Many people would forgo a pay rise in favour of flexible working

A new poll claims that nearly 50 percent of respondents would reject a substantial 15 percent pay increase if it meant forfeiting workplace flexibility, even in a challenging financial climate. Despite attractive flexible working policies outweighing the need for increased remuneration, the research – conducted by PayFit – claims that a sizable 83 percent of those surveyed felt improvement was needed to their current workplace’s flexible policies.

The authors suggest that these findings highlight a growing concern that businesses may not be adequately addressing talent retention issues, risking a potential talent drain to more flexible competitors following the release of expanded guidelines on workplace flexibility on April 6, 2024.

When in force, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill will grant millions of UK workers the right to request adjustments to particular terms and conditions of employment, including working hours, times and locations. Alongside the Bill, workers will also have the right to request flexible working from day one of a new job.

The survey indicates that even though hybrid, remote and other new ways of working are being adopted, businesses aren’t quite getting it right; 32 percent stated they were not happy with the policy their employer offers, alongside an initial 83 percent that expressed the need for policy improvements; findings that imply a substantial gap between existing policies and what employees consider to be effective and satisfactory in terms of flexibility.

Behind the dissatisfaction with new ways of working, respondents cited reasons such as lack of trust, diminished confidence in their personal value, and more need for transparency in current flexible working environments.

• A quarter of respondents (25 percent) expressed a need for more trust within their workplace
• 34 percent said they felt uncomfortable requesting flexibility, signalling a disconnect between employees and existing policies
• 14 percent felt that undertaking flexible working hindered their progression
• 18 percent were concerned about how taking up flexible working practices might be raising questions about commitment to the business
• 30 percent didn’t feel their current flexible working policies were embraced or encouraged.