Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Knowledge Work and Flexible Working: Helping or Hindering Working Women?

  • Chapter
Book cover Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

Abstract

Women’s workforce participation and advancement still lag behind those of men. This is true despite two recent trends that could have been expected to facilitate women’s careers: the rise in knowledge work and the increase in flexible working. This chapter contrasts the potential of knowledge work and flexible working for facilitating gender equality at work with an analysis of their hidden and lesser discussed gendered implications. Certain characteristics of knowledge work pose challenges that women find disproportionately more difficult to deal with than men. Flexible working, especially when undertaken from home, often results in gendered practices and stigmatisation that hinder women’s careers. The chapter brings together empirical evidence from a broad range of studies to discuss these hidden consequences of knowledge work and flexible working for women’s workforce participation and advancement and to identify implications for research, practice and policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Association of University Women (AAUW). (2013). The simple truth about the gender pay gap, Fall 2031 Edition. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P., & Kalleberg, A. (2005). Organizations and the intersection of work and family. A comparative perspective. In S. Ackroyd, R. Batt, P. Thompson, & P. S. Tolbert (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of work and organization (pp. 52–73). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, M., Del Campo, R., & van Buren, H. (2011). The impact of gender-differentiated golf course features on women’s networking. Gender in Management, 26(1), 37–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asher, R. (2011). Shattered. Modern motherhood and the illusion of equality. London: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, K. (2010). The equality illusion. The truth about women and men today. London: Faber and Faber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baréz-Brown, C. (2011). Shine: How to survive and thrive at work. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • BBC. (2011). New paternity leave rules affecting men come into force. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12949382. Accessed 10 Oct 2012.

  • Bergman, A., & Gardiner, J. (2007). Employee availability for work and family: Three Swedish case studies. Employee Relations, 29(4), 400–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Besseyre des Horts, C., Dery, K., & MacCormick, J. (2012). Paradoxical consequences of the use of Blackberrys. An application of the job-demand-control-support model. In C. Kelliher & J. Richardson (Eds.), New ways of organising work. Developments, perspectives and experiences (pp. 16–29). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, H. (2001). ‘You’re only as good as your last job’: The labour process and labour market in the British film industry. Work, Employment and Society, 15(1), 149–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bøgh Fangel, A., & Aaløkke, S. (2008). Getting the job done: The impact of employees’ conception of work on work-life balance. In C. Warhurst, D. R. Eikhof, & A. Haunschild (Eds.), Work less, live more? Critical analysis of the work-life boundary (pp. 136–152). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolchover, D. (2005). The living dead. Chichester: Capstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, H. (2007). Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, H., Erickson, M., Stephenson, C., & Williams, S. (2000). Myths at work. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadbridge, A. (2008). Barriers to ascension to senior management positions in retailing. Services Industries Journal, 28(9–10), 1225–1245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunting, M. (2004). Willing slaves. London: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnett, S., Gatrell, C., Copper, C., & Sparrow, P. (2011). Fatherhood and flexible working: A contradiction in terms? In S. Kaiser, M. Ringlstetter, D. R. Eikhof, & M. Pina e Cunha (Eds.), Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals (pp. 157–172). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cable, V. (2010). Speech to the Liberal Democrat Party Conference. http://www.newstatesman.com/2010/09/government-party-coalition-tax. Accessed 2 Apr 2011.

  • Cappelli, P. (1995). Rethinking employment. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 33(4), 536–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, S., Shaw, E., Wilson, F., & Lam, W. (2007). Gender, entrepreneurship and bank lending: The criteria and processes used by bank loan officers in assessing applications. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 31(3), 427–444.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catalyst. (2012). 2012 catalyst census: Fortune 500 – Summary. http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/2012-catalyst-census-fortune-500. Accessed 8 Jan 2014.

