I’ve just joined a REC #talkingrecruitment webinar with Kevin Green and Karen Williams. One of the subjects covered was their Flex Appeal Report.
This report has been put together from their survey of more than 4000 people into why freelancers, contractors and agency workers choose to work this way.
Some of key findings Kevin touched on during the webinar included:
• More than one in three people (36%) in Great Britain have worked as a contractor, freelancer or agency worker at some point in their career, and 41% are considering working that way in the future.
• One in four (24%) has been a temporary agency worker
• One in ten (10%) has worked as a contractor
• One in ten (11%) has worked as a freelancer
• 22% of people who currently earn more than £50,000 have been agency workers,
• 36% of people who currently have hiring responsibilities at work have been an agency worker themselves.
As well as surveying the general public, they interviewed people about their experiences working in a temporary capacity. Flexible working is central to understanding why they choose temporary work. Temporary, freelance and contractor roles provide opportunities for people to work more flexibly and have more choice over their work-life balance.
The research found that temporary work is particularly beneficial for people at four points of their working lives:
• Entry level workers
• People with specialist skills
• Adults with caring responsibilities
• People approaching retirement.
They have also drawn up some recommendations for recruiters, employers and the government about what each can do to address the challenges still faced by people who choose temporary work, and what needs to happen to ensure people can continue to benefit from working in a flexible way.
Regardless of whether you are a REC member or not you can download the full report for free.
In addition Kevin will be talking about the report tomorrow (Wednesday) on BBC Breakfast TV.
