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 →

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 →

Based 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 →

A new report published by Softworks (registration) claims that Public Sector organisations continue to lead the way in flexible working with an extensive range of flexible working options available to employees. The most popular flexible working option is part-time working with 94 percent of public sector organisations offering this. This was followed by flexitime with 88 percent of organisations allowing their staff to have flexible start and finish times.

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New findings from health and wellbeing provider, BHSF, suggest that home workers struggle to switch off, and this could be negatively affecting their work/life balance. Flexible working provides huge benefits for employees – it means they can avoid lengthy and stressful commutes, work at times that fit them and their families, and focus clearly without other distractions. However, all these positives may be lost if employees continually work beyond their contracted hours, warn the study’s authors. Prolonged working outside of hours can seriously affect employees’ ability to stay fresh and mentally alert.

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