Two-thirds of employers plan on offering flexible working post-COVID-19

Kalila Sangster
Updated ·2 min read
Young woman working at home. She is with her dogs
Some 93% of employers said they understand that more professionals will want to work flexibly or remotely post COVID-19. Photo: Getty

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of employers plan on offering flexible working to their employees following the coronavirus pandemic, a new study from job board, CV-Library found.

The rise in home working due to the pandemic has created a shift in workers’ expectations with people looking to flexible working to create more balance between their personal and professional lives, according to CV-Library.

Some 93% of employers said they understand that more professionals will want to work flexibly or remotely going forward.

The coronavirus pandemic has “forced many companies to shake up their traditional working practises and move away from the traditional 9-5, office-based operation,” said Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library.

The percentage of jobs which included the term ‘flexible working’ in the job description between January and July this year has gone up to 4.6%, from 3.4% in 2019, according to analysis of job postings on the CV-Library website.

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The sectors more likely to mention flexible working include social care, with 14.1% of job adverts citing flexible working, charity (9.6% of jobs), IT (9.3% of jobs), marketing (7.4% of jobs), and design (6.8% of jobs).

Biggins said: “Naturally, flexible working isn’t an option for all professions; plus, it could relate to anything from flexible shift patterns, to working from home. Our data tells us that proportion of jobs that include the term ‘flexible working’ in them has risen year-on-year, indicating that more companies are showcasing this option in their job adverts.”

The majority (84%) of companies plan to highlight that flexible or remote working is available in their organisation by speaking to candidates about their vacancies, 74.1% plan to include it in their job adverts and and 66% intend to mention it during interviews.

Almost half (47%) of firms said they plan to bring up flexible working as an option when offering someone the job, and 45% will mention it on their career website and across their social media profiles.