The majority (71%) of female survey respondents reported that unpredictable work would affect family life 'a lot' or 'quite a lot', research conducted by representatives of the jobs board Ivee revealed. Half (50%) of male respondents indicated the same thing.
Amelia Miller, founder of Ivee, told HR magazine: "Unpredictable work creates a unique set of challenges for parents, particularly mothers, who take on the bulk of caregiving responsibilities in the UK.
"Because childcare in the UK is incredibly expensive, this demands careful planning. When your work schedule constantly shifts, it becomes nearly impossible to organise around school pick ups, appointments or family routines. What makes this even more stressful is the financial instability that accompanies irregular work.”
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The research comes as the government has confirmed that the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 will not be coming into force as planned this autumn. The Act gave workers with uncertain hours the right to request predictability about their working days and times, the number of hours worked, and the length of their contract.
A representative of the Department of Business and Trade said that the Act was scrapped because predictable hours would be added to a wider Employment Rights Bill.
Stronger policies on predictable work could help close the gender pay gap, explained Miller.
She said: "[Stronger policies are] a crucial step toward closing the gender pay gap, which is largely driven by the ‘motherhood penalty.’
"We see it all too often: mothers returning to work face pay cuts and professional downgrades compared to their male counterparts. That accounts for a staggering 80% of the UK's gender pay gap.
"New predictable working laws will be a game-changer for women in the workplace, and will help to fill the huge number of vacancies we're currently seeing in shift work."
The majority (77%) of survey respondents reported that predictable work was ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important to them. Nobody stated that predictable work was ‘not at all’ important to them.
The research also uncovered that 60% would sacrifice some of their salary for predictable work. Non-parents would not take a pay-cut above 20%. However, 5% of parents agreed to take a salary cut of up to 30%, and 2% selected as much as 40%.
Most (72%) respondents would accept a 30% salary cut in order to have complete control over their own hours.
Read more: Working mothers are being pushed to breaking point
Jane van Zyl, CEO of the charity Working Families, told HR magazine that predictable hours help parents reduce stress and burnout.
She said: “With structured work hours, parents can align their schedules with their children's nursery or school timetables, arranging pick-up, drop-off and additional care when needed. This peace of mind is invaluable. Knowing they can meet both work and family obligations reduces stress and increases their ability to plan ahead.
“Additionally, predictable work allows parents to coordinate other aspects of their day, such as transportation or managing household duties, without the chaos that unpredictable schedules create.”
Researchers found that 79% would consider leaving a job if it was unpredictable, 90% would stay longer at a company that offers predictable work and 80% said unpredictable work would negatively impact mental health.
Of those in unpredictable work, 66% said their job caused them stress; 59% in unpredictable work have experienced burnout due to their job.
HR can improve retention and wellbeing by ensuring that hours are predictable and flexible enough for working parents, according to Van Zyl.
She said: “HR professionals can take away several important lessons from these statistics. First, the desire for predictable work schedules is not merely about convenience but is essential for employee well-being, particularly for parents.
“Second, caring responsibilities should be reflected in job design. HR can improve retention and job satisfaction by offering flexible, predictable schedules. They should also encourage open, human-to-human conversations between managers and employees, allowing parents to express their needs and concerns.”
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HR should find a balance between business needs and the flexibility and predictability required by working parents, said Charlotte Speak, a specialist parental support consultant.
Speaking to HR magazine, she said: “HR, and actually a whole business, needs to see the commercial value of providing predictable hours as well as the duty of care you have to your staff.
“Talk to your people; understand a bit more about what they have going on outside of work, and empower line managers to have conversations that translate into workforce plans that meet a business need and incorporate what your valued talent needs. We have to put the effort in to make it happen.”
Representatives of Ivee, a jobs board for parents looking to return to work, conducted a survey on 5,000 of its members. Respondents represent a diverse cross-section of individuals, varying in age, gender, industry and employment status.
