Flexible Working Survey Shows Desire for Flexible Working

Major study commissioned by McDonald’s in partnership with YouGov shows over half of respondents don’t want traditional 9 to 5 working day

New research shows that the majority of UK workers want to work flexibly, and that it's a very effective benefit for both performance and retention. It also reveals that only 6% of those surveyed work the typical 9am to 5pm working hours.

The study involved 4,295 adults aged 16 and over. When it comes to working hours, 58% in full time employment prefer to start earlier than 9am, and finish before 5pm. 37% favoured hours of 8am to 4pm, and 21% would rather work 7am to 3pm. Almost half (48%) would prefer to work more hours per day, in return for having fewer working days.

 

The most popular perk of a new job was named as a sociable workplace (at 63%), with flexible working hours coming in second at 61%. 42% of workers are currently in a job with some kind of flexible working practice. There is still a desire to move even further towards flexible working however, with 70% wanting the opportunity to work more flexibly.

 

When it comes to the effect flexible working can have, there is definite evidence of a strong positive impact for both employees and employers. Of those surveyed, 69% said it encourages them to remain in a job for longer. This avoids costly staff turnover. Going further, 57% said it improves their motivational levels, whilst 65% said it increases their wellbeing and satisfaction. Improving employee engagement and experience like this will lead to increased productivity.

 

 

Although flexible working is something the workforce is fully in favour of, worryingly, 31% don’t feel able to request it from their employers, or feel that it would be rejected as a request. In this instance, it’s worth remembering that if an employee has been working for a company for more than six months, they are able to make a statutory request for flexible working. This request must be dealt with in a ‘reasonable manner’, and can only be refused if there is a good business reason for doing so. It’s also possible that the form of flexible working offered may differ from the one requested.

 

Bodet’s Time & Attendance Systems make it easy to offer any form of flexible working, such as flexitime or annualised hours, without any additional HR administration. With Smartphone Clocking In, you can even offer remote working without losing visibility of staff, and receive automated alerts if attendance targets aren’t met.

 

If you would like a free demonstration to see how our Time & Attendance System can support the flexible working requirements of your organisation, please contact us.