More than a third of UK workers actively looking for job with flexible working

More than a third of UK workers actively looking for job with flexible working

New research among more than 2,000 UK adults, all in full-time or part-time work, commissioned by Nerd Wallet claims to have uncovered the importance of flexible working practices to employees today. Its main finding is that more than a third of full-time workers in the UK are currently looking for a new job because they would like a role with greater flexibility. It also claims that 71 percent of people consider flexible working – in terms of both the hours and location they work – as important to their job satisfaction.  However, half (50 percent) cannot work remotely when they want or need to, and 46 percent have no flexibility in the hours they work. More →

Two thirds of people with fixed hours want flexible working

Two thirds of people with fixed hours want flexible working

Flexible working and coworking spaceTwo thirds (65 percent) of office workers that don’t currently have options for flexible working claim that they would be more motivated and productive in their jobs if given the option to choose their working hours, according to a new poll from coworking company, The Brew by rent24.  The poll also claims that only 18 percent of workers at small and medium-sized businesses already have flexible working arrangements, falling to just 14 percent for 18-34-year olds.

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Freelancers and the self-employed need holidays too

Freelancers and the self-employed need holidays too

Taking time off improves the work performance of freelancers, a new study from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims. The research suggests that almost two-thirds of freelancers believe taking holiday improves their work performance in some way. Asked what advantages came with taking more time off, 63 percent said it improved aspects of their work including productivity, energy, creativity and confidence in their work. More →

Summertime childcare juggling needs to be consigned to history

Summertime childcare juggling needs to be consigned to history

flexible working for dadsFor working parents, summertime is often a logistical nightmare. Six weeks of careful planning are needed to sort out childcare and ensure that both parents spend some quality time with their offspring. According to research from family activity app Hoop, over a quarter of parents of 5-16 year olds dread the summer holidays and here are some of the main reasons why. More →

Younger workers believe flexible working is essential for mental health

Younger workers believe flexible working is essential for mental health

A young woman enjoys flexible working in a cafeNearly 40 percent of people under the age of 45 who have flexible working believe it has offered marked improvements in their mental health, a survey from Wildgoose claims. The firm conducted a survey of the workers to ask for their thoughts on working culture and the impact it has on a range of life outcomes. Employees from 114 companies from all backgrounds gave their answers anonymously. According to the study, the results highlight the reasons employees are looking for jobs that offer a degree of flexibility in terms of times and places of work. More →

Working carers of children and parents are at breaking point

Working carers of children and parents are at breaking point

‘Sandwich carers’, those people who look after children and their relatives alongside work, are struggling to cope with the burden of juggling caring responsibilities alongside their job. Around 1.3 million people in the UK now fall into this category and new research from BHSF claims that many are at breaking point. 44 percent said they often find managing their responsibilities hard – with 16 percent admitting that it’s always too much to cope with. More →

Changing nature of work revealed in official data

Changing nature of work revealed in official data

The changing nature of workMany aspects of the changing nature of work in the UK are highlighted in a new official report into the number of hours worked in the country. The UK’s ongoing productivity challenges, highlighted by another ONS report last month, are well known, but the new data suggests that a number of common suppositions about the way we work should be challenged, especially those related to demographics, the types of work people do and who does it. More →

Flexible working has increased dramatically in last two decades

Flexible working has increased dramatically in last two decades

The proportion of people with some form of flexible working has increased dramatically in the last two decades. That is according to an analysis of working trends by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). According to the 1999 Labour Force Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the percentage of people working flexible hours in the UK was 9.5 percent at that time. Recent statistics from CIPD, however, show that this number has drastically increased, with 54 percent of workers currently having the option of some form of flexibility in their time and place of work. More →

School holidays signal stress for home-workers

School holidays signal stress for home-workers

For many working parents the summer school holidays can be a cause of stress instead of a time for rest and relaxation.With children no longer occupied at school, many parents choose to work from home to juggle both work and childcare, but productivity can suffer with family, pets and noisy household appliances found to be the main distractions for home workers. The 2019 Global Workspace Survey, conducted by IWG on 2000 UK respondents, claims that interruptions from children or other family members is the number one obstacle being faced by professionals who take advantage of home working. More →

Working dads say their schedule means missing out on children growing up

Working dads say their schedule means missing out on children growing up

One in five dads says their working schedule means they are missing out on seeing their children growing up, claims Quinyx. The research highlights the importance of opening up flexible working to all members of the workforce, including working dads and the impact the rigidness of the current system is having on families. 17 percent of working dads say their work schedule makes them feel like they are missing out on seeing their children grow up. More →

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

Remote workersBased on an analysis of American Community Survey data by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of remote workers in the US increased 159 percent between 2005 and 2017.  This new data is based on an analysis of the most current US government data available (from 2017, released in 2018), and represents the most up-to-date statistics about remote work in the United States. 3.4 percent of the total US workforce currently telecommute, up from 2.9 percent in 2015. The terms telecommuters and remote workers are defined in the report as non-self-employed people who principally work from home at least half-time. More →

Concerns about future of work not enough to dampen worker confidence

Concerns about future of work not enough to dampen worker confidence

future of workNew research from ADP claims that the UK workforce feels confident, stable and well trained. The findings point to a more positive workforce that has continuously strengthened since the financial crash. Despite worries about the future of work generally, optimism has grown with just 27 percent of respondents reporting feeling very optimistic about their future in the workplace in 2019, up from 12 percent in 2012. More →