Thank you to all those that completed our poll asking what is most important when looking at a potential employer. There was a mixed bag in terms of results, with some saying that the financial package was most important and others that working culture was most important. But, the overwhelming majority selected flexible working which is in line with what we are seeing on a daily basis.
In 2022, around 4.3 million employees in the United Kingdom had employment contracts that allowed for flexible working hours, making it the most common flexible working practice in that year. The second-most prevalent type of flexible arrangement was an annualized hours contract, whereby an employee works a specified number of hours over a year, instead of working the same hours every week or month. There were approximately 101,000 employees on contracts that involved job-sharing, making it the least common type of flexible working contract.
We have seen a real shift over the past few years with employers that didn’t previously entertain their workforce being based from home, needing to adapt their approach due to Covid. It seems that a lot of these practices have remained in place as normality has resumed.
A survey undertaken by the department of national statistics showed that most employees found their work life balance had improved as a result. The second most popular result was that employees found there were fewer distractions with working from home. This in turn is thought to have improved job satisfaction.
Not all employers agree that flexible working brings more productivity from their workforce. We would been keen to hear from anyone that would like to share their thoughts on this.
Thank you.
