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Men have all the flex when it comes to corporate flex time

Posted at 11:00 PM, Oct 21, 2014
and last updated 2014-10-21 23:00:47-04

(CNN) — I have long thought millennials, who expect flexibility in the workplace, would be the group that would bring an end to the stigma that is too-often associated with flex time — the belief that wanting a flexible work arrangement means you aren’t willing to work as hard.

But now I’m thinking it’s going to be men who will get us there.

A new report by the Working Mother Research Institute had some fairly startling findings: Nearly eight out of 10 men (77%) say they have flexible work schedules and nearly the same amount (79%) say they feel somewhat or very comfortable using flex time.

The online survey of 1,000 men, 65% of whom were married or had a partner and who had an average age of 39, also found that most men prefer a mix of working from home as well as in the office. Of the men surveyed, 25% favored working in the office full time but occasionally from home, followed by 23% who preferred working from home one to two days per week.

Also, 47% said they have a formal flex arrangement at work, according to the report.

“Men not only want flex, they are using it confidently — in numbers that rival women,” said Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media. “It means that workplace flex is no longer a working mother, or even a women’s, issue. It’s an everyone issue, which lends more fuel to the argument that flex works, no matter who you are.”

The Working Mother report, which was sponsored by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, follows other surveys that are helping to change the narrative that work-life balance is strictly a concern of women. It’s not.

According to a survey last year by the Pew Research Center, 50% of working fathers said it was very or somewhat difficult to balance the responsibilities of their jobs and their families — nearly as many as working mothers agreed (56%).

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