Within a new report from work-life balance charity Working Families and professional coaching organisation Talking Talent, the pair argue that ‘flexible working should not just be the preserve of those who work at a desk’.
It comes as research by the charity and organisation finds that despite progress made in the pandemic, many parents and carers, including those working in frontline services such as education, still lack access to flexible working.
The Index 2022, which includes a ranking table of the most and least flexible sectors as reported by 2,806 parents surveyed (see below), finds that higher earners (over £60k) and those in ‘knowledge-based’ industries are most likely to be working flexibly, leaving those on lower incomes and in ‘place-based’ roles behind.
Most flexible (over 80 per cent of respondents in these sectors reported working flexibly)
- Marketing advertising and PR
- Business consulting and management
- Not-for-profit and charity work
- Creative arts and design
- Accountancy, banking and finance
Least flexible (less than 65 per cent of respondents in these sectors reported working flexibly)
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Teacher training and education
- Engineering and manufacturing
- Transport and logistics
According to the rankings, the five industries with the last flexibility are those in roles which are less suited to homeworking and overwhelmingly employ women, which the charity and organisation argue ‘disproportionately affect women’s access to flexible work.’
Jane van Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, said, ‘The Index emphasises that now more than ever, we need to ensure that flexible working is accessible to all. It’s vital to enabling working parents and carers to access and stay in employment, which is a matter of survival amidst the current cost-of-living crisis.
‘At the moment we are seeing huge growth in home and hybrid working. While we can celebrate this, it's leaving a lot of working parents and carers behind in sectors where home and hybrid options are less possible. Millions of these are our frontline workers, people who kept vital services going throughout the pandemic. Flexible working should not just be the preserve of those who work at a desk—and working from home is just one of many types of flexible working. We encourage employers in every sector to take a look at all of the ways in which they can make flexible working possible. If employers get this right, they will reap the benefits of increased loyalty and retention.’
- The Working Families Index 2022 is available here
