THE conversation around flexible careers has changed considerably in recent years. What was initially viewed as a consequence of Covid and the subsequent rise in remote working has fast become an in-demand means of striking a better balance between life and work. And the benefits aren’t all employee exclusive.
A CIPD study carried out in 2022 revealed 82 per cent of UK employers found flexible working to be a key driver in retaining staff, while also lending firms a competitive advantage in attracting new talent.
It’s an emerging trend we’ve seen first hand at Timely Careers, our new social enterprise built to meet the demand of Northern Ireland’s talented women seeking careers on conditions that work for both them and prospective employers.
Enabling companies to access a wider pool of talent opens doors to employees seeking opportunities that are part-time, flexible, job share or term-time only. In doing so, employers who buy into this new approach can help future-proof a workforce that is more productive and ultimately less stressed. When executed well, it has the power to be a win-win scenario.
Companies unlock new talent, be that in the form of part-time consultants or skilled returners hoping to re-enter the workforce, while the benefits to staff are two-fold.
On the one hand, those employees seeking flexible work are enabled and empowered to access the right job at the right time for them, while wider team members also become part of a larger workforce that is more diverse and productive, with studies showing that fluid working patterns lead to 29 per cent higher productivity scores than employees with no flexibility at all.
It's making headlines, too. Earlier this month, the Private Member’s Bill on Flexible Working reached Royal Assent in the UK Government, and while it won’t come into effect here due to devolution and how employment laws are implemented in Northern Ireland, the very fact that conversations around flexible working are taking place within our corridors of power is progress in itself.
The Bill, when passed, will give employees the right to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period, with the government stating that workers will ‘have the right to request flexible working from day one’ of a new job.
Exactly how this will carry across into Northern Ireland, if at all, remains to be seen.
But if nothing else, it’s helping to raise awareness of the wholesale benefits that flexible arrangements can bring, as we collectively redraw the definition of the working day.
At Timely Careers, our team are simultaneously supporting women returners back into the workforce while championing the local employers helping to make that possible, unlocking a full talent pool at a time when many businesses are struggling with staff both in terms of recruitment and retention.
It’s time to think beyond the confines of the traditional nine to five.
:: Laura Dowie is director of Timely Careers at the Women in Business Group