  • Clifton, J., Dolphin, T., & Reeves, R. (2009). Building a better balanced UK economy. London: Institute for Public Policy Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cusk, R. (2008). A life’s work. On becoming a mother. London: Faber and Faber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darr, A., & Warhurst, C. (2008). Assumptions, assertions and the need for evidence. Debugging debates about knowledge workers. Current Sociology, 56(1), 25–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Man, R., de Bruijn, J., & Groeneveld, S. (2008). What makes the home-boundary porous? The influence of work characteristics on the permeability of the home domain. In C. Warhurst, D. R. Eikhof, & A. Haunschild (Eds.), Work less, live more? Critical analysis of the work-life boundary (pp. 92–114). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dex, S., Willis, J., Paterson, R., & Sheppard, E. (2000). Freelance workers and contract uncertainty: The effects of contractual changes in the television industry. Work, Employment and Society, 14(2), 283–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duxbury, L., & Smart, R. (2011). The ‘myth of separate worlds’: An exploration of how mobile technology has redefined work-life balance. In S. Kaiser, M. Ringlstetter, D. R. Eikhof, & M. Pina e Cunha (Eds.), Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagle, A., & Carli, L. (2007). Women and the labyrinth of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 85(9), 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eikhof, D. R. (2014). The transorganisational context of creative production: Challenges for individuals and management. In C. Bilton & S. Cummings (Eds.), Handbook of management and creativity. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eikhof, D. R., & Warhurst, C. (2013). The promised land? Why social inequalities are systemic to the creative industries. Employee Relations, 35(5), 495–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eikhof, D. R., Warhurst, C., & Haunschild, A. (2007). What work, what life, what balance? Critical reflections on the work-life balance debate. Employee Relations, 29(4), 325–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eikhof, D. R., Carter, S., & Summers, J. (2013). “Women doing their own thing”: Media representations of female entrepreneurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurship Behaviour and Research, 19(5), 547–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2012). Digital agenda for Europe (Europe 2020 flagship initiative). Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm. Accessed 6 Aug 2012.

  • European Communities. (2004). Facing the challenge. The Lisbon strategy for growth and employment. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). (2011). European Company Survey 2009: Part-time work in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat. (2012). Employment statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Employment_statistics#Employment_rates_by_gender.2C_age_and_educational_attainment. Accessed 8 Jan 2014.

  • Eurostat. (2013). Gender pay gap statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Gender_pay_gap_statistics#Gender_pay_gap_levels. Accessed 8 Jan 2014.

  • Felstead, A., Jewson, N., & Walters, S. (2005). Changing places of work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleetwood, S. (2007). Re-thinking work-life balance: Editor’s introduction. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(3), 351–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2004). The rise of the creative class. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. (2002). Cool, creative and egalitarian? Exploring gender in project-based new media work in Europe. Information, Communication and Society, 5(1), 70–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. (2010). Life is a pitch: Managing the self in new media work. In M. Deuze (Ed.), Managing media work (pp. 249–262). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulding, C., & Reed, K. (2010). To downshift or not to downshift? Why people make and don’t make decisions to change their lives. In P. Blyton, B. Blunsdon, K. Reed, & A. Dastmalchian (Eds.), Ways of living. Work, community and lifestyle choice (pp. 175–201). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabher, G. (2004). Learning in projects, remembering in networks? Community, sociality, and connectivity in project ecologies. European Urban and Regional Studies, 11(2), 103–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haunschild, A., & Eikhof, D. R. (2009). Bringing creativity to market. Actors as self-employed employees. In A. McKinlay & C. Smith (Eds.), Creative labour (pp. 156–173). London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, C., Duxbury, L., & Lee, C. (1994). Impact of life-cycle stage and gender on the ability to balance work and family responsibilities. Family Relations, 43(2), 144–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). (2009). Male and female participation and progression in Higher Education. http://www.hepi.ac.uk/files/41Maleandfemaleparticipation.pdf. Accessed 12 Oct 2012.

