Bryan HayDespite some companies reinstating return-to-office (RTO) policies, Flexa’s latest Flexible Working Index reports a robust growth in the flexible job market.
The Index, analysing over 4,000 job adverts and 840,000 job searches along with feedback from 8,500 job seekers between January and March 2024, found a 62% increase in flexible job postings compared to last year.
This growth comes amid broader labour market challenges like shrinking wages and rising unemployment, highlighting a strong demand for remote work options.
The data reveals that 52% of job seekers were looking for “fully remote” roles by March, an increase from 47% in January. Additionally, the demand for “remote-first” roles slightly rose from 41% to 43% in the same period.
Conversely, interest in more novel flexible working arrangements, such as “work from anywhere” schemes, has declined, with 27% fewer workers seeking such options by March.
Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and CEO of Flexa, commented on the findings: “The employer-led labour market and RTO-era is shining a light on what employees really want.
“And whilst many are willing to let more novel forms of flexibility slide, job seekers’ non-negotiable criteria for new roles is telling.
“Employees are right to hold out for core flexible working benefits (like fully remote and remote-first roles, and enhanced parental leave) that they won’t compromise on.
“The alternative risks employers and employees losing out if individuals find themselves in roles that don’t offer the working environments they need to be happy and productive.
“Many employers already know this. It’s because of these true flexible working champions that the future is still bright for flexible job hunters, and that flexible job vacancies are continuing to grow in number in spite of wider market forces.”
