfied with the work-life balance in their current job, 15% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 17% were dissatisfied.

Women were more likely to be satisfied with their work-life balance than men. There were no differences for the other EEO groups. Younger employees (under 25 years of age) tended to be more satisfied than older workers with their work-life balance.

Those with carer responsibilities were less satisfied with their work-life balance than those without carer responsibilities. APS 1–6 employees were also more satisfied with their work-life balance (70%) than either EL employees (60%) or the SES (42%).

Not surprisingly, satisfaction was also related positively both to satisfaction that an employees’ immediate supervisor would support the use of flexible work practices and support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance, and to satisfaction with their senior leaders in helping staff to achieve work-life balance. Satisfaction with immediate supervisors and senior leaders in this area is discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.

Satisfaction with work-life balance in large agencies ranged from a low of 56% to a high of 80%. Employees in the ABS were significantly more satisfied with their work-life balance when compared with the APS average.

Consistent with their feelings about their satisfaction with their work-life balance in their current job, 63% of respondents also agreed that their workplace culture supports people to achieve a good work- life balance. This was, however, a decrease on last year’s result of 68%. Satisfaction rates are similar to satisfaction rates in a number of other jurisdictions. Fifty-seven per cent of Tasmanian respondents, 60% of Victorian respondents and 65% of Western Australian respondents agreed that their workplace culture was supportive of people achieving work-life balance.²⁷

Women, younger employees (less than 25 years) and employees from small agencies were more satisfied and people with disability and people from non-english speaking background were less satisfied that their workplace culture supports people to achieve a good work-life balance. Consistent with previous results, APS 1–6 employees were significantly more satisfied that their workplace culture supports people to achieve work-life balance (65%) compared with EL employees (59%) and the SES (54%), although differences were not as marked as when employees were asked to think about their current job.

Not surprisingly, as for satisfaction with work-life balance in employees’ current job, satisfaction was also related positively both to satisfaction that an employees’ immediate supervisor would support the use of flexible work practices and support staff to achieve an appropriate work-life balance, and to satisfaction with their senior leaders in helping staff to achieve work-life balance. These issues are discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.

Results for large agencies ranged from a low of 43% to a high of 84%. Employees in the ABS, CRS Australia, DEST, DITR and DVA were significantly more likely to agree that their workplace culture supported people to achieve work-life balance.

Average hours worked in the last six months

Flexible working arrangements are particularly important for employees in balancing their work and outside work commitments when they are working long hours. There continues to be a large number of employees working long hours in the APS. More than half (56%) of employees reported that they worked more or significantly more than their ‘standard or agreed’ hours (or for SES employees a ‘reasonable’ number of hours), on average over the last six months.This was a fall from the 63% who reported working these hours in 2005, but was consistent with the results in 2004.

Although the overall proportion of employees working longer hours has declined, the proportion working significantly more has remained the same (21%). The difference relates to the proportion working more but not significantly more, than their standard or agreed hours (35% down from 42% last year). Reflecting this decrease, the number of people working around their standard or agreed hours increased (42% from 36% in 2005, similar to the proportion for 2004).

Not surprisingly, the number of employees who reported working more, or significantly more, than their agreed hours increased with classification (see Figure 5.16).

Figure 5.16: Proportion of employees working more, or significantly more, than a standard or agreed number of hours on average over the past six months, 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06

Source: Employee survey

Groups more likely to work more than standard and/or agreed (or reasonable) hours were those in the ACT, in small and medium agencies, ongoing employees and full-time employees. This year saw a drop in the proportion of part-time employees working more than their standard or agreed hours.

There was a wide variation among large agencies in the proportion of employees reporting that they had worked more than their standard or agreed hours.The result ranged from a low of 45% to a high of 81%, with employees in ATO and DVA significantly less likely to work more than their standard or agreed hours when compared to the APS average.

Carer responsibilities

A significant proportion of APS employees (38%) reported that they had carer responsibilities (a proportion similar to that found in the last three year’s surveys). Of those with caring responsibilities most had only one form of responsibility (67%), lower than the results for the last two years. However, 32% of carers had two or more different types of caring responsibility.

Carers were most likely to care for children between five and 16 years of age (62% of carers), followed by children under five years old (25%), dependent children over 16 years of age and aged parents (both 19%). This year there was a decline in the number of employees caring for children under five years old and an increase in those caring for aged parents.

This year was the first time that caring responsibilities for partners or extended family members was included as a separate response option. Five per cent of employees indicated that they cared for a partner with acute or long-term health problems and 4% reported that they cared for aged relatives and/or extended family members. Carers were still least likely to care for disabled dependants (2%).

Employees with carer responsibilities were more likely to be women, in the 35–54 year age bracket, at the EL classification, and located outside the ACT. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees continue to be much more likely to report having carer responsibilities (65% compared to 37% for non-Indigenous employees). Employees from a non-English speaking background also report higher rates of caring responsibilities. Carers were more likely to be ongoing and working part-time.

Women and men were equally likely to care for children up to 16 years of age, however, women were more likely to care for dependent children over 16 years, aged parents, aged relatives and/or extended family members. Men were more likely to be caring for a partner with acute or long-term health problems.

Carers were asked how often over the last 12 months they had personally used leave or some other arrangement at short notice to care for those for whom they are responsible. The results are shown at Figure 5.17. Carers were most likely to take between one and five days of carer’s leave (or similar arrangement) (63%) with only 11% taking no such leave. Results were generally similar to results for 2004 and 2005.

Figure 5.17: Proportion of carers reporting days used for carer’s leave or similar arrangements, 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06

Source: Employee survey

There was little difference between women and men in the use of leave, although women were more likely to report that they had not used carer’s leave (13% compared with 8% for men). Employees with disability and employees from non-English speaking backgrounds were more likely to use more than 10 days leave.

Hudson, 20:20 Series/The Case for Work-life Balance: Closing the gap between policy and practice, <http://www.hudson.com.au>
The jurisdictional comparison data from surveys conducted in 2004–05 and 2005–06 was provided to the Commission by the State Services Authority, Victoria (People Matter Survey 2005); the Office of the State Service Commissioner, Tasmania (State Service Employee Survey 2005); and the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, Western Australia (Climate Survey 2005–06). While the Victorian and Tasmanian surveys covered the jurisdiction, the Victorian jurisdictional comparison data was based on web-based responses only. The Western Australian Climate Survey involved 14 agencies—each year 10–15 agencies are surveyed with each agency being surveyed approximately once every 5 years.