Australia can boost gender equality, strengthen workers’ economic security, and make work more sustainable by redesigning jobs to give people greater choice and control over how their work is performed, according to new research released today by the Working for Women Research Partnership.

The research is led by the University of Sydney Business School's Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work in collaboration with the Australian Government’s Office for Women, researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Indigenous People and Work at University of Technology Sydney. It examines the role of high-quality flexibility in creating opportunities for workers, supporting employers to attract and retain talent, and reducing barriers that prevent many Australians from fully participating in the workforce.

The research finds some groups experience additional barriers to good flex and have a real need for it. These groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, sole parents, women living with chronic illness or disability, migrant and refugee women and those living in regional areas.

The findings are published in a major report Good Flex, Bad Flex: Designing Flexibility for Gender Equality, which included a survey of more than 6,000 Australian workers across occupations, role types and genders, as well as focus groups and yarning circles with 400 women in the mid-years 40 to 55 range.

Professor Rae Cooper, Co-Lead Chief Investigator of the research consortium, said:

“Everyone is talking about flexible work, but we need to be much more precise about what we mean. There is a world of difference between ‘good flex’, where workers have some choice and control over their hours and shifts, and ‘bad flex’, where schedules change to suit the employer and workers have little say.

“The debate often starts and ends with working from home at the moment. But that means too many workers miss out. Nurses, retail workers, tradies and many others cannot do their jobs from home. They still need flexibility, whether that means a predictable roster, a say in their shifts, or working hours that make caring possible.

“Our study shows that good flex delivers positive outcomes for workers’ health and wellbeing, supports care and can improve retention. When employers are struggling to find and keep skilled people, that matters for everyone, workers, employers and for a flourishing Australian economy.”

Professor Elizabeth Hill, Co-Lead Chief Investigator, said the research pointed to practical steps that could deliver benefits for employers and workers alike.

“The research focuses on the ‘mid-life collision’ that exemplifies the working lives of many Australian women aged 40 to 55. Squeezed from all sides, women in these mid-years are working hard, caring for school-aged and adult children often alongside older family members, and too often doing it in workplaces that give them little say over their hours.

“For women caring for family members with disability or chronic illness, caring across extended family networks, or managing their own health challenges, it can become a perfect storm,” she said.

“Workplaces need to respond if they want to keep these talented, educated and motivated women in work. These women want and need good jobs, and workplaces need them.

“When workplaces are designed to support participation, they not only improve outcomes for women, they also create opportunities for men to take on caring responsibilities while helping employers respond to labour market pressures.”

The reports distinguish between ‘good flex’ and ‘bad flex’, arguing that not all forms of flexibility produce the same outcomes. While high-quality flexibility can increase freedom, security and workforce participation, poorly designed flexibility can reduce predictability, limit career progression and deepen existing inequalities.

Professor Cooper said the evidence showed that good flexible work arrangements could help address longstanding workforce participation challenges while supporting family life and economic security.

"The most successful organisations recognise that flexibility is a workforce sustainability strategy. Done well, it expands the pool of available talent, improves retention and enables people to contribute throughout different stages of their lives."

An accompanying Actionable Insights Report makes practical recommendations in areas where the Australian Government has levers to act, including through partnerships with employers, state governments and unions. Everyone has a role to play. The aim is mutual gains: giving workers more control over their hours and more room to care, while helping employers retain skilled people.

Associate Professor Brendan Churchill, University of Melbourne Lead for the Working for Women Research Partnership said:

"More than half of women in bad flex expect to leave their job within the next year. Each of those exits is a skilled, experienced worker walking out the door. Good flex is how you keep them.”

The report also found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women face some of the widest gaps in the country between the flexibility they want and the flexibility they have.

Professor Nareen Young, Director of the UTS Centre for Indigenous People and Work (CIPW) and a Co-Lead of the research consortium, said:

“Indigenous women are among the hardest hit by bad flex. The flexibility they're offered doesn't account for the cultural and extended-family care responsibilities they carry. Their pay, job security and career trajectories all suffer for it and these losses compound across a working life.”

“This gap is most pronounced for Indigenous women in their 40s and 50s, a period where pay and career progression typically peak. These women show incredible strength and resilience through their commitment to care responsibilities, but without good flex, it costs them dearly.”

Joshua Gilbert, CIPW Assistant Director, said the research showed Indigenous women are experiencing flex through a lens of systemic racism.

"Our yarning circles revealed flexibility is often left to the discretion of non-Indigenous managers who are ignorant to Indigenous ways of caring. Even when cultural leave is available, Blak women are hesitant to use it due to the additional scrutiny and suspicion they face from managers and co-workers.”

The research forms part of the Australian Government-supported Working for Women Research Partnership, a five-year collaboration bringing together leading researchers from universities across Australia to build the evidence base for advancing gender equality in work and economic participation. The partnership is designed to inform government policy, industry practice and workplace design through research and actionable recommendations.