Search Results for: flex

Flexible ways of working are definitely on the rise and it suits all ages

Flexible ways of working are definitely on the rise and it suits all ages

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

The majority (94 percent) of workers are open to flexible ways of working such as part-time, freelance, contract, temporary or independent contract work a new report from ManpowerGroup has revealed. Coining the trend as NextGen work, the research suggests this approach to a job is a choice (81 percent) not a last resort (19 percent). Findings from #GigResponsibly: The Rise of NextGen Work – a global survey of 9,500 people in 12 countries – identifies a shift towards this new way of getting work done, and that it works for people and employers. People were asked how they want to work, what motivates them and their views on NextGen Work. More control over their schedule (42 percent), boosting their bank account (41 percent) and developing new skills (38 percent) are top reasons why this flexible kind of work is on the rise.  The report also found that this flexible approach is not just attractive to Millennials, as meaningful work and employer appreciation are valued more by Boomers than any other generation. More than 80 percent of US workers say NextGen Work is a choice, not a last resort, and builds resilience for less predictable futures.

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Flexible working take up amongst both genders is undermined by negative employer attitudes

Flexible working take up amongst both genders is undermined by negative employer attitudes

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Flexible working take up amongst both genders is undermined by negative employer attitudesThe majority (83 percent) of workers view flexible working as an important benefit to them but two thirds (66 percent) believe that taking up flexible working halts progression at work. One of the reasons for this dichotomy suggests the results of the Hays UK Gender Diversity Report 2017, is because nearly a third (32 percent) of employees believe men will be viewed as less committed to their career if they take up shared parental leave, and women are less likely to be promoted after having children. While a majority (84 percent) of workers say it’s important that flexible working options are available to them in their workplace, many choose not to take any, and two-thirds think doing so will have a negative impact on their career. Women perceive it will have a negative impact, with over three-quarters (76 percent) reporting this concern and 65 percent of men. Interestingly, both men and women think flexible working options have helped improve the gender balance in senior roles, with 61 percent saying flexible working has improved the representation of women in senior positions, indicating that employers need to address and overturn the negative perception of flexible working and communicate its benefits.

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Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

by • Flexible working, News

Around nine out of 10 Scots who work flexibly say it improves their quality of life and makes them happier, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Family Friendly Working Scotland.  However, the study also found that fewer than half of Scottish workers (46 percent) said they are offered flexible working by their employer. The figures are published to coincide with National Work Life Week, which sets out to encourage firms to explore flexible working options and help their staff find a better work-life balance. The poll of more than 1,000 Scots claims that among those who already work flexibly, 77 percent say they are more productive and are willing to “go the extra mile” for their employer. Almost half of people who took part (49 percent) say changing their start and/or finish time would help while nearly a third (32 percent) would like occasional time off for family emergencies, deliveries or school events. Just one in five (21 percent) say reducing their hours, or going part time, would be valuable.

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Employers unable to meet growing demand for flexible working, claims study

by • Flexible working, News

A growing number of employees are frustrated in their attempts to adopt flexible working by the inability of employers to offer it, a new study claims. Based on the survey of 3,001 British employees, recruitment firm Timewise and consultancy EY claims that fewer than a tenth of jobs offering more than £20,000 per year pro rata are advertised with a flexible working option. This puts employers at a disadvantage because around two fifths of people claim they would prefer some form of flexible working, according to the report Flexible Working: A Talent Imperative.

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Scottish employers severely limiting their access to talent by not offering flexible working

by • Flexible working, News

Companies in Scotland who do not offer employees flexible working are failing in their attempts to recruit and retain the best talent, a report has said. Demand for flexible jobs massively outstrips supply, according to the study commissioned by the Scottish Government in partnership with Family Friendly Working Scotland and recruitment agency Timewise. The report claims it is the first research to look specifically at the ratio of supply to demand for flexible work in the country. Although the Scottish government said flexible working boosts productivity and is good for workers, the study found that just 11.9 percent of jobs paying at least £20,000 annually are advertised as flexible, while 34 percent of jobless Scots sought flexible work. The data came from analysis carried out by Timewise of more than 230,000 job adverts.

Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

by • Flexible working, News

Asking for family-friendly flexible working patterns can lead to many people getting fewer hours, worse shifts and in some cases losing their jobs altogether, claims a new report from the TUC. Half (47 percent) of low-paid young mums and dads are struggling to manage work and childcare, according to the Better Jobs for Mums and Dads report. More than two in five (42 percent) said they felt penalised at work when they asked for flexibility – telling the TUC they are subsequently given fewer hours, worse shifts or even losing their job.

