According to a survey by Cranfield School of Management and CBI Economics, employers in the UK are increasingly willing to accommodate part-time and other kinds of flexible working as viable choices for their businesses.
Figures reveal that the furlough plan, which allowed companies to bring employees back to work part-time while furloughing the rest of the time, has affected how companies see working habits.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has helped line managers learn how to create and manage part-time employment more successfully, according to 45 percent of the 208 employers polled in February.
Following COVID, 62 percent of line managers in the study said they were “more likely” to entertain part-time requests from employees.
According to the CBI poll, 96 percent of companies were “more flexible” about where their workers worked and 87 percent were “more flexible” about how they arranged their employees’ working hours.
During half of respondents (60%) and 58%), respectively, expect remote and flexible working to grow in their businesses over the next two years. While 46% predict a rise in part-time employment.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, 26% of workers worked part-time before the pandemic, some to satisfy their employer’s demands and others to better balance work and family obligations.
According to a recent ONS study, the percentage of workers who combine working from home with going to the office climbed from 13% in February to 24% in May.
“We know that the future of work is a key priority for our members, who are conscious of their employees’ renewed focus on work-life balance and desire for more flexibility around the location and organisation of their work, against the backdrop of a very tight jobs market. These findings show that changes in working practices, and attitudes towards them, are very much underway. It is particularly encouraging to see that this shift in attitudes is associated with positive financial situations for companies, with the majority of the organisational representatives surveyed reporting that the financial wellbeing of their organisation was good or very good, and expected to remain positive over the next two years at least.”Anna Leach, Deputy Chief Economist, CBI
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