Search
Close this search box.

Incredible paradox of flexible working

Incredible paradox of flexible working

Nine out of ten think Flexible Working Will Become the Norm, but only one in ten executives actually want or indeed value it.

Twenty-five days holiday and a company pension scheme are among the most important benefits, and more than half of professionals are unaware they are entitled to flexible working. Nine in ten UK professionals think that flexible working will become the dominant employment model in the near future according to research from specialist HR recruiter Ortus. HR professionals are even stronger in this belief as 96 percent said it will become the main model.

Despite this, just one in ten professionals (12 percent) deem flexible working to be a vital benefit. This is lower than the proportion who said a free company mobile phone is vital to them. The research conducted among 450 professionals across a variety of sectors suggests employees think flexible working will be adopted for business reasons rather than the benefit to the workforce. Fifty one per cent felt the reason behind the growth of flexible working is efficiency and productivity, a clear business benefit. Just 12 percent thought it would be implemented to help people manage the number of hours they work, and, in contrast with some arguments, just one in ten said they thought it was being implemented to help with gender equality.

Perhaps as a result of flexible working being seen as a benefit for the business rather than the individual, separate research among 3,000 professionals found it is only the sixth most valued benefit. It ranks behind more personal offerings and financial assistance including holidays and a company pension.

Top Benefits Ranked as Vital
25 days holiday (40%)
Company pension scheme (29%)
Annual bonus scheme (24%)
Mobile phone/blackberry (18%)
Insurance (16%)
Flexible working (12%)

Stephen Menko, UK director of Ortus said: “These findings suggest that HR professionals have their work cut out for them in convincing staff of the relative merits of flexible working. The business case is obvious as it allows for efficiency savings on office costs and greater output. However the benefit to the individual of a better work life balance and less time and money spent commuting are perhaps surprisingly ranked low and maybe HR need to convey this cost-effective (for the business) benefit in a more compelling way. Widespread flexible working could be a seismic shift in the way work is conducted and it is that rare beast – a change that benefits everyone. Staff just need to be convinced of this point, or at least have it raised on their radar as a benefit they can request. I think for a lot of organisations it’s not even considered as something that can be entertained.” The majority of people also appear to be unaware that they are entitled to request flexible working, as just a third of those questioned said this was something their company offered, whereas government statistics estimate that 91% of employers offer flexible working.

The research found that almost twice as many female professionals rank flexible working as ‘vital’ compared with men. Sixteen percent of women said this, compared with just 9% of men. In contrast, men (28%) ranked receiving a bonus as vital, compared with women (21%). Stephen Menko continued: “Despite changing family structures, the responsibility for childcare still very often falls on the mother, explaining, in part, some of the reasons for gender inequality in the UK workforce; as often women forgo career paths to focus on family life and in doing so can miss out on experience and opportunity which can impact their remuneration potential. In this context the appetite for flexible working, amongst women, is clear and should be sated for many reasons, but notably it enables people, of any gender, to juggle other commitments with their careers, and it does so to the benefit of the businesses they work for. HR professionals have a role in helping to give voice to this market request for flexible working, and to help companies stay competitive in the process by keeping their best talent, whatever its gender.”

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Navigating the Evolution: Retaining Human Connections in the Digital Work Era

19 March 2024

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

Guildhall School of Music & Drama – Guildhall School of Music & DramaSalary: £30,180 to £33,120 per annum including London Weighting depending on experience, Grade B

Human Resources Coordinator To assist the HR Manager and the Director of Human Resources in maintaining positive internal and external relationships with both Associates and

My client a Global Communications firm, are looking to expand their HR team by hiring a People Partner to look after their Paris and Bussel’s

Be part of a business that continues to grow and develop. You will be based in a regional office, and be required to travel accordingly

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE