Flexibility trap – the effects of flexible working on the position of female professionals and managers within a corporate environment.
employee and managerial positions with the utilisation of flexible work arrangements in a corporate environment in the country with a full-time dominated work culture. The data represent a rare case study of the work environment in a Czech branch of one multinational company. In particular, this paper discusses conditions under which flexible arrangements are available and its impact on gender equality. The seven analysed interviews derive from a larger study on the corporate environment which included 35 interviews and a series of participatory observations. The data reveal the diverse and often subtle forms of discrimination of working mothers, who use the flexible working arrangement as a work-family reconciliation strategy. At the formal level, the part-time professionals are restricted in pay and in access to the company benefits. In the informal relations within the workplace, their work lacks of sufficient recognition of colleagues and superiors. Overall, part-time work for female professionals and managers leads to an entrapment between the needs of their family and the expectations of their employer. The research reveals the practical limitation in introducing work-life reconciliation policies. The results show the need to focus on promoting better conditions for employees working part-time. Also, it shows that managerial and highly demanding professional positions can be executed on a part-time basis if the work environment is open towards accepting this arrangement. Moreover, the findings outline the possibilities of developing workplace practices in the Czech Republic in a woman-friendly direction. Specific legislative arrangements should be enacted, providing better protection for employees in non-standard employment. The amount of research on female professionals working part-time or from home is rather limited in context of the post-communist countries.