This month’s Flexible Working Index has revealed a range of key trends, including that employees want more say in their working hours. The Index, which tracks where, when and how people prefer to work, analyses data from Flexa Careers, the global directory for verified flexible companies.

August’s Index analysed a sample size of 36,899 user searches to reveal what kind of roles and companies were most in-demand over the last month.

Surge in availability of fully-remote jobs
In August 2022, there was a huge surge in the number of fully-remote roles being advertised by companies. The Flexa Careers platform saw a 41% spike in roles offering year-round remote work, between July and August; following an 84% increase between June and July. 

The upward trend suggests that companies are catching up with preferences expressed by job seekers. July saw a record number of employees express a preference for full remote roles – those which don’t require them to come into an office. 57% of job seekers in July were prioritising fully remote rules, the highest rate in 2022 to date. 

Core hours become a core need
The number of users expressing a preference for core hours (where staff must work during specific hours of the day, for example 11am-3pm, but have full flexibility to choose when else they work outside of those times) shot up by 20% in August, compared to July. This spike coincides with the end of the summer holidays, and the returning pressure on some parents to fit work around school drop off and pick up times.

The reopening of schools also saw demand for enhanced parental leave fall by 25% in August, compared to the previous month. 

Job-sharers make their mark
August saw a 14% spike in the number of people expressing a preference for job sharing, compared to July. Similarly, part-time roles have also seen a month-on-month increase in popularity since the start of the year, based on 3 month rolling averages. Between July and August, this number rose by 5%. 

Calls for over-50s to return to the workforce and the parallel ‘unretirement’ trend could be contributing to demand for alternatives to full-time roles. The growing childcare crisis may also be increasing demand for roles which are more compatible with caring responsibilities. 

Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and CEO of Flexa Careers, comments:

“Work constitutes a huge part of our lives. So it’s only natural that working preferences track wider trends across the economy, and even the school calendar. The insights we’ve gleaned from thousands of job hunters and analysed in this report tell that story.

“The most important thing is that our working lives fit around our personal lives, needs and priorities – rather than the other way around. And, right now, companies that offer job sharing and part-time roles are in the best position to attract more experienced talent, as well as those with young families – who may not otherwise want to or be able to work.”

Full findings