Nine out of ten workers have reported flexible working as important in a new role.
This ranks at the top, alongside health insurance and group income protection (both 88%), ahead of life insurance (84%), unlimited holiday (76%) and extended parental leave (71%).
Also, half of workers would immediately dismiss jobs that do not offer hybrid working as a standard, says new research by IWG.
“We’re right at the start of the biggest transformation in the way we work that we’ve ever witnessed. The biggest danger for firms is thinking that we’re the end of the change; we’re just at the start and companies need to prepare themselves,” warns former EMEA Vice-President of Twitter, Bruce Daisley.
Hybrid working
New data from Indeed has also shown that year-on-year searches for the term ‘hybrid’ have increased by 6,531 percent in the twelve months up to the end of April.
This makes it one of the fastest growing search terms on their UK website.
Also, searches for remote work have risen (+666&%), now accounting for 2.3 percent of all searches.
This highlights the desire for people to be able to work closer to their local communities, with 60 percent of survey respondents confirming that they would like a workspace within 15 minutes of their home.
When asked to rank their top five considerations when applying for a new role, office workers rated hybrid working (43%) as being more important than company culture (27%), equity and bonuses (27%), potential for progression (30%) and new colleagues (32%).
Employees also identified several benefits to hybrid working. Two thirds (67%) said it improved work/life balance, while 37 percent cited improved mental health and wellbeing. Over a third (36 per cent) said it had reduced their commuting load, with 31 percent saying it enhanced productivity.
How can employers prepare for the future?
Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG, suggests:
“With a buoyant job market after a challenging couple of years, workers are demanding more of their employers and their roles. Gone are the days when salary was the only factor when considering a job offer, and nothing better demonstrates this than the rise of hybrid working.”
“Daily commuting is an expensive and unnecessary practice, and it’s clear to see that workers around the UK are taking back control of this time. Employers who don’t offer hybrid working are going to miss out on the best talent. Not only do employees benefit from a dramatically improved work-life balance, but by switching to a hybrid model, businesses can expect to save an average of more than £8,000 per employee, all while minimising their carbon footprint.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
