19th August 2024 8 MIN READ •Talos ATS
It’s on every employee’s wishlist, but is flexible working really that beneficial for businesses and employers?
Our Future of Talent guide shows how both employers and candidates feel about flexible working, the benefits they experience, and the types of flexible working currently offered in the UK.
Talos360’s Future of Talent research saw over 250 hiring managers and 1,000+ employees surveyed to provide an employer-employee lens on the future of HR. The survey explored key themes, from employee expectations and HR challenges to flexible working and its perceived benefits.
Our report highlighted the desire for flexible working in the UK, and the surprising business benefits of flexible working identified by employers.
What is flexible working?
In essence, flexible working is an arranged way of working that will allow employees to work at a time and place that suits their needs. Some businesses may offer employees the opportunity to change their working hours, their place of work, and even the number of hours they work.
Flexible working isn’t just about working 8-4 or 10-6; it’s so much more than that. It’s employers trusting their people to work in a way that suits them, whether that be different start/finishing times, different working locations or even working different days. In return, employers see a more engaged, proactive and productive workforce.
Availability of flexible working in the UK
From a 4-day work week to compressed working hours, there are a number of ways employers are providing flexible working to their people. As a highly sought-after benefit, it comes as no surprise that 94% of employers claim to offer some form of flexible working. Although not always approved by employers, employees have the right to request flexible working from their first day, this is often known as making a statutory application.
We asked current UK employees which is the most important type of flexible working for them, and 78% identified flexible hours (choosing their start/finish times) to be the most favoured option. This is closely followed by being able to work some days from home (74%), with almost a fifth of employees saying this was non-negotiable when searching for new roles.
Despite the supposed buy-in from employers, 29% of participants in our Future of Talent survey told us they do not have access to any type of flexible working. The lack of flexibility seems to be coming from specific industries, namely the hospitality, retail, and education sectors.
Types of flexible working offered
We asked over 250 hiring managers which types of flexible working they offer to their people. As you might expect, the option to work from home was the most frequent type of flexible working offered, with 64% of employers providing the popular benefit.
Working from home was closely followed by flexi-time (43%) and compressed hours (43%) as the most common types of flexible working solutions offered by employers.
Although there are more and more employers offering flexible working, there are some disparities in access to flexible work. Our Future of Talent report found that employees in the over 55 bracket are less likely to have access to flexible working, with only 47% having the privilege. This is comparative to the 18-24 age group where only 21% of employees don’t currently have access to flexible work.
But that’s not all. Our research showed that males are more likely to receive some form of workplace flexibility, with 31% of females having no access to flexible work, compared to 25% of males.
Benefits of flexible working for employers
With 98% of our survey respondents identifying at least one business benefit linked to providing remote or flexible working, it’s clear that flexible work isn’t just high on candidates’ lists of requirements; it’s up there for employers too. We’ve listed some of the top business benefits of flexible working identified by employers:
1. Lower costs
57% of our hiring manager respondents told us that their greatest business benefit of flexible working was reduced office costs. As you’d expect, the biggest benefit of having the majority of your staff working from home is that they’re at home and not in the office. Fewer people means fewer screens, fewer lights, and a lighter utilities bill at the end of the month.
2. Supporting inclusive hiring
47% of hiring managers said their biggest flexible working benefit was the ability to hire an inclusive and diverse workforce. Giving people the opportunity to work in a way that suits their needs has opened the door of opportunity for talent that would otherside go under the radar.
Providing this level of adaptability has helped a number of businesses attract, hire, and build a more diverse workforce, from junior positions to board level.
3. Improved employee engagement
Providing employees with the flexibility to choose when and where they work has improved employee engagement for 44% of employers. Trusting your people to work outside of the traditional office 9-5 promotes job satisfaction for employees, and with that comes better work performances and a sharp turn in productivity.
4. Helps to attract top talent
For some, flexible working is a necessity; without it, your chances of hiring are near zero. In fact, 19% of jobseekers will not apply for a job unless they can work some days from home.
With so many potential candidates requiring some form of flexible working, it’s no surprise that 42% of hiring managers say flexible working helps to attract better-performing talent. Flexible working also helps to win top talent over, with 41% of employers agreeing that flexible working helps them compete for better talent.
So, if you want to attract top talent to your business, it’s crucial to have a solid, flexible working solution in place.
5. Reach talent in new areas
39% of hiring managers say flexible work has helped to increase the geographical area of their talent pool. By offering flexible working, you’re opening your new positions up to a much larger pool of candidates.
