A new report from ManpowerGroup Solutions claims that 40 percent of job candidates cite flexible working as one of their three most important career considerations. The firm polled 14,000 people in 19 countries. Among the countries surveyed, the US had the highest percentage of job candidates who want work flexibility (45 percent). A majority (63 percent) of workers said they believe they can work outside the office, and the number of men who want flexibility has significantly increased according to the study. The report, Work, for Me: Understanding Candidate Preferences for Flexibility, Manpower Group Solutions claims to offer ‘both the immediate steps and the long-term actions that companies can take to better meet their prospective employees’ preferences around flexibility’.
When it comes to workplace flexibility, the survey claims:
- Flexible arrival and departure times and full-time work from home/location independence are generally the most desired types of flexible working policies. Twenty-six percent of global candidates say flexible arrival and departure times are most important, followed closely by the ability to work from home or any other place they choose (22 percent).
- The rise in the importance of schedule flexibility is driven by a wide range of local factors. These include the presence of multinational companies or unions in that location; the influence of technology firms in the marketplace; workforce composition, such as proportion of Millennials; and congestion, infrastructure or public transportation that can impact commuting times.