Analysis pf data* from throughout 2023 to reveals the biggest work trends of the year, as well as those set to shape how we work in 2024. The analysis  is from a record 9,300 job adverts, 2.8m job searches, and the preferences expressed by over 27,000 job seekers about where, when and how they want to work. The data was collected between January 2023 and November 2023. 

2023 saw working weeks get shorter

In January, half of workers expressed a preference for part-time work. This group gradually declined in number over the course of the year, but there were still over a third (37%) of workers expressing a preference for part-time work by November.

Other workers began opting for a new style of shorter working week: a 4-day working week. Flexa started tracking preferences for 4-day weeks in April and demand has remained consistent ever since.

50% of job seekers expressed a preference for 4-day weeks in April. This figure remained high over the course of the year, with 48% of job seekers expressing a preference for 4-day weeks by November. Overall, almost half of workers (48%) preferred 4-day weeks between April and November, on average.

It’s clear that shorter working weeks work for both sides. Mars, CoppaFeel and Huel are amongst the companies who are currently open to part-time job applicants. 

And when the UK’s official 4-day week trial came to a close at the end of last year, 92% of the companies involved opted to make the benefit permanent, citing reduced sick leave and burnout as just some of the benefits. 

1 in 3 workers wanted jobs offering mental health support
2023 saw workforces hit by record rates of sick leave. Mental ill health was the main reason for long-term absences. This tallies with consistently high demand for mental health support amongst job seekers over the course of the year. 

Between January and November, almost a third (31%) of workers expressed a preference for jobs offering mental health support, on average. This figure has held fast since Flexa last published findings on the demand for mental health support, halfway through the year.

More workers sought mental health support this time this year than this time last year. Flexa recorded a 16% increase in the number of workers expressing a preference for jobs offering mental health support over the last twelve months – up from 26.2% of workers in November 2022, to 30.4% of workers in November 2023.

TUI Group, WeTransfer and Wild are amongst employers offering workers mental health support such as “mental health days”, wellbeing allowances and mental health platform access.

Workers care more about where not when they work
This analysis shows that job seekers care less about when they work, and more about where they’re doing it. In 2023, just over half (52%) of workers on average said they “don’t mind” whether employers offer flexible hours or not.

However, flexible working locations came out as a huge priority for job seekers. In every month of 2023, job searches for “fully remote” roles (whereby companies are unlikely to have offices, and don’t require office attendance even if they do) exceeded searches for roles offering any other kind of location-based flexibility on a permanent basis. 

But the data shows fully remote demand is tailing off. Job searches for fully remote roles fell by 28% over the last year – from 61% in January to 44% in November.

Other workers began seeking shorter stints of full location-based flexibility: “work from anywhere” (WFA) schemes (whereby staff can work from anywhere in the world for a set number of days per year). Flexa started tracking job searches for WFA schemes in December 2022, and demand has skyrocketed since.

Demand for work from anywhere schemes increased by almost six-fold (up by 583%) over the course of the year. WFA scheme job searches increased from 6% in January, to a huge 41% in November.

Employers are happy to compromise on hybrid work

When it came to location-based flexibility, employers had other ideas. In every month of 2023, roles offering fully remote work were least common.

Hybrid work offered an alternative that employers were willing to compromise on however. In every month of 2023, job posts advertising 3-4 WFH days per week were most common.

With employers holding fast on their working location preferences but workers starting to sway, hybrid work is a benefit that could end office-WFH debate if fully remote roles continue to fall out of favour with job seekers in 2024.

Virgin Media O2, Not On The High Street, and Moneysupermarket Group are amongst the companies currently advertising roles that offer 3-4 WFH days per week. 

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

“There’s no denying that workers wanted flexibility as much as ever in 2023 – we recorded a colossal 2.8 million job searches from candidates seeking flexible roles in total this year. But employers don’t have to offer it all.

“Companies are finding that overarching forms of flexibility – or “umbrella flexibility” – can cover a lot of different workers’ needs at once, so individuals have less need for other flexible working benefits in addition.

“For example, hybrid work might accommodate the needs of workers with health conditions and at the same time enable parents – who might otherwise rely on early start and finish times – to switch commutes for school runs. Hence demand for flexible working locations outstripping demand for flexible working hours. In the same vein, 4-day weeks increase work-life balance and overall wellbeing for all employees, and also offer workers who’d usually seek part-time roles a better paid alternative. Hence demand for the latter petering out when 4-day weeks emerged on the scene earlier this year.

“The takeaway for employers is simple. Rather than try to offer every new flexible benefit that inevitably springs up in 2024, companies should focus on the overarching needs of their teams, and consider what “umbrella flexibility” they can realistically offer to cover as many of these needs as possible.”

*Flexa’s landmark end-of-year report