A new study, conducted by the Working Families charity, has discovered that over a third of working parents (34%) say they don't feel able to exercise their rights to flexible working hours.

The study, carried out in partnership with Kleeneze on 2000 working parents across the UK, also discovered that many working parents believe employers need to offer more practical help in order to help them achieve a better work and life balance.

The recession appears to be having an impact too, with 37% of working parents believing it has had a negative effect and has led to them working even longer hours. This tends to reflect the results of another study we recently wrote about that concluded that almost half of men don't take paternity leave due to money worries. The Working Families study suggests that many parents are unhappy with the situation, with 64% feeling like they'd let their children down by not being there enough for them.

The situation seems to hit men the hardest, with 36% feeling they have no flexibility with their work hours, and 53% having to miss school events because of work.

The research has been conducted to promote awareness of flexible working hours and remind employers to review their policies to make sure this is incorporated.

The government claim that 95% of requests for working hours are accepted, but this doesn't seem to be backed up by this research. A lot of businesses seem to miss the point that flexible working patterns for working parents can lead to a lower staff turnover and high productivity.

Have you tried to exercise your rights for flexible work hours?

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