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Flexible working is the solution to limited career choices for women and closing the gender pay gap

Flexible working is the solution to limited career choices for women and closing the gender pay gap

by • Flexible working, News

Flexibility in the workplace is the key to offering women the freedom to choose a career path after childbirth, new research by the University of Kent claims. The study suggests that it is ‘the ability to take advantage of the opportunity for flexible working that is most useful in preventing women from dropping out of the labour market after having their first child. The research, led by Dr Heejung Chung, of the University’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, found that women who were able to use flexible working were only half as likely to reduce their hours after the birth of their child. This effect was especially the case for women who used flexible working prior to the birth of their child as well as after, the researchers found. The researchers observed that more than half of women in their study sample reduced their working hours after the birth of their child, while less than a quarter of women who were able to use flexible working reduced their hours.

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Precarious flexible working lives create toxic relationships between managers and workers, claims study

Precarious flexible working lives create toxic relationships between managers and workers, claims study

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Millions of British workers are having their health and home life put at risk and are having to beg for extra work to make ends meet because bosses are not offering them regular work patterns, a new study from Oxford and Cambridge Universities suggests. According to the study, Powerful times: Flexible discipline and schedule gifts at work published in the journal Work, Employment and Society, around 4.6 million people are subject to ‘precarious scheduling’ from employers which means that their hours are so inconsistent and unpredictable that they cannot make plans, leading to stress and problems in their home lives. The researchers said that many workers now find themselves in ‘degrading’ relationships with managers in which they are obliged to constantly ask for more work and changes to allow them to care for children and plan their domestic and recreational lives.
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Millennials less likely to work remotely as they feel prohibited from working flexibly

Millennials less likely to work remotely as they feel prohibited from working flexibly

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

There is growing sentiment among younger workers that flexible working is less a right – as outlined by the Government in 2014 – and more a ‘selective benefit’ for a choice group of employees. New research by Michael Page claims that two thirds (67 percent) of millennials believe employees with families are more encouraged to work flexibly than their single colleagues, and 6 in 10 (61 percent) feel the same flexible working privilege appears to apply more to senior co-workers, with junior team members more often discouraged from flexible working initiatives. Nearly half (43 percent) say it is a benefit reserved for management and senior leadership only. As a result, more than 8 in 10 (84 percent) office based millennial employees do not work from home in an average working week – with 82 percent of those saying they are not able or allowed to. This is despite the fact that three quarters (76 percent) of UK office workers confirm that their employer offers flexible working options.

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Seven ways in which flexible working is making our lives more rigid

Seven ways in which flexible working is making our lives more rigid

by • Comment, Flexible working, Technology

One of the main reasons why books such as Catch 22 and 1984 make such mediocre films, is because celluloid struggles to capture the books’ preoccupation with the ways in which language can be used to subvert meaning and rationality. We don’t always have to lean on the bookcase to see how this works. It’s been evident recently in the coverage of the massive growth of zero hours working worldwide, although they have now been banned in New Zealand. There are now up to 1.5 million people on zero hours contracts in the UK and the adjective most commonly associated with the practice in the media coverage has been ‘flexible’, despite the fact that from the perspective of the majority of the people working on such contracts they are anything but. It’s yet another example of the subversion in our use of the term flexible working. It’s Doublespeak; an expression which means something completely different to, or indeed the opposite of, the thing it is describing.

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The partners of men with flexible working hours have higher incomes

The partners of men with flexible working hours have higher incomes

by • Flexible working, News

A new study suggests that the partners of men who have access to flexible working earn significantly more than those who have more rigid working cultures. The study of German couples, conducted by Dr Laura Langner at the University of Oxford’s Department of Sociology, explored changes in incomes once at least one partner is able to begin flexible working. The study suggests that once men started working flexible hours, their wives’ hourly wages increased significantly, particularly if they were mothers (14.2 percent after four years). The husband’s own hourly wages also increased by 7.4 percent over the following four years.

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Flexible working increasingly seen as top option, claims major new study

Flexible working increasingly seen as top option, claims major new study

by • Flexible working, Workplace

A new report from ManpowerGroup Solutions claims that 40 percent of job candidates cite flexible working as one of their three most important career considerations. The firm polled 14,000 people in 19 countries. Among the countries surveyed, the US had the highest percentage of job candidates who want work flexibility (45 percent). A majority (63 percent) of workers said they believe they can work outside the office, and the number of men who want flexibility has significantly increased according to the study. The report, Work, for Me: Understanding Candidate Preferences for Flexibility, Manpower Group Solutions claims to offer ‘both the immediate steps and the long-term actions that companies can take to better meet their prospective employees’ preferences around flexibility’.

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