Dive Brief:
- Most of the 3,100 workers (65%) in a new FlexJobs survey think they'd be more productive working at home than in the office. Workers experience greater productivity at home, they said, because they encounter fewer distractions (75%), fewer interruptions from colleagues (74%), less stress from commuting (71%) and less office politics (65%).
- The survey also found that 61% of respondents left or considered quitting a job because it lacked work flexibility options. Eighty percent of respondents said telecommuting all the time is the most in-demand type of flexible work arrangement, followed by flexible schedules (71%). Among those who said they telecommuted in last year's survey, 22% telecommuted more this year.
- Respondents said they would rank work-life balance higher than salary when considering a job prospect. Almost 30% said they would take a wage cut in order to telecommute. More than three quarters of respondents said they would be more loyal to their organization if it offered flexible work options.
Dive Insight:
Research has shown that flexible work policies can majorly benefit a lot of employees for a wide range of reasons. "People across generations and various demographics, such as working parents, freelancers, introverts, those managing chronic illnesses, caretakers, and many more, may have different reasons for why they’re more productive telecommuting, but the bottom line is workers across the board say they get more work done from their home office," FlexJobs founder and CEO Sara Sutton said in a press release.
A Spherion Staffing Services' study found that 41% of workers will only accept jobs if they offer flexible work schedules. The popularity of these work options can be exceptionally beneficial to employers in this tight labor market, in which attracting, engaging and retaining talent is a crucial but tricky task. Employers and recruiters need to know what attracts and keeps workers onboard, as well as what drives them out.
Flexible work options could become a default benefit — that is, a staple perquisite in the workplace. In the meantime, employers may want to draft flexible or remote work policies that:
- Identify which jobs are eligible.
- Are fair and uniform.
- Provide the tools remote workers need.
- Decide how remote workers will interact with on-site staff.
- Are agile so adjustments can be made as necessary.
