What working environments do people actually want?

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At Flexa we have gathered millions of data points from over 1.2 million users that show the exact working environments they are searching for.?

That’s a lot of data.?

?? So, what types of working environments do people really care about??

??? Remote is in the lead by miles?

Over the last 3 months a whopping 52% of people looking for companies on Flexa have selected Fully Remote as their preference.?

These companies, without an office or any requirement to go into an office, benefit from being able to hire from anywhere, reduced overhead costs, and increases in diversity and inclusion by appealing to those who can’t or prefer not to be in an office environment.?

People are also looking for support in working from home with 39% of people on Flexa selecting Work from Home Allowance as a benefit they’d love access to.?

The savings remote teams make in not having an office allow for a pretty cushy WFH set up allowance, so this is certainly one to consider if you are going fully remote!

boxxe , a fully remote Flexified company had this to say:

"By committing to remote work, boxxe can access a sizable talent pool that spans the entire of the UK, drawing diverse and highly qualified people who strengthen our team.?

We have put strategies in place to ensure that our commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusivity is reality by building and maintaining a flexible environment that supports a good work-life balance, and meets the demands of everyone looking for this.”

- Alexandra T. & Kaye Lawal Talent Partners boxxe

?? But, people are more split when it comes to working hours?

Fully flexible hours are the most popular when we ask about working hours, with 24% of people choosing this option.

Flexible hours give teams complete flexibility to be a morning person, or night owl, handle caring responsibilities, or to take advantage of a sunny afternoon after getting all their work done.?

10% of people would like to work core hours, and 12% would like a little flexibility in their daily schedule.?

The other 54%? They don’t rank working hours as a top priority, and would consider companies with a variety of policies.?

The key to making flexible hours work is an output based culture.

Measure your teams on the work they do, not the hours they work and you’ll find it far easier to adapt to flexible hours.?

?? To hire more women, flexible work is a must.?

77% of people searching for companies on Flexa are women.?

This has been the case throughout Flexa’s entire lifetime, staying the same even as we’ve grown from 0 - 1.2million users.?

It’s remarkable that, without any targeting on our part, women dominate our user base so heavily.

However, it does make sense. Women tend to pick up the majority of childcare and other caring work, this means that they often need and want more flexibility around their working location and hours to be able to juggle everything.?

?? Work from anywhere schemes are the fastest growing choice?of benefit

Work from anywhere schemes - where employees are allowed and encouraged to spend a set number of days a year working from a different country - have boomed in popularity over the last few months.?

Searches for WFA schemes have more than doubled this year already with people keen to spend the summer somewhere different, travel more, or spend time visiting family abroad without burning through annual leave.

WFA schemes can seem daunting at first, but they can be made to work for almost every company. I wrote a newsletter all about WFA recently if you’d like to read up.?

?? And finally, support from employers is in high demand

Preferences for employers that offer a mental health program or support, like Oliva , have gone up 44%, closely followed by a 24% increase in people looking for a wellbeing allowance.?

I talk a lot about making work work for everyone, and it’s great to see people prioritise their health and wellbeing alongside getting their work done. If you are able to offer benefits like mental health support and a wellbeing allowance it can be a great way to make your employer brand stand apart and attract great candidates.?

?? So, what next??

Now you know exactly what candidates are looking for – how do you match up??

If you offer any form of flexible working, you should be on Flexa so you can be discovered by millions of users looking for exactly what you offer.

Book a demo here to understand how you can use flexibility to your advantage and reach millions of people searching for flexible companies.

Or you can benchmark your whole working environment to see how you rank here .