More than half (52%) of women say a lack of flexibility at work has pushed them to leave or consider leaving a job, according to research that highlights how a percieved lack of flexibility can hinder women’s careers.
A survey of more than 2,000 workers and 503 hiring managers commissioned by LinkedIn found that 21% of women feel their career progression has been negatively impacted by a lack of flexible working, while 25% have taken a career break as a result.
This is despite 80% of hiring managers stating that they have offered staff greater flexibility since the pandemic hit. Seventy-three per cent of hiring managers believe that employees are largely satisfied with their organisation’s flexible working policies and 78% think they offer enough flexibility to balance work and personal commitments.
Almost two-thirds of hiring managers said women have become more confident in asking for greater flexiblity since Covid-19. A further 28% have seen more men requesting flexible working arrangements.
Asked about the policies they felt would be the most helpful to them, 74% of women said flexible start and finish times would be beneficial, 71% wanted an increased annual leave allowance, and 68% said a four-day working week.
The ability to work remotely on days determined by the employee were also important to 61% of women and 48% of men.
Janine Chamberlin, UK country manager at LinkedIn, said there is clearly a disconnect between what companies are offering and what women would find most helpful.
“It’s important that businesses continue to listen to employees’ needs – otherwise they risk talented women finding opportunities elsewhere or leaving the workforce entirely. As we redesign workplaces for a new world of work, we must ensure flexibility is at the core and that it works for everyone,” she said.
Steve Collinson, chief HR officer at Zurich UK – which saw applications for senior roles soar after including flexible working options in its job adverts – said: “We see people looking for flexibility for a whole range of reasons such as parental caring responsibilities right through to portfolio careers and further education.
“We’ve gone further than just allowing people to flex their hours, we offer pretty much every advertised role on a potential part time or job share basis which has helped increase the number of women applying for roles and being hired into senior positions. This has also led to double the number of part time hires which means we’ve opened ourselves up to a whole new pool of talent. The icing on the cake is that overall applications have risen by two thirds.
“We believe this is about people looking to work for a business which offers the benefits they may want in the future or simply have shared values with them.”
The government was widely criticised last week after the long-promised employment bill, which was set to bring forth new rights including flexible working by default, was absent from the Queen’s Speech.
Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that greater adoption of flexible working by employers could open up jobs for 1.3 million more people in the UK, including those who have caring responsibilities, disabilities, or live in rural areas.