National Work Life Week – flexible working is a must

Toni Delli-Compagni, Chief Operating Officer at Locale Group, discusses the importance of flexible working in the workplace and its impact on the business

This week is National Work Life Week and it prompted me to ask myself – do we really need to remind ourselves of the importance of flexible working in today’s age? Looking at recent statistics and anecdotal evidence, we clearly do. Look back a few months and so many large corporates were demanding that their employees return to the office no matter what in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic lockdowns and frowning upon the idea that people could work partially or even fully remotely. And it wasn’t very long ago when those in office-only roles were given little-to-no-flexibility when it came to working hours to accommodate other responsibilities such as elderly or childcare. Some have now even made a complete U-turn accepting that productivity does remain high, and that flexible working can be made a success.

Businesses clearly need to embrace flexible working to remain competitive and attract the very best talent. It’s therefore no surprise that a recent YouGov poll conducted by commissioned by Working Families and SF Recruitment underscores the impact and importance of employers prioritising flexible working as part of their recruitment strategy. The research found that parents are much more likely to apply for roles that list flexible working options in the job advert than those that don’t. The poll found that 8 in 10 UK parents (82%) would be likely to apply for a role that listed flexible working options, while only 3 in 10 parents (31%) would be likely to apply for a role that did not list flexible working options. For all UK parents, flexibility (66%) is second only to pay (73%) in terms of priorities when looking for a new job. However, for mothers, flexibility and pay are tied as the top priority.

Rather surprisingly, the Timewise Flexible Jobs Index 2021 found that only a quarter of jobs adverts offer flexibility. That means that three-quarters of job adverts are effectively locking out a valuable pool of talent: those who require flexibility to be able to work – for me this is simply unacceptable.

Collectively, we need to make that shift embracing flexible working and we applaud Working Families’ call to Government making flexible recruitment by default. With so many families potentially facing financial hardship in the current cost-of-living crisis, offering flexible roles at the point of recruitment is a direct pathway to some financial stability as it opens opportunities to those who have caring responsibilities but who desperately need additional income.

At Locale Group, we have always believed in listening to our workforce and adapting to the times. Flexible working has been a core ethos to ensure we procure the very best talent. With some members of our team working fully remotely and some with flexible working arrangements (including myself as a working mother), we understand its importance and value and we couldn’t be prouder of it as tech firm. It’s meant we have greater gender diversity in our business, with 56% of our team being female, and have built a business that values individuality, multiculturalism and inclusion. Nobody needs to fear flexible working anymore. Those that aren’t allowing it are proving they are simply out of touch.