The Future Is Female And Fifty Plus

02 October 2006

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Research reveals that women over fifty are best equipped as managers in a flexible working environment

Women over fifty will make the ideal boss in a world where we increasingly work flexibly, according to new research on behalf of BT.

As well as recognising the benefits of flexible working more readily than their male counterparts, the survey, conducted among employers and employees across Great Britain, reveals that female employers are also top in trusting their colleagues to get on and do the job while employing smarter working practices.

As businesses and employees demand greater flexibility in order to thrive and safeguard a healthy work/life balance, the traditional, office-based nine-to-five work routine is increasingly outdated. However, despite this trend, men are 50 per cent more likely than women to be suspicious of colleagues who work flexibly.

Age also plays a major factor in the general acceptance and success of flexible working. Despite supposedly growing up and starting work in the most technologically advanced environment, managers aged 18-29 are the most suspicious management age group when it comes to flexible working (38 per cent), compared to 30-50 year olds (30 per cent) and the over 50s (25 per cent).

Trust was seen as the single most important skill for any employer, male or female, to exhibit whilst managing a remote workforce. According to employees surveyed, 38 per cent said it was the most important skill. This makes it almost twice as important as the ability to communicate effectively (21 per cent), and significantly more important than good organisation (14 per cent) and the ability to motivate (12 per cent).

Caroline Waters, director, People & Policy, BT said: "When it comes to making a success of flexible working, this survey throws the spotlight firmly on the importance of softer people management skills. The emphasis put on trust and strength of relationship between employers and employees points to the fact that women, and in particular women over 50, are the ideal management role model in this increasingly flexible business world."

While women appear best suited to managing in this changing world today, the situation looks set to increase as we move towards what BT Futurologist Ian Pearson calls "The Women’s Economy".

Pearson said: "The more advanced technology gets, the more it forces us to appreciate human skills. People will have a very different part to play and they will be able to add the human element to the business, getting close to the customer on an emotional level, creating a different platform to do business."

Pearson believes that as a result of this, women will become increasingly more important in businesses of the future as social and emotional skills normally associated with women come to the fore.

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