There is a high demand among employees for flexible working arrangements, research by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) and Citrix has found.
The research, which surveyed almost 1,300 employees in the UK, showed that flexible working arrangements such as flexi-time or working remotely are popular with most employees:
- 96% of respondents who have the option to work flexibly choose to do so
- 83% of people who don’t currently have the option would choose it if given the opportunity.
The findings also suggested that flexible working could encourage people to work more:
- 68% of unemployed or economically inactive people believe flexible working would be an incentive to start working
- 60% of part-time workers said they would be more likely to work more hours if they could work remotely.
Jacqueline de Rojas, of Citrix, said that offering flexible working would allow employers to, “reap the benefits of an even more productive, contented workforce”.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the government to work with employers to promote the benefits of flexible working:
- employers should promote flexible working opportunities on job adverts
- businesses should commit to workplace diversity targets.
Katja Hall, deputy director general of the CBI, said:
“A lot of companies offer flexible working but the onus should be on businesses to presume in favour, challenge outdated assumptions and give their employees more confidence to ask about the options.”
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