[UK] Lack of flexibility prompts millions to change careers

New research from the CIPD has revealed that around 4 million people in the UK have changed careers because of a lack of flexibility at work. And almost 2 million made the change in the last year, Personnel Today reports.

The CIPD’s latest report - Flexible and hybrid working practices in 2023 - states that employers wanting to tackle skill shortages in their business must ensure they offer flexible working in order to attract and retain staff.

The CIPD reportedly found that a growing number of organisations now offer flexible working from the first day of employment (39 per cent this year versus 36 per cent in 2021), in advance of the introduction of government legislation announced in December 2022.

Fourteen per cent of employers said they will enable flexible working from the first day of employment before the legislation - which is still to be confirmed - takes effect.

Almost half (49 per cent) of employers reportedly remain unaware of the upcoming legislation, despite 71 per cent of workers considering a flexible working pattern important to them.

More than two-thirds of employees told the CIPD that the ability to work remotely was important to them when considering a new role.

People with disabilities or long-term health conditions were reportedly the most likely to have left a job in the last year (21 per cent) or changed their profession due to a lack of flexible working provisions (32 per cent).

Forty per cent of organisations said there had been an increase in flexible working requests in 2023 and 66 per cent said it was important to them to offer flexible working when advertising jobs (compared to 56 per cent in 2021).

According to the CIPD’s findings, front-line workers are also increasingly gaining access to flexibility with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of employers providing some kind of flexibility for front-line workers.

However, 29 per cent of workers said they would use flexi-time arrangements if offered yet only 17 per cent currently use this option. Other flexibility options that were reportedly sought but not as widely used were term-time working, compressed hours, job sharing and annualised hours.

Claire McCartney - senior resourcing and inclusion adviser at the CIPD - said employers were facing “dual challenges” of skills shortages and retention issues, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, education and hospitality.

“Our latest research reinforces that offering flexible working can go a long way towards tackling these problems, even in roles that are traditionally seen as non-flexible,” she said.

“By outlining flexible working options in job advertisements, employers can also open up recruitment to wider talent pools and create fairer and more inclusive workplaces. This transparency supports workers to ask for flexibility and helps to normalise the conversation for all groups.

“More needs to be done to educate and prepare organisations for pending legislation to make flexible working requests a day one right. However, employers don’t need to wait to make a change to their flexible working policies and should offer the right to request flexible working from day one of employment, wherever possible.”

The CIPD’s report offers a number of recommendations for employers when it comes to flexible and hybrid working strategies. These include:

• Internal policies on day-one flexible working requests.
• Indicating within job ads that roles can be performed flexibly, where possible.
• Raising awareness of different types of flexible working, particularly in roles that have traditionally been seen as non-flexible.
• Providing training and support to managers on managing flexible and hybrid teams.
• Developing an action plan to ensure hybrid working supports inclusion.
• Consulting with employees when designing hybrid working practices.

Tina Woods - CEO of Business for Health, a coalition of businesses focused on employee wellbeing - also believes that businesses needed to adapt ways of working to attract and retain staff.

“If flexible working isn’t available, employees, especially those with long-term health conditions are likely to feel stigmatised and shunned from the workplace leading to many being forced to stop working,” she said.

Source: Personnel Today

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

New research from the CIPD has revealed that around 4 million people in the UK have changed careers because of a lack of flexibility at work. And almost 2 million made the change in the last year, Personnel Today reports.

The CIPD’s latest report - Flexible and hybrid working practices in 2023 - states that employers wanting to tackle skill shortages in their business must ensure they offer flexible working in order to attract and retain staff.

The CIPD reportedly found that a growing number of organisations now offer flexible working from the first day of employment (39 per cent this year versus 36 per cent in 2021), in advance of the introduction of government legislation announced in December 2022.

Fourteen per cent of employers said they will enable flexible working from the first day of employment before the legislation - which is still to be confirmed - takes effect.

Almost half (49 per cent) of employers reportedly remain unaware of the upcoming legislation, despite 71 per cent of workers considering a flexible working pattern important to them.

More than two-thirds of employees told the CIPD that the ability to work remotely was important to them when considering a new role.

People with disabilities or long-term health conditions were reportedly the most likely to have left a job in the last year (21 per cent) or changed their profession due to a lack of flexible working provisions (32 per cent).

Forty per cent of organisations said there had been an increase in flexible working requests in 2023 and 66 per cent said it was important to them to offer flexible working when advertising jobs (compared to 56 per cent in 2021).

According to the CIPD’s findings, front-line workers are also increasingly gaining access to flexibility with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of employers providing some kind of flexibility for front-line workers.

However, 29 per cent of workers said they would use flexi-time arrangements if offered yet only 17 per cent currently use this option. Other flexibility options that were reportedly sought but not as widely used were term-time working, compressed hours, job sharing and annualised hours.

Claire McCartney - senior resourcing and inclusion adviser at the CIPD - said employers were facing “dual challenges” of skills shortages and retention issues, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, education and hospitality.

“Our latest research reinforces that offering flexible working can go a long way towards tackling these problems, even in roles that are traditionally seen as non-flexible,” she said.

“By outlining flexible working options in job advertisements, employers can also open up recruitment to wider talent pools and create fairer and more inclusive workplaces. This transparency supports workers to ask for flexibility and helps to normalise the conversation for all groups.

“More needs to be done to educate and prepare organisations for pending legislation to make flexible working requests a day one right. However, employers don’t need to wait to make a change to their flexible working policies and should offer the right to request flexible working from day one of employment, wherever possible.”

The CIPD’s report offers a number of recommendations for employers when it comes to flexible and hybrid working strategies. These include:

• Internal policies on day-one flexible working requests.
• Indicating within job ads that roles can be performed flexibly, where possible.
• Raising awareness of different types of flexible working, particularly in roles that have traditionally been seen as non-flexible.
• Providing training and support to managers on managing flexible and hybrid teams.
• Developing an action plan to ensure hybrid working supports inclusion.
• Consulting with employees when designing hybrid working practices.

Tina Woods - CEO of Business for Health, a coalition of businesses focused on employee wellbeing - also believes that businesses needed to adapt ways of working to attract and retain staff.

“If flexible working isn’t available, employees, especially those with long-term health conditions are likely to feel stigmatised and shunned from the workplace leading to many being forced to stop working,” she said.

Source: Personnel Today

(Link and quotes via original reporting)