As the UK economy falters, business leaders have started reconsidering flexible working perks originally handed out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As revealed in LinkedIn data relayed by Workplace Insight, UK hiring for posts offering remote, hybrid and flexible working reached a peak in January 2022. At that time, the proportion of remote jobs listed on the platform neared 16% — an increase from almost 12% in September 2022.
Given that a similar trend has been seen in other territories around the world, it would be tempting to surmise that remote working has passed its post-lockdown peak. It is therefore paradoxical that flexible working evidently remains popular with employees.
The “growing disconnect” in the jobs market
Josh Graff, LinkedIn’s managing director for EMEA and Latin America, recently told Bloomberg Radio — in words quoted by Fortune — that power has been “shifting back to employers as hiring slows down,” to the backdrop of a “tight labour market” that is nonetheless “starting to loosen”.
Graff observed that, while a mere 12% of advertised jobs were remote, they attracted 20% of all applications. This situation, he added, represented a “growing disconnect between what professionals want and what employers are offering.”
This discrepancy naturally begs the question of why many job applicants are continuing to cling to the hope of obtaining work where flexibility will be an option.
Why flexible working still makes sense for many employees
In Glassdoor research cited by Employee Benefits, 58% of hybrid workers claimed that flexible working had eased their efforts to manage the recent increase in the cost of living.
Of the roughly 2,000 UK office workers surveyed for the research, 23% revealed that commuting had proved something of a financial barrier for them.
Meanwhile, 71% of hybrid workers in full-time employment expressed satisfaction with the arrangement. Improved productivity was reported by 58% of the hybrid staffers in the survey.
Of the survey respondents, 64% said that their work-life balance had improved, while 66% reported now being more capable of attending to caring for children or other responsibilities.
Should many employers continue to offer remote working?
The Glassdoor survey did uncover a few points of dissatisfaction with hybrid working. For instance, 43% of the survey participants conceded that they faced greater difficulty in connecting with colleagues.
Similarly, 41% admitted that they struggled to learn from their peers and build a relationship with their manager or senior colleagues.
Given these findings, the average employer could benefit from considering the renting of a flexible workspace that is ideal for hybrid working but also capable of accommodating a wide range of work patterns.
With this kind of workspace at close hand, a business can enhance its appeal to various job candidates — and so help in filling vacancies with top talent.
Indeed, Lauren Thomas, UK economist at Glassdoor, has cautioned that “there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the world of work post-pandemic.” It would therefore be convenient for employees to be able to utilise whatever kind of working they honestly believe would work best for them.
