Over the course of their careers, employees undergo changes in their personal lives that may cause shifts in the work/life balance. Improvements in technology and communications have made flexible working increasingly attractive for employees at all levels, and this is reflected in legislative and policy initiatives that seek to protect the rights of contract and part-time workers and make flexible working more attractive for both employees and businesses.

News/Articles
WLPS analyses Work/Life practices in Europe
The effective navigation of work and live is becoming increasingly important. To better understand how and why companies take initiatives to tackle the challenge of Work/Life “European Diversity Research & Consulting” conducted the WLPS research project. For further information, please visit this website.

Single people feel discriminated against at work .The full article is available to read.

Terms
You can read some terms and their meanings relating to flexible working.

Facts

			Studies show that many more women are staying in work after having a baby, many are returning part-time to make it easier to combine work with childcare, and many more would like the choice to be available for them.
			Increasing numbers of people are combining part-time work with studies or are reducing working hours before retirement.
			Britain has seen a significant increase in part-time work - the TUC estimates that over six million people now work part-time, i.e. 25% of the workforce.
			Studies show that British workers work the longest hours in Europe. Stress has been found to be the greatest cause of absence from work, and many organisations, despite encouragement from government and evidence of the benefits of good practice, have yet to introduce family-friendly policies.

Legislation

			Part-time Workers (prevention of less favourable treatment) Regulations 2000 The Regulations state that it is unlawful for employers to treat part-time workers less favourably in their terms and conditions of employment than comparable full-time workers.
			The UK Regulations on Fixed Term work came into force in October 2002.
			Flexible working - the right to request The Government is committed to helping working parents. From 6 April 2003, parents of children aged under six or disabled children aged under 18 have the right to apply to work flexibly and their employers will have a duty to consider these requests seriously.

Stress
The UK's Health and Safety Executive defines stress as "the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them". Pressure is part and parcel of all work and helps to keep us motivated . But excessive pressure can lead to stress which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill. The HSE website contains guidance, good practice and other interesting articles about stress.

To check if you are suffering take this Burnout Self-Test.

There is also information and tips on stress management.