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The report analyzes the article 'Concerns inflexible working hours for men could be damaging women's careers' and highlights key HR issues such as working hours, leaves and benefits, and unequal gender roles. Recommendations are provided for HR managers to provide a balanced work life for employees.

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Executive Summary
The report throws light on the different issues relating in the modern landscape of the Australian
Workforce. The basis on the argument related to the report has been provided by the article-
`Concerns inflexible working hours for men could be damaging women's careers`. The article
presents the various issues which take place in the work environment and the gender inequality
which extends. Hence, the report lays down analysis of the various issues as presented in the
article which is then followed by a set of recommendations for the same based on which the
different Human resource managers in Australia can provide the employees with a balanced
work life.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Summary of the article.....................................................................................................................3
Key human resource issues..............................................................................................................4
Working hours.............................................................................................................................4
Leaves and Benefits.....................................................................................................................5
Unequal gender roles...................................................................................................................6
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The Human resource management function is considered to be a crucial aspect of the
organization whereby it becomes increasingly important for the different members of the
organization to ensure that they are aware of the different benefits as provided by the
organization at large in order to take benefits (Abc.net.au., 2018). With the recent awareness
with respect to the equality of gender roles, the maintenance of the work life balance is
considerably important not only for the women but also for the men. For this reason, the primary
aim of the report is to highlight the increasing demand for the paternal leave by male employees
and how it is considered to be crucial for the different organizations to consider this as a growing
trend. Hence, this report will summarize the article which will then be followed by a critical
analysis of the key topics related to Human Resource Management. The latter half of the report
will provide recommendations on the same.
Summary of the article
The article named `Concerns inflexible working hours for men could be damaging
women's careers` has been penned down by Alina Eacott was posted on 31 August, 2018. The
article talks about the gender inequality with respect to the paternal leave and the flexible
working hours with respect to men and women (Abc.net.au., 2018). There have been increasing
cases in Australia whereby the male members of the organization have been demanding for a
paternal leave and flexible working hours. However, as stated by the authors, this has been a rare
case whereby some of the Human Resource departments of an organization have found the issue
difficult to comprehend, because it has been unheard of. However, the article also states that the
gender roles with respect to the development of the child need to be equal and as the women
employees are generally provided with flexible working hours with extra leave but men are not

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allowed to do so due to which they are unable to spend adequate time with their children and
moreover, acts as a hindrance to the career of the wife. For this reason, it is stated that the
workplaces need to understand that along with women, even the men need to have a flexibility in
their work life so that the parenting roles can be shared equally.
Key human resource issues
The article highlighted various new trends and topics relating to the human resource
management in Australia and identified certain issues with respect to the working life of the
employees and their additional benefits which are generally provided to them (Stone et al.,
2015). The different key human resource issues which will be identified are as follows:
Working hours
The working hours which are generally provided to the employees has become a source
of key concern for the different members of the organization. This means that due to the
increased competition as existent in the workplace and in the general business environment as
well, the working hours of the different employees have increased considerably and many of the
employees in order to ensure that they are successfully able to abide by their work environment
tend to work overtime which completely has an impact on their personal life. According to
Albrecht et al., (2015), the concept and issue of working hours is largely related to the
phenomenon of a work life balance.
According to Marchington et al. (2016), work life balance is said to be an important
aspect of the employment where the organization is essentially required to ensure that the
different workers of the organization tend to have a work load and related quality of work life
which essentially assists them to maintain a healthy work life balance. A healthy work life

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balance goes a long way in ensuring that the different employees enjoy adequate home life as
well and are able to pay attention to the different people at their home as well. In the same way,
the quality of work life at the workplace also needs to be improved. According to Reiche et al.
(2016), the quality of work life at the workplace can be essentially described as techniques of job
enrichment so that the workplace can be largely elevated. As given in the case study, due to the
home duties as completed by the women employees they are often provided with flexible
working hours and leaves so that they are able to manage their work life balance successfully
(Tatli et al., 2017). However, this is not the case with the male employees and the different male
employees often tend to work overtime and are not allowed to have flexible working hours
which then hinders their work life balance and has a key impact on their personal life balance.
Leaves and Benefits
The leaves and benefits as provided to the different employees are often considered to be
an essential aspect of their work life employment. Stone (2017) states that the right combination
of the benefits when provided to the employees may go a long way in providing the organization
with a suitable work life and also tends to ensure that the different employees at the work place
have an access to adequate leaves as well as benefits. However, the benefits are considered to be
discriminatory in nature and are often allowed to a certain group of employees and are not
allowed to another group. According to Jackson, Schuler & Jiang (2014), this discrimination at
the work place often tends to leads to a misbalance at the work place and a sense of biasness. The
maternity leaves which are provided to the various mothers who are expecting a child is often
considered to be a biased benefit which is provided to the women employees because very often
this might be the case that the male employees are often not granted a paternity leave because it