By offering remote or flexible work, you’re no longer limited to the talent in your area, leaving you free to find the best candidates for the job – no matter where they’re based.
Benefits of flexible working for employees
Hiring managers clearly recognise the benefits of flexible working for the business, but there are an array of benefits for their people too. Below, we’ve listed the top benefits of flexible working experienced by employees.
1. Improved work-life balance
Across all our respondents, 56% of employees claimed a greater work-life balance is the main benefit of flexible working.
Improving work-life balance isn’t just about saving an hour or two each morning. Being able to nip out for a doctor’s appointment, leave earlier for the school run, take a late lunch, or log back on later in the evening are all small ways that flexible working benefits people’s balance. Having this option can relieve some pressure on your people and help them juggle their personal and work life better.
When offered flexible working, employees feel trusted by their employer to complete their work at a time that suits their schedule, and employers are happier that employees are getting work done, in a way that suits them.
In today’s workplace, work-related stress is all too common. With unachievable deadlines, budget constraints, and pressure to work additional hours, it can be tough. If left to fester, stress can lead to high rates of burnout – which isn’t great for employees or employers.
A reported 73% of the current UK workforce are experiencing high to moderate levels of stress, with 73% putting this down to an overbearing workload. This workplace stress isn’t just affecting business productivity, it’s affecting employee mental health too.
Introducing flexible working isn’t a simple fix for employee burnout, but it sure can help. Allowing employees to work the hours they need at a time that suits them can foster a happier and healthier workforce, with 46% of employees claiming flexible work benefits their mental health.
3. Improve productivity
Hiring managers cited higher employee engagement as a considerable benefit of flexible working – and employees seem to agree. It’s not just hiring managers who are noticing a shift in output; 42% of employees surveyed in our Future of Talent report shared that flexible work improves their productivity at work.
Higher engagement leads to better work performance and an overall increase in productivity. By working in a quieter environment with fewer distractions, flexible employees report a 53% increase in focus.
4. Lower commuting costs
One of the most reported flexible working benefits for employees was cost savings. 52% of candidates agreed that the flexibility to work from home helps to save costs, especially commuting spend.
On average, employees are paying upwards of £1,610 to commute to and from the office, 5 days a week. And that’s just the fuel. Once you tot up the parking tariffs, tolls and potential car maintenance fees, the total cost of commuting can be eye-watering.
To discover more flexible working benefits for employees, read our Future of Talent Report.
What does the future of flexible working look like?
With flexible working such a valued benefit for both employers and employees, it’s hard to see this work perk going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, our latest report reveals that four-day work weeks, compressed hours and flexi-time are expected to become even more popular in the future.
As part of our Future of Talent Report, we asked candidates whether they think flexible working will become more or less attractive in the future. The result was resoundingly positive. 69% of candidate respondents thought that flexi-time working would become more attractive to jobseekers in the near future. Close behind flexi-time; candidates voiced that hybrid working would be the second most attractive type of flexible working in the future.
Although not quite as many respondents (48%) thought remote working would be as attractive in the future, a number of jobseekers still believe that it will have its place in the working environment over the next two years.
Hiring managers’ thoughts on the future of flexible work
So, flexible working isn’t losing its pull over jobseekers, but what about employers? Are they as eager to continue providing flexible working?
We asked hiring managers their thoughts on the future of flexible working, and their responses were less enthusiastic. While the responses were still in favour of flexible working, it was at much lower levels than candidates’ attractiveness scores.
69% of candidates thought flexi-time would be a more attractive benefit in the future, but only 26% of hiring managers are considering increasing the availability of flexi-time in their business.
Our report revealed that hiring managers are more likely to offer their people some days working from home over any other flexible working option, with 29% of hiring managers expressing support for the idea. This was closely followed by compressed hours (23%) and a 4 day working week (18%).
However, the most surprising result is that only 7% of hiring managers are likely to introduce remote working in the foreseeable future. When compared with candidates’ predictions around remote work, there is a clear disparity between the two. Could this suggest a desire among employers to move away from remote working in favour of a more connected type of flexible working?
Benefits of flexible working: The Future of Talent
Our stats on the future of flexible working were taken from Talos360’s latest research – The Future of Talent.
Talos360 surveyed over 1000 current UK employees and 250 hiring managers to provide insight into current HR challenges, employee expectations and candidate frustrations. Respondents also provided their opinions on key HR themes from AI in recruitment and menopause support at work to the benefits of flexible working, and predicting which types of flexible working employers will provide in the future.
For more insights on the future of flexible working, download Talos360’s FREE Future of Talent Report today.
