UK employees would work later in life if they could do so flexibly

Flexible working a top priority for UK workers - 73% of UK employees would work later in life if they could work flexibly Manpower íWhat makes a Great Employer?í Report, October 2005.



Nearly three quarters of UK workers (73 per cent) would work later in life if they could do so flexibly, according to a new report released today by Manpower, the UKís leading workforce management company. And 59 per cent of employees would be happy working a longer week if their hours were flexible.

The report, What makes a Great Employer?, provides an insight into how workers in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) view various aspects of the workplace. The report is drawn from independent research conducted by MORI of 1,604 UK workers and of 12,229 across EMEA.

UK employees also ranked flexible working and a work/life balance as one of the three top factors when deciding what makes a great employer.1 Workers also rate career progression opportunities, competitive benefits and salary package as other leading factors when choosing who to work for.

Commenting on the research, Mark Cahill, managing director of Manpower, says: This research is of great significance for all employers when considering their recruitment and retention policies. Whilst it is still the case that benefits and salary often feature at the top of employee wish lists, employers need to recognise that many employers rate flexibility just as highly.

The report also shows that workers are less concerned about whom they work for as opposed to how they work: just nine per cent of workers believe working for a well-known company is important.

Continues Cahill: The job for life is long dead. People today are likely to have at least two or three different careers in their lifetime and want to have more say over how they work and when they work. Many employers have already woken up to this and include this priority in their employment policies.

With an ageing population, thinking creatively about how we better engage the workforce can make all the difference. Itís clear there is a demand and good employers need to recognise it.

After salary and bonus, key workplace issues for employees are the length of the working week (62 per cent rating it important), the number of holidays (54 per cent) and access to paid courses/education (49 per cent).

Flexible working practices are similarly popular with many European workers: an average of 70 per cent would work later in life if they could do so flexibly. However, there is marked reluctance amongst Swedish employees to take such a step with just 38 per cent supporting this compared to 69 per cent in Norway, 68 per cent in Belgium, 72 per cent in Spain and 84 per cent in Turkey. Flexible working also scores in the top three of factors determining a great employer with European job seekers citing security and stability, salary and benefits and flexible working1 as key.

Looking at the popularity of different benefits or employment policies above others across Europe, workers in Austria have the greatest thirst for knowledge with 78 per cent rating paid courses/education as most important; employees in Germany are most interested in a pension package (68 per cent); workers in Greece want career breaks (70 per cent); employees in Spain are most concerned at the length of the working week (69 per cent); and workers in Turkey most value healthcare provision (73 per cent).