Nine in 10 would choose employer that offered flexible working

If your business does not offer flexible working options, your best employees may look to move to an employer that does – according to a survey from Regus.

Over 3,000 professionals in the UK were quizzed by the workspace solutions provider on the importance of flexibility for today’s workers.

More than nine out of 10 respondents said that, given a choice of two similar jobs, they would choose the one that offered more flexible working options.

Following the research, Richard Morris, UK CEO of Regus, commented: “Businesses must think long and hard about the type of roles that they are offering to today’s professionals. The days of the fixed hours, fixed-location job are becoming as outdated as the office fax machine.”

He added that flexibility is no longer considered to be a perk by the majority of workers, and thus becomes a “key differentiator for talented individuals”. Firms not offering it could face retention issues.

This was backed up by the survey findings, with almost one-third of respondents (32%) stating that they would have stayed longer in their previous jobs if greater flexibility had been offered.

“A flexible role is one where the individual has more control over where and when they are productive. Managers must get better at measuring on results rather than on time spent at a specified desk,” Morris continued.

He also hinted at the reasons why offering flexible working options might make financial sense, noting: “There is also the current business climate to consider. The economic uncertainty requires business to be more agile and nimble so operating with a fluid and flexible workforce, using available workspace, makes real commercial sense.

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“Put simply, those businesses not thinking flexibly risk a talent drain,” he concluded.