  • Hill, E. J., Carroll, S. J., Jones, B. L., Buswell, L. A., Fackrell, T. A., & Galovan, A. M. (2011). Temporal workplace flexibility and associated work-life outcomes for professionals. In S. Kaiser, M. Ringlstetter, D. R. Eikhof, & M. Pina e Cunha (Eds.), Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals (pp. 209–224). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, A. R. (2003). The second shift. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C., & DeFillippi, R. J. (1996). Back to the future in film: Combining industry and self-knowledge to meet the career challenges of the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive, 10(4), 89–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, S., Ringlstetter, M., Eikhof, D. R., & Pina e Cunha, M. (Eds.). (2011). Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalleberg, A. (2000). Nonstandard employment relations: Part-time, temporary and contract work. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 341–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkwood, J., & Toothill, B. (2008). Is entrepreneurship the answer to achieving work-family balance? Journal of Management and Organisation, 14, 285–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kylin, C., & Karlsson, J. C. (2008). Re-establishing boundaries in home-based telework. In C. Warhurst, D. R. Eikhof, & A. Haunschild (Eds.), Work less, live more? Critical analysis of the work-life boundary. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacInnes, J. (2008). Work-life balance: Three terms in search of a definition. In C. Warhurst, D. R. Eikhof, & A. Haunschild (Eds.), Work less, live more? Critical analysis of the work-life boundary. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mäkelä, L., Vesa Suutari, V., & Mayerhofer, H. (2011). Lives of female expatriates: Work-life balance concerns. Gender in Management, 26(4), 256–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlow, S., & McAdam, M. (2011). Gender and entrepreneurship: Advancing debate and challenging myths; Exploring the mystery of the under-performing female entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 19(1), 114–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maybery, P. (2006). Work-life balance policies and practices in the UK: Views of an HR practitioner. In P. Blyton, B. Blunsdon, K. Reed, & A. Dastmalchian (Eds.), Work-life integration. International perspectives on the balancing of multiple roles (pp. 28–41). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayerhofer, H., Müller, B., & Schmidt, A. (2011). Working in polycontextual environments: An empirical analysis of flexpatriates’ lifestyles. In S. Kaiser, M. Ringlstetter, D. R. Eikhof, & M. Pina e Cunha (Eds.), Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, E. P. (1997). When work doesn’t work anymore. Women, work and identity. Rydalmere: Hodder & Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musson, G., Tietze, S., & Scurry, T. (2006). Feeling guilty, being left behind and letting bureaucracy in by the backdoor: The hidden aspects of homebased telework and managing the work-life boundary. Paper to the 24th annual international labour process conference, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, S., Robertson, M., Scarbrough, H., & Swan, J. (2002). Managing knowledge work. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2013). Patterns of pay: Results from the annual survey of hours and earnings, 1997 to 2012, http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/patterns-of-pay/1997-to-2012-ashe-results/patterns-of-pay-2012.html#tab-Pay-differences-between-men-and-women. Accessed 8 Jan 2014.

  • Peper, B., Dikkers, J., Vinkenburg, C., & van Engen, M. (2011). Causes and consequences of the utilization of work-life policies by professionals: ‘Unconditional supervisor support required’. In S. Kaiser, M. Ringlstetter, D. R. Eikhof, & M. Pina e Cunha (Eds.), Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perlin, R. (2012). Intern nation. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilkington, E. (2007). Six in 10 US BlackBerry users check emails in bed, survey finds. Guardian, 28(July), 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pongratz, H. J., & Voß, G. (2003). From employee to ‘entreployee’: Towards a ‘self-entrepreneurial’ work-force? Concepts and Transformation, 8(3), 239–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randle, K., & Culkin, N. (2009). Getting in and getting on in Hollywood: Freelance careers in an uncertain industry. In A. McKinlay & C. Smith (Eds.), Creative labour. London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randle, K., Wing-Fai, L., & Kurian, J. (2007). Creating difference. Hatfield: Creative Industries Research & Consultancy Unit, University of Hertfordshire.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, K. (2007). Work-life balance – The sources of the contemporary problem and the probable outcomes: A review and interpretation of the evidence. Employee Relations, 29(4), 334–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, A. (2009). Nice work if you can get it. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouse, J. (2011). Entrepreneur labour capacity embedded in the TSOL in the micro-enterprise household. Paper presented at the 33rd Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouse, J., & Kitching, J. (2006). Do enterprise support programmes leave women holding the baby? Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 24, 5–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in: Women, work and the will to lead. London: WH Allen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schor, J. (1991). The overworked American. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scottish Executive. (2002). Equality proofing procedures in drafting legislation: International comparisons, Edinburg. www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/04/14506/2653. Accessed 12 Oct 2012.

