ArticleJournal of epidemiology and community health2025
Does the 'right to request' flexible work policy influence men's and women's uptake of flexible working and well-being: findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study.
Article in Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Caring Flexibly? Working Conditions and the Supply of Adult Care.Health economics · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe 'right to request' flexible working policy has been gradually extended and, by 2014, extended to cover all workers with at least 26 weeks of continuous employment. The impact of these policy changes is unclear. This research aims to assess the effects of the 2014 policy reform on the uptake of flexible working and its impact on health and well-being, focusing on gender differences.
methodsData were drawn from waves 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2010-2020). We employed a doubly robust difference-in-differences method to estimate the average treatment effects on the treated of the 2014 policy reform. This analysis examined the effects on the uptake of flexible working, mental and physical health, and satisfaction with life, job and leisure.
findingsThe 2014 policy reform increased women's uptake of reduced hours work arrangements, with the effect growing stronger over time. However, no increase in uptake was observed among men. No strong effects were found for flexitime or teleworking arrangements for either men or women. Additionally, the policy reform resulted in a reduction in psychological distress and improved life satisfaction among women.
conclusionsThe reduction in women's psychological distress and improved life satisfaction might be partly explained by the increased women's uptake of reduced hours arrangements, which may have enabled women to better meet their family care demands. However, even the gender-neutral policies on flexible working may inadvertently exacerbate gender inequalities in labour force participation by pushing women more into part-time work.
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