More than half of UK workers feel that the most popular method of employment in the future will be flexible working.
This is according to research undertaken by ETZ Payments, a provider of back office software for recruiters. It found that 58 per cent of UK employees see the futures most popular style of working will be flexible.
Over a third (35 per cent) would rather have flexible working over a pay rise and 43 per cent think flexibility is the most important issue when choosing a job.
Just under half (47 per cent) would convert from nine to five to flexible working if they were guaranteed they would get paid regularly.
The frequency of pay checks seems to be a factor with flexible working as just under a third (30 per cent) would earn more as a freelancer, however, they have decided not to due to the inconsistent pay structure.
Also, just over a fifth (22 per cent) have switched to working freelance from working nine to five, as they feel they have a better chance of obtaining a better work/life balance from doing this.
Nick Woodward, CEO of ETZ Payments said:
It is clear from our research that there is a demand to work flexibly. This is especially pertinent over the summer months when many parents are looking to stay at home to avoid paying for childcare. Recruiters and HR departments should look to move with this demand and offer flexible working for employees. It is equally important that they have payment systems in place that can deal with flexible and freelance workers as many HR departments fear freelancers due to the numerous invoices and timesheets that come with hiring freelance workers. These can be avoided with the right timesheet software.
In order to conduct this research, ETZ Payments asked 2,000 UK workers on their opinions.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