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is believed that they have no major role to play in the development of their child. Larrieta‐Rubín
de Celis et al., (2015), this is the reason why the male employees often are not provided with
adequate flexible working hours which then restricts them with spending time at their homes and
fulfill their specific duty. For this reason, it is crucial that these employees are provided with
equal leaves and benefits which will then allow them to perform well. In relation to this, the two
factor Herzberg`s theory can be given whereby it is stated that a mix of motivating as well as the
hygiene factors when provided to the different employees will go a long way in ensuring that the
employees are motivated to work in a better manner and that they can contribute adequately to
the welfare of the organization (Bratton & Gold, 2017). The article identified that when the male
employees are not provided with the flexible work hours and other leave benefits then it tends to
have a direct impact on the career of their wives as well and even the father misses out on the
development of the child. This may often cause a sense of resentment among the employees and
may reflect on their quality of work.
Unequal gender roles
Another issue which was identified in the chosen article is that the gender roles at the
workplace are often considered to be unequal. According to Brewster (2017), although the
different organizations often tend to state that they follow equality among the job roles and other
such aspects but this is often not the case and for this reason, there exists a glass ceiling which
clearly differentiates between the two genders. Moreover, in order to ensure that these gender
roles are often equalized, the women at the workplace are often allowed additional leaves and
benefits which then tends to make the men feel quite negative in nature and they often miss out
on the essential aspects of life. Brewster, Chung and Sparrow (2016) states that as a result of the

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inflexible working hours not provided to the male employees as compared to the female
employees, the career development of the wives of male employees are often at stake. For this
reason, when the female employees want to join the workplace after a break, they find it difficult
due to the inconvenient working hours of the male employees. For this reason, Reiche, Harzing
and Tenzer (2018), believe that any organization in the present work environment with special
reference to Australia need to ensure that the engage in effective career development and
planning for their employees such that they are allowed to have a paid flexibility at the
workplace and when they decide to re-join the workplace, they can then be allowed to adjust
adequately.
Recommendations
Hence, after analysis of the case from the article with respect to the concerns of the
inflexible working hours as provided to the different employees, it can be rightfully stated that in
order to ensure considerable success in the organization, the human resource department has a
strategic role to play and for this reason the following recommendations have been made so that
the organizations in the Australian workplace will be able to successfully manage their different
employees.
1. Providing equal benefits the employees
Irrespective of the gender and the other family backgrounds, the different employees as
present in any organization need to be adequately provided with an equal opportunity at the
workplace (Chelladurai & Kerwin, 2017). Whether this opportunity is with respect to the leaves
allowed due to child care or to the additional benefits provided to the different employees, it can

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be stated that if both the male as well as the female employees need to be provide with equal
child benefits which shall then a go a long way in helping them to lead a balanced work life.
2. Ensuring that the female employees are provided with facilities which provide them with
an easy entrance into the organization. Although the different female employees at the
workplace are allowed a comfortable leave which will then allow them to adjust with
their life, their entrance into the workplace becomes quite difficult and hence, it is
suggested that with respect to the changing needs of the different human resources as
present in the business domain, these employees must be allowed to have a comfortable
entrance into the work life after a break (Collings, Wood & Szamosi, 2018).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be rightfully stated that although these facilities
of flexible working hours and additional combination of benefits have been developed to allow
the different employees to enjoy a comfortable work life, it also needs to be noted that in order to
ensure long term success, these facilities need to be provided to the different employees equally
which will then allow them to contribute in a better manner towards the overall welfare of the
firm.

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References
Abc.net.au. (2018). Concerns inflexible working hours for men could be damaging women's
careers [online]. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-31/calls-for-better-
working-hours-formen/10184968?section=business (Accessed on: 08 Oct. 2018).
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee
engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An
integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and
Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C. (2017). The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Chung, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Chelladurai, P., & Kerwin, S. (2017). Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Collings, D. G., Wood, G. T., & Szamosi, L. T. (2018). Human resource management: A critical
approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge.
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human
resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Larrieta‐Rubín de Celis, I., Velasco‐Balmaseda, E., Fernández de Bobadilla, S., Alonso‐
Almeida, M. D. M., & Intxaurburu‐Clemente, G. (2015). Does having women managers

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lead to increased gender equality practices in corporate social responsibility?. Business
Ethics: A European Review, 24(1), 91-110.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
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Reiche, B. S., Stahl, G. K., Mendenhall, M. E., & Oddou, G. R. (Eds.). (2016). Readings and
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Stone, D. L., Deadrick, D. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., & Johnson, R. (2015). The influence of
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Review, 25(2), 216-231.
Stone, R.J. (2017). Human resource management. 9TH edition. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
Tatli, A., Ozturk, M. B., & Woo, H. S. (2017). Individualization and marketization of
responsibility for gender equality: The case of female managers in China. Human
Resource Management, 56(3), 407-430.