The macho, long-hours culture is still prevalent at the top of many organisations. No wonder so few women take up a place in Britain's boardrooms
I'm writing this column on the day designated by the TUC as "Work Your Proper Hours Day". So I was delighted to receive the following out-of-office email message when I tried to contact an entrepreneur to get some input into the piece: "Half term. I've taken two days off to be with my family. Back Friday." How refreshing. It's the modern equivalent of "Gone fishing".
It's not the kind of message I get from executives in big companies when they're on holiday—if they allow themselves to take holiday, that is. They certainly don't appear to eat. Phone an executive between 1pm and 3pm and their PA will inform you that they are "in a meeting". What's wrong with "Gone to lunch"?
According to the TUC, nearly five million people in Britain regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers an average of £4,955 of free work a year. And a recent survey by the Chartered Management Institute found that the average manager worked one hour and 18 minutes over contract each—day-or the equivalent of two months' extra labour every year.
The long-hours culture is one area where bosses certainly lead by example. It is received wisdom that you can't hold down a top job unless you work long days, long weeks and—when you aren't actually at work, remain umbilically attached via your BlackBerry. No wonder most women jump off the corporate career ladder to set up their own businesses, where they have more control over the way they work and live.
The statistics on women executives make depressing reading. According to the 2007 Female FTSE research by Cranfield School of Management, there are just 13 female executives on FTSE-100 boards, down from 17 in 2003. There are only two female chief executives, and 24 companies in the FTSE-100 have no women on the board at all.
This is, arguably, less of a problem for the women themselves than it is for the companies that don't utilise their talents. Women represent more than 50 per cent of graduates in the European Union, the US and across the OECD, so companies unwilling or unable to attract and retain women will become casualties in the intensifying war for talent. Women are also the biggest consumers. In the US they now make 80 per cent of consumer spending decisions, including on cars, computers and financial products. The UK is not far behind. And, crucially, evidence is mounting that companies where women make up one-third or more of the board or senior management are more profitable than those with only a few, token women.
Yet despite all the column inches and conference platforms devoted to the problems surrounding the dearth of female executives, the situation isn't improving. The popular mantra focuses on changing cultures and attitudes. The fact that the number of female non-executive directors (NEDs) in FTSE-100 companies rose last year to 110—up from 102 in 2006 and just 60 in 2000—suggests the approach is starting to bear fruit. But the number of women in full-time board roles will never rise until the structure of organisations and jobs change. Most women—and, I dare say, most men—don't want to sacrifice other aspects of their lives for the sake of a job. And these days, most top jobs are simply too big to be done by one individual.
The concepts of job sharing, part-time and flexible working should be taken more seriously at executive level. People would be far more productive if they had the incentive of more time off. I have been much more focused, efficient and profitable since I decided to take school holidays off with my son rather than working round the calendar.
In the early days of the 21st century heroic displays of stamina should not be the criterion against which we judge someone's ability to do a job, at whatever level. The fact that they are indicates a failure of performance management systems. Most of us are knowledge workers, and most of us are connected by phones and computers, so in many ways the daily slog into the office is as antediluvian as the quill pen. Gosh, is that the time? Must dash...
Jane Simms is the former editor of Financial Director and Marketing Business.
