Two thirds of business people say that flexible working is often the deciding factor when choosing whether to stay in a job.
In fact, 82% of those surveyed by Regus say that they would choose one job over another similar one, if it offered flexible working.
While most companies know that it’s cheaper to keep employees than to lose them, they don’t always implement measures to retain their valued workforce.
The survey confirms that in South Africa flexible working can be used to avoid employee churn (and the consequent expense of recruitment) as 75% of respondents point to flexible working as a perk that attracts top talent.
Flexible working has huge appeal
The research also found that:
- 74% of respondents say offering flexible working makes employees more loyal
- 59% of workers would actually turn down a job that ruled out flexible working
- 62% say they would have stayed longer in their last position had flexible working been an option.
Commenting on the study, Kirsten Morgendaal, area director at Regus, says:
“Flexible working, which is lower cost than fixed office working, offers the attractive perks of lower stress and better work-life balance to existing and prospective employees, and provides a low cost solution to attracting and retaining those top workers.
“It’s also striking how mainstream the perk of flexible working has become, with many respondents actually choosing their jobs on the basis of flexibility.”