Will the recession help flexible working?

[fruitstick]

A follow on from the news story today that BT are offering part time contracts and extended holidays to their employees.

Do you think the recession will make companies more likely to take on part time staff as they are getting all the experience for a fraction of the cost?

Or will they want to concentrate on people who are prepared to never leave the office?

Am I being optimistic?

ime our bunch of dimwits have got rid of most of the perks of flexible working - and disposed of working from home, cutting hours instead. Effin idiots. Am also looking for another job

Well you would think it would, but because our company is not replacing or covering staff when they go on mat leave or move, my request to reduce my hours due to health reasons as well as having a young DC can't be considered at the minute because there aren't enough people.

that's rubbish rookie

Rookie, that's exactally what they told me to refuse my application for flexible working. They can't afford to have 2 part times, so i have to come back full time or resing.And that would have been diferent without the recession.

I don't know if I'm glad or sad someone else is in the same boat.

One of the CMs other mums announced that she is going down to 3 days, I pretended to be happy but inwardly seething, when is it going to be my turn, stamps feet !

Also seems bizarre when they are actively trying to reduce numbers that they won't accept someone wanting to bring down their costs, oh and I'm not even busy at the minute, grump !

Lots of companies are being much more creative and flexible when it comes to reducing costs than they used to be which is great. But it tends to be deliberate initiatives to avoid redundancies, and is often restricted to set options, and unfortunately doesn't always translate to being more open to individual requests that are not part of a specific initiative.

If a job definitely needs to be covered full time, and therefore allowing one person to reduce their hours means definitely recruiting someone else, then that does cost money and might be refused where it previously might have been agreed.

But where there is a reasonable case for just reducing hours with no extra cost involved, and enabling the employer to save money, I think there might be more people finding requests successful at the moment.