A survey among Irish workers has found that two out of three people (64 percent ) said they now work in a flexible environment - this is an increase from the same survey in 2019, before the pandemic when 53 percent said they worked in a flexible environment.
The survey conducted by recruitment firm Employflex found that almost half of people said their company does not have a flexible work policy (48 percent ). Worrying also is that 16 percent said they have been refused a request for flexible work by their boss.
The survey shows that flexible work is high on the agenda when it comes to the workplace. All survey respondents said flexible work would give them a better work/life balance while 96 percent said it would make them more productive. Interestingly, although almost half said they would like flexibility for a better work/life balance, more than a quarter (27 percent ) said they would like it so that they can do school drop offs and collections. In addition 93 percent said they would change jobs all things considered if they were offered more flexibility in a new role.
The survey found that most people would favour hybrid working (29 percent ), reduced or part time hours (25 percent ) or remote working (23 percent ). Unfortunately however 42 percent said they would not feel confident asking their employer for flexible work. The main barrier people believe to employers granting flexible work is a lack of trust (43 percent ) followed by fears about a reduction in productivity (20 percent ).
“The results of this survey show us that flexible work is hugely important to employees today. As two-thirds of people surveyed are currently working in a flexible work environment, the majority of employees favour a hybrid version of working which allows them the freedom of working part-time at home or in the office. This comes well ahead of working compressed hours, fitting five days into four, where only one in ten supported this option. Unfortunately just less than half of those surveyed are aware of their company’s flexible work policy, while two out of five people feel uncomfortable asking their employer for a flexible work option.
“Flexibility is key to retaining good staff. People shouldn’t be forced out of the workplace because they need flexibility in their working day. Employers must be more open to talking about flexible and remote work and following two years of it we can see that it can work,2 Founder of Employflex, Karen O’Reilly, stated.
The survey was conducted by flexible work recruitment specialists, Employflex and there were more than 400 respondents.
