This ambitious government campaign targeted employers to promote the benefits of flexible working for all employees.
The campaign was not specifically aimed at parents or carers, although current and planned legislation around rights to apply for changes in the hours, timing or place of work was restricted to employees with caring responsibilities – so the focus for employers and for campaigners continued to be on working mothers, working carers and (at this stage, to a lesser extent) working fathers.
It was launched in March 2000, with a discussion document Changing Patterns in a Changing World, and a Westminster Hall debate led by the Minister for Childcare and Education, Margaret Hodge MP.
The campaign included:
- Employers for Worklife Balance
- The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Worklife Balance
- The Worklife Challenge Fund
- A new worklife module delivered by Investors in People
- A series of worklife balance surveys, of employers and employees
“My hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Ms Drown) asked why we use the term “work-life”. We discussed that extensively. We no longer use the term “family-friendly”—though some hon. Members have used it in our debate—because it tends to make most people think about women and children, and we wanted to extend the parameters beyond that. We thought about “work-home”, but many people work at home, such as those with flexible working practices, given the development of information and communication technologies. We ended up with the term “work-life” because it embraced the concept more fully. It meant that we could respond to the needs of carers as well as parents and everyone who wants a life.” Margaret Hodge MP, Westminster Hall debate March 2000
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/government-calls-better-work-life-balance
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/mar/18/features.jobsmoney4
https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/8789/7/52_1_Redacted.pdf Changing Patterns in a Changing World
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/westminster-hall/2000/mar/09/work-life-balance Westminster Hall debate on worklife balance