Timewise unveils its seventh annual Timewise Power 50 Awards, featuring 50 people in top UK jobs who achieve everything they do, part-time or flexibly.
The 2019 Timewise Power 50 Awards provide a snapshot of what modern work in Britain is truly like and challenge the belief part-time work can’t mean ambitious, can’t mean highly successful and can’t mean senior.
From top engineers, to security chiefs and West End stars – this year’s list proves that part-time and flexible working has moved beyond being a concession for parents in office jobs, to the way people are working in all kinds of jobs and for all kinds of reasons.
This year, for the first time, the list celebrates two businesses that are entirely structured on four-day weeks. Three in five people in the UK now believe that a four-day week ‘could become the new normal’, according to a poll commissioned by Timewise to launch the new list.
Whilst usually dominated by mothers looking to fit work with family, this year’s Timewise Power 50 Awards, which is backed by EY, Dixons Carphone, Lloyds Banking Group and Diageo, features winners stating a range of reasons for needing flexible or part-time structures – in addition to or instead of those just citing childcare. These include:
- Better mental health
- To write books / musicals / pursue creative interests
- Caring for relatives
- Fitting work with appointments relating to a sickness or disability
- ‘Paying it forward’ for future generations
Speaking about the awards, Timewise co-founder, Karen Mattison, MBE, said, “The Timewise Power 50 List has become a beacon of hope – shining a light on what’s possible in the working world.”
“What’s clear this year, is that the so-called quiet revolution in the workplace has suddenly found its voice.”
“The idea that part-time work is a ‘nice to have’ concession made for mums, has gone.”
“With five generations all working alongside each other in the modern workplace, and working flexibly for all kinds of reasons, we are seeing a shift from individuals ‘making it work somehow’ to employers adjusting the structures and workings of their organisations to fit this societal shift.”
“Whether that’s by offering more hot desking or re-scheduling the pattern of the business to offer shorter weeks.”
“When we first started publishing our annual Timewise Power 50 list in 2012, we aimed to prove it was possible to work top jobs less than full time.”
“This year, as every year – the case is proven.”
“Now it’s time to help employers prepare for what the future workforce will want, and to ensure the market offers fair opportunities and easy access to part time and flexible workers.”
Timewise is a multi-award winning social business, working to unlock the flexible jobs market in the UK. We share market insights on flexible working and flexible hiring, deliver training and consultancy to help businesses attract and develop the best talent, and conduct research such as our annual Flexible Jobs Index.
View all of the 2019 winners here.
