The insights from this year’s Flexible Jobs Index have big implications for businesses that need a stable, productive and inclusive workforce.
By Emma Stewart, Co-Founder, Timewise
First, the good news. This year’s Flexible Jobs Index, our annual report tracking the proportion of flexibly advertised jobs, puts the 2019 figure at 15%. In 2015, it was 9.5%, so the trend is continuing in the right direction.
But, but, but… it’s painfully slow, inching up by a couple of percentage points (or less) each year. If it continues at this rate, it will be a long time until the supply of part-time and flexible jobs matches the demand (which our research puts at 87%).
And when we dug deeper into the data, we uncovered some insights that employers who want to get the best from their workforce shouldn’t ignore:
While the highest salary bracket (jobs paying £80K FTE) has the fastest rate of growth, these roles are more likely to be described as ‘flexible’, rather than ‘part-time’. This may make it harder for key groups of employees to progress, particularly women who can’t work a full week. And that, in turn, can have a knock on effect on issues such as the gender pay gap.
There’s still a sharp drop in the availability of flexibly advertised jobs between the under £20K band (23%) and the £20K – £34K band (14%). This creates a structural cap on progression for many low-paid workers who have skills, but need to work flexibly. And it is certainly likely to make it harder for employers to build an inclusive, motivated workforce.
Finally, there are big discrepancies between the availability and growth of flexible opportunities in different sectors. In health and social services, for example, the percentage of flexibly advertised jobs far outstrips those of sectors such as construction and engineering. So it’s critical to have a sector-specific focus for any flexible working strategies you develop.
The chances are that at least one, if not all, of these insights are relevant to your organisation. So ignoring the data isn’t an option, particularly in an era of skills shortages and market uncertainty.
What’s more, offering flexibility up front may soon become a legal obligation. As I’m sure you’re aware, the government is consulting on proposals to support families, one of which is to give employers a duty to consider advertising all jobs as flexible.
So it would be well worth employers getting ahead of any potential reporting requirements, by taking steps to address the issues thrown up by this year’s Flexible Jobs Index sooner rather than later. In our view, they can’t afford not to.
Our consultancy and training team offer a range of services to help employers design, develop and deliver a flexible working strategy within a supportive culture. Please get in touch to find out more.
Published October 2019
