Employers are struggling to know what working model to adopt.
According to data from Flexa Careers, they should consider fully-remote options.
As well as dog-friendly workplaces!
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COVID-19 pushed many workers to rethink what they wanted out of the world of work – as a result, for the past year, employees have been quitting in record numbers in a trend dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’.
Therefore, employers of all shapes and sizes are grappling with how to balance employees’ newfound working preferences with business needs.
Research, including from Microsoft and Gartner, suggests the leading working model is hybrid work where employees split their time between the office and remote locations.
However, some businesses have embraced more distributed models like working from anywhere (examples include Spotify and Airbnb), while others like Dropbox and UNLEASH have embraced a digital-first approach where the primary working location is remote.
Now data from Flexa Careers, a global directory of flexible jobs, has determined that actually fully-remote is the preferred model for workers.
While 10% of the 450,000 job seekers using Flexa Careers’ platforms wanted hybrid working opportunities in July 2022 (this is down 24% from June figures), 32% wanted to be remote-first, and 57% were looking for fully-remote options.
The completely remote approach saw a 18% growth on figures for June 2022; it is also up from 42% in the first quarter of 2022.
What is promising is that employers are aware of workers’ growing interest in fully-remote workplaces. Between June and July 2022, Flexa Career’s site saw an 84% increase in employers listing fully-remote roles.
Part-time work and dog-friendly offices are also popular
Flexa Career’s research also showed that job seekers were interested in dog-friendly offices, as well as part-time work.
There was a 42% increase in demand for dog-friendly workplaces between June and July 2022. Thankfully, employers are on board as this perk was seen in 23% more job postings in July.
In addition, between January and July 2022, the number of candidates preferring part-time roles skyrocketed by 257%.
Interestingly, Flexa Career saw a decline in interest in compressed hours (20% between June and July 2022). The figure for July 2022 was 20%, which is down significantly from 69% for Q1.
Does this suggest that flexible working hours aren’t necessarily as much of a net positive for work-life balance as was previously thought?
Talking about the findings, Flexa Careers’ co-founder and CEO Molly Johnson-Jones commented: “The world of work is an exciting place to be right now. Ways of working are constantly evolving, and calls for flexibility in different forms have grown exponentially over the past couple of years.
“This means it can be hard for companies to keep up and attract the masses of talent who want to work flexibly.
“We want to give companies the information they need to keep astride workplace trends, and implement genuinely flexible work in ways which are most meaningful to workers right now.
“In July, it just so happens that fully-remote roles, dog-friendly offices and part-time roles were the order of the day.”
Will these continue to be the preferences of employees in the long term? Or will employees rethink their stance on the importance of remote work and flexible hours as the cost of living crisis continues to bite?
