80% chooses an employer that allows flexworking.

Once employees have grown used to flexworking, they don't want to stop. Employers therefore have to do their best to facilitate time- and location-independent working. The IWG Global Workspace Study (2019) shows that four out of five respondents indicate that if they had to choose between two jobs, they would turn down the one that does not allow for flexworking. Studies also show that for circa 75% of all employees, flexworking has become the new standard.

A major drive that has expedited the introduction of flexworking is the ability to attract top talents. By making flexworking an explicit part of their employment conditions, businesses should be able to attract more top talents. The study shows that businesses focus heavily on their flexworking policy in order to attract and retain top talents (global average of 77%).

• For 54%, choosing where they want to work (location) is more important than working for a top company.
• For 32% of the respondents, being able to choose where they want to work is more important than having a prominent job.
• For 41%, the choice of where to work is more important than having zero overtime.
• For 70%, choosing one’s work environment is so important that it is a major factor in the search for new career opportunities.
• 54% of the respondents indicate that being able to choose where they want to work is more important than more holiday pay.

A company’s strategic focus on flexworking can contribute to its ability to attract and retain the best employees. 80% of the respondents indicate that they are more interested in a position when flexworking is explicitly mentioned in the job description. Two major factors are the improved work-life balance that flexworking offers and being able to avoid the stress of rush-hour traffic. 75% of the organisations indicate that they introduced flexworking to shorten employees’ commute, allowing them to show up to the office feeling refreshed and energised. This means that employees’ health, well-being and happiness are all improved because of flexworking. 85% of employers believe that flexworking makes their employees more productive.

• 82% of the organisations in the US use flexworking as a way to improve their employees’ worklife balance.
• When asked to choose between two identical jobs, 98% of the employees in Belgium would pick the one that offers flexworking.
• In Germany, 80% of the organisations already have a flexworking policy in place or plan to implement one.
• In France, 70% of the employees believe that staff are more productive when organisations offer them a work environment tailored to their position or activities.
• In the Netherlands, 66% of the working population believes that companies should subsidise their employees’ travel expenses.
• In the UK, 42% of the working population views the technological requirements as one of the main obstacles to overcome when adopting flexworking.

When an organisation wants to implement flexworking, a number of strategic and practical adjustments have to be made. Employees use their laptops more, which means equipment such as a compact keyboard, a laptop stand and an ergonomic mouse are essential requirements. With these, employers can have their employees work in a productive and healthy manner, anywhere and anytime.