For many candidates, flexible working is no longer considered a perk but is an expectation. In a highly competitive, candidate-driven market, WaveTrackR’s Emily Buckley considers the importance of offering flexible working options in attracting and retaining talent.
Nearly 2 years ago, just a month before everything was about to change, Wave held a Talent Matters event that focused on flexible working. We invited Emma Stewart, CEO of flexible working consultancy Timewise, who shared that even then, in February 2020, 87% of UK employees either worked flexibly or would like to but were competing for just 15% of jobs that offered it. COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns accelerated the normalising of flexible working and now hybrid models of work aren’t just a perk for candidates, they’re expected by many. With competition for talent having ramped up over the past 6 months, is flexible working now the most effective weapon in the war for talent?
The desire to work more flexibly isn’t new. In WaveTrackR’s Recruitment Trends: Industry insights 2020 report, which analysed a raft of data from 2019, keywords related to flexible working featured prominently in jobseekers’ searches. Changing workplace demographics had already begun to call for change – working parents priced out of childcare, an ageing workforce that might choose to retire if flexible working weren’t an option, those that left the workforce to become carers for an ageing population, and of course a new generation of workers that believe that technology means that workplaces can and should be fluid. The wheels had already been set in motion but without the onset of the pandemic it might have taken a decade for us to get to the current level of flexible working being offered by businesses across the world and, importantly, the change in mindset that enabled it.
21 months after the first lockdown forced businesses across the UK and globally to switch to remote working overnight, how far have we come in normalising flexible and hybrid models of work? WaveTrackR data has shown that the percentage of jobs with remote working terms in their ads, including ‘remote’, ‘working from home’, ‘flexible workplace’ and ‘work from anywhere’, increased from 2020 to July 2021, showing that, overall, companies have been listening to the market. It differs regionally, however. At a growth of 5.7%, remote London jobs experienced the biggest increase year on year, closely followed by the East Midlands with a 5% growth, and then the North West with a growth of 4.4% since 2020. On the flip side, the South East saw a 6.8% decline in remote working jobs from 2020 to 2021.
Timewise believes there is still a way to go before hybrid working is truly embraced by the majority of businesses that can offer it. The consultancy recently unearthed the fact that just 1 in 4 jobs is advertised with flexible working, yet in a survey it conducted, also found that many candidates seeking flexible jobs won’t even apply to a job advert that doesn’t state that flexible working is offered. Clearly, not every job can offer remote working but flexible working is possible in most roles, whether that’s offering the possibility of part-time or job share roles, or flexible hours. Given the extremely competitive, candidate-driven market we are now in, employers and recruiters need to consider every possible method to attract candidates to their jobs.
And that market looks set to stay for quite some time yet. WaveTrackR data has shown that jobs have been steadily rising since May, with just a small dip in October. At their peak, in September, they were 400% over the 2020 monthly average. November wasn’t far behind that, at 383% over the 2020 monthly average. Concurrently, applications declined from May to August, picking up again in September and October but then dipping again in November. Together, the figures show a candidate-short, talent-driven market that is not looking likely to change as we enter 2022.
Flexible working is one way to have the edge on your competitors. A recent LinkedIn poll of close to 9,000 people looking at what constitutes a ‘dream job’ found that flexible working came above a competitive salary. It is proving in survey after survey to top traditional markers of a good job, such as a decent salary, a great office space, and perks such as social events. The reasons for wanting a more flexible working routine are manifold but a better work/life balance is probably the biggest. A FinderUK study found that the average daily commuting time in the UK is now 59 minutes, meaning that cutting out the journey to the office could save workers a significant amount of time over the working week – time that could be spent with family and friends, playing sport, and other activities. From a wellbeing perspective, the gains from remote or hybrid working are huge. The financial savings from ditching the commute can be similarly big, with the same study finding that commuters spend an average of £44.78 per week (rising to £57.78 for London commuters).
The benefits to businesses, too, are manifold, all stemming from happier, healthier, more productive employees. A CIPD report found that more than two thirds of employers believe that home working has either increased productivity or that it remained unaffected by not being in the office. Flexible working can also help encourage more diverse candidates to apply for jobs, especially women. A study by The Centre for Global Development found that women were burdened with around three times as much unpaid childcare as men during the pandemic, leading to large numbers having to leave the workforce. Offering remote or hybrid working could make a huge difference to whether a mother feels like she can return to work and do so without risk of burnout.
Company culture and work environments have been irreversibly changed since the onset of the pandemic and one of the shining lights in this global crisis is that change has been largely for the better. Having proven that flexible working is more than possible, candidates and employees want to see more businesses offering it. The major stumbling block remains a resistance to a change in mindset from the traditional ways of working and also the very real challenges businesses are facing trying to implement hybrid working whilst maintaining connectivity, effective training and mentorship of younger workers. It will be a case of ongoing reviewing and adjusting for most but a willingness to at least try to adapt and to offer some sort of flexible working where possible will make a huge difference when it comes to talent attraction now and in the future.
The Government, too is encouraging flexible working. Its Flexible Working Taskforce published new guidelines at the beginning of December to help employers use fair and sustainable hybrid working practices. They recognise that, as well as increasing employee engagement, wellbeing and productivity, offering flexible working can help companies to attract and retain talent.
Flexible working can come with its challenges but, not only do the benefits far outweigh the negatives, offering flexibility is becoming more essential in a market where competition for top talent is incredibly stiff.
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