Over three-quarters of employees want flexible working
The results of a recent survey conducted by Remote have found that 76% of employees value flexible working hours as the most important benefit of employment.
Flexible hours beat out other popular perks, like a 4-day week and private health insurance, by a considerable margin.
While it was a popular perk across all industries, flexible working hours were valued most highly by these professions:
HR (78.74%)
Finance and Accounts (77.55%)
Sales (76.88%)
IT (74.07%)
Production (73.48%)
In the current competitive labour market, these figures are definitely worth taking into consideration. Particularly, when one survey found 50% of employees would leave there current role if they were offered flexible working by another organisation.
Top Perks
The Remote survey found that flexible working was only actually the second most popular ‘work perk’. The complete top ten looked like this:
Overtime pay (79%)
Flexible work hours (76%)
Company-sponsored retirement plan or pension (75%)
Early finish Fridays (65%)
4-day working week (64%)
Miscarriage leave (62%)
Paid self-care days (61%)
Online training and coaching programs (61%)
Private health insurance (58%)
Remote work from anywhere policy (58%)
Looking at the top ten there is a clear theme that appears: work-life balance.
The figure for private health insurance could be a potential anomaly.
The survey was carried out on workers from the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. 4 out of the 5 nationalities surveyed already benefit from either national healthcare or publicly funded statutory medical insurance.
It's likely that its rank would drop or rise significantly if answers were segmented based on whether the participants were European or American.
Socialising is key
Although it’s a perk that many want, many find the lack of socialising, from the rise in flexible working, problematic.
A survey from Just Eat for Business found that more than half (54%) of UK office workers feel that regular work social events are key for fostering a positive community culture.
And it's not just socialising off-the-clock that’s important. The little social interactions during working hours have just as much impact on our working lives. Little things like chats in the hallway or helping someone out with a problem all contribute to something sociologists call ‘Social Capital’.
Social capital is basically the benefits that come from building relationships and networking with other people. In the workplace, it can be the difference between having a colleague to call on when you need a favour returning or just having to struggle through your day.
Its clearly important that as the world of work evolves business need to finely balance both flexibility and socialising to ensure a work environment that works for everyone.