  • Sealy, R., & Vinnicombe, S. (2012). The female FTSE board report 2012, international centre for women leaders. Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, Bedford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, R. (1998). Presenteeism, power and organizational change: Long hours as a career barrier and the impact on the working lives of women managers. British Journal of Management, 9(3, S1), 37–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, R., & Lewis, P. (2007). Voice, visibility and the gendering of organizations. London: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skillset. (2008a). Feature film production. Workforce survey report. London: Skillset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skillset. (2008b). Balancing children and work in the audio visual industries. London: Skillset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skillset. (2009). Why her? Factors that have influenced the careers of successful women in film & television. London: Skillset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skillset. (2010). 2010 creative media workforce survey. London: Skillset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiess, C., & Wrohlich, K. (2006). The parental leave benefit reform in Germany: Costs and labour market outcomes of moving towards the Scandinavian model. Institute for the Study of Labor. http://ftp.iza.org/dp2372.pdf

  • Stone, P. (2008). Opting out? Why women really quit careers and head home. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Styhre, A., & Eriksson-Zetterquist, U. (2008). Thinking the multiple in gender and diversity studies: Examining the concept of intersectionality. Gender in Management, 23(8), 567–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, C. (2000). Space and the intersection of work and family in homeworking households. Community, Work & Family, 3(2), 185–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S., Suzana (2009). Confessions of a city girl. London: Virgin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamkin, P., Rick, J., & Bates, P. (2000). Equality proofing in performance review In the civil service. Institute for Employment Studies. http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/equalprf_tcm6-2217.pdf. Accessed 12 Oct 2012.

  • Thanki, A., & Jeffreys, S. (2006–2007). Who are the Fairest? Ethnic segmentation in London’s media production. Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 1(1), 108–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trust, S. (2006). The educational background of leading journalists. London: Sutton Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCTAD. (2008). Creative economy report 2008. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warhurst, C., Eikhof, D. R., & Haunschild, A. (2008). Out of balance or just out of bounds? Mapping the relationship between work and life. In C. Warhurst, D. R. Eikhof, & A. Haunschild (Eds.), Work less, live more? Critical analysis of the work-life boundary (pp. 1–21). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warhurst, C., Hurrell, S., Gilbert, K., Nickson, D., Commander, J., & Calder, I. (2009). Just ‘mothers, really’? Role stretch and low pay amongst female classroom assistants. In S. Bolton & M. Houlihan (Eds.), Work matters. Critical reflections on contemporary work (pp. 180–196). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Fiona Millar for her flawless support in preparing the manuscript.

Some of the material presented here has also been included in D.R. Eikhof (2012) ‘A double-edged sword: 21st century workplace trends and gender equality’, Gender in Management, 27(1), 7–22.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leicester School of Management, Leicester, UK

    Doris Ruth Eikhof

Authors
  1. Doris Ruth Eikhof
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doris Ruth Eikhof .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management College of Business Administration, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

    Mary L. Connerley

  2. Department of Management and Marketing School of Management, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Jiyun Wu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Eikhof, D.R. (2016). Knowledge Work and Flexible Working: Helping or Hindering Working Women?. In: Connerley, M., Wu, J. (eds) Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9897-6_21

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9897-6_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9896-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9897-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation