Britain's flexible and part-time working arrangements are failing to meet the needs of working women and men, leaving 5.6 million people, 4 out of 5 of Britain's 7 million part-time workers working in jobs that do not use their potential, according to the results of the EOC's year long investigation..  Over 3.5 million of these actually used higher qualifications or skills or had more supervision/management of staff in previous jobs, and a further 2 million believe they could 'easily work at a higher level'.

The investigation's final report, Britain's Hidden Brain Drain, highlights the damage caused by old-fashioned thinking about work, which leads to men, who mostly work full-time, working among the longest hours in the EU and to women, who mostly work part-time, ending up in low paid jobs with no prospects.  Women part-time workers are earning 40% less per hour than men working full time – about the same pay gap as 30 years ago – and employers are failing to make best use of their considerable skills and experience.  At the same time, employers and employees face an epidemic of work-related stress as work intensifies and Britain burns out.  DTI estimate that stress at work now costs the UK £3.7 billion a year.

So now is the time for fresh, flexible thinking about the nature of work itself and to transform the quality of life in Britain. The report looks at the benefits of flexible working  which we see as a key tool to unblocking the hidden brain drain which our research has revealed amongst part –time and older workers in particular.

Although flexible, work is growing in Britain, fixed rather than flexible working hours remain the norm. damaging our economy as well as individual's health and welfare. Too many people, are either over worked, stressed or under utilised.. The report exposes a range of findings form the investigation and highlights the three key barriers to change;

§        good communication and trust is key for flexible working to succeed, but managers often do not have the right skills. Confidence and attitudes to implement flexible working and employees can sometimes be unrealistic about what is achievable.

§        The labour market is inflexible and offers restricted opportunities and sometime s pensions penalties for people who may want to work flexibly

The dominant model of work is inflexible, seeing flexible working – whether full or part-time as a "deviation" from the full time, inflexible norm.

So the EOC is calling on the government to;

§        extend the right to request flexible working to all, to halt this waste of potential and to stop the economic and human damage caused by work-related stress

§        enable training and advice for managers in how to manage flexible employees, with free or subsidised training for small businesses

§        provide a financial incentive for small employers to open up flexible working . This should, go some way to covering any initial cost. The incentive would last for a trail period and would allow the employer and employee time to evaluate the effects of flexible working

There are also recommendations to employers and unions.