Alternative work arrangements

Men are more likely than women to report flexible working hours

• The most common form of alternative work arrangement for both sexes in 2001 was flexible hours (35% of all employees), followed by weekend work (29%). Men were more likely to work flexible hours (37% versus 33%), while more women tended to work Saturdays or Sundays.
• The incidence of flexible hours was more common among workers in business services (42%), information and cultural industries (41%), and the retail trade and consumer services industries (39%). About 6 in 10 employees in the retail trade and consumer services industries usually worked weekends.
• The incidence of various work arrangements was also related to the educational attainment of workers. For example, the university-educated reported the greatest incidence of flexible hours (48%), but seldom had regularly scheduled weekend work (15%).
• Reduced and compressed work weeks were not widespread, with each being reported by fewer than 1 in 10 workers. The age, occupation and industry groups with the highest incidence of reduced work weeks were youth (20%); marketing/salespersons (21%) and retail trade and consumer services (14%), respectively.

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