Indian working women seek flexi hours

Women in India desire a better work-life balance. IBN Live reported that they are calling for more flexible working hours, childcare facilities at the office, telecommuting arrangements and understanding husbands so as to help them manage their careers and home well.

Ameera Shah, executive director and CEO of Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, said, “Spouses should understand that it is a juggling act for women and that they have to be supportive. Working women face a lot of domestic hiccups and often have to make a tough decision where they have to work or stay at home. HR policies in their favour would help go a long way and they don’t have to quit their job especially post-delivery.”

According to a report of US NGO Department for Professional Employees (DPE), the number of working women has risen from 5.1 million in 1900 to 18.4 million in 1950 and to 66.2 million in 2009. The number of women in the labour force is projected to be more than 78 million by 2018.

Pooja Kaura, GM-HR, Blue Lotus Communications, added that Indian companies are increasingly adopting work-from-home and flexible working hour policies to provide an ideal working atmosphere for women, just like Western companies have been doing so.

“HR fraternity at large has grown to be very sensitive to the fact that a majority of the work force consists of women,” Kaura said. “More and more companies are fast adapting their policies to suit the requirement of women and help provide options like ‘work from home’, ‘flexi hours’, ‘maternity break’, etc…”

Shah added, “I think as long as the deliverables are clear and the women are performing, flexibility should be allowed.”

It also apprears that men in India are now more inclined towards working women as compared to domicile ones. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Bharatmatrimony.com, said, “Most of the people (who post their resumes) want a working wife. At present, about 80% people want to marry working women.”