Figures. What Started Out for Women, Men Now Love, Too

Pretty funny.  All this time we thought flextime was great because its aim was to help us balance careers and home life.  But like just about everything else in the work world, flextime works better for men than for women, a new study has found.

In fact, it may even have an impact on the gender pay gap, as well, reports newswise.com.

Researchers found a considerable 'gender gap' in the income gained through schedule control (having autonomy over working hours), the web site notes. "Both men and women gain additional income when using schedule control mediated via overtime hours," it says. "However, women, even full-time working women, do not reap the direct benefit men do in terms of income gains. In fact, the research suggests schedule control may potentially increase the gender pay gap."

The researchers found that this gender discrepancy exists even when they took into account the gender segregation of the labor market, i.e., sectors and occupations, as well as other characteristics such as an individual's ambition or work devotion.

Originally thought of as a scheme worked up to justify working less hard, it's become an accepted, if not expected, way to work for both men and women.  In fact, 8 out of 10 men (77%) do it, and love it, according to cnn.com.

Another survey of 1,000 men, 65% of whom were married or had a partner and who had an average age of 39, also found that most men prefer a mix of working from home as well as in the office. Of the men surveyed, 25% favored working in the office full time but occasionally from home, followed by 23% who preferred working from home one to two days per week.
 
Also, 47% said they have a formal flex arrangement at work, according to the report.
 
So, who's really benefitting?  I guess we all are.  I know I love it, especially when I have assignments that let me work remotely, which allows me to take time off in the afternoon to get my son from school, or meet a friend for lunch, then work after dinner till bedtime.  I love making my own hours.











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