Demand for flexible roles doubles amongst job seekers
The latest Work Index shows record supply and demand for flexible jobs last quarter
11th Nov 2024
The findings show how the flexible jobs market is booming in a new blow to the wider labour market, which just recorded its weakest figures since the Biden administration began. The record flexible labour market figures also come in spite of unrelenting ‘return to office’ (RTO) mandates elsewhere.
At the same time, the findings point to a gap between the level of flexibility which is currently on offer, and the level of flexibility candidates want. Demand for fully remote roles drastically outstrips supply, whilst the reverse is true for hybrid roles, where supply outrips demand.
The Index analyses data from Flexa: the platform where companies get discovered for their working environments and culture.Flexible jobs boom rivals wider labour market
There were more flexible jobs advertised last quarter than ever before, Flexa’s data shows. Between July and September 2024, Flexa recorded 6,962 flexible job posts offering anything from ‘fully-remote’ work to 1 work-from-home day per week, and anything from ‘a little flexibility’ around working hours to ‘fully flexible’ working hours.
The findings point to a 60% increase in flexible jobs, compared to the previous quarter (4,343 jobs were posted on Flexa between April and June 2024).
RTO mandates are not deterring flexible job seekers
RTO mandates elsewhere are not discouraging flexible job seekers. Last quarter also saw the highest number of flexible job hunters ever recorded by Flexa. Between July and September 2024, 22,014 job seekers signed up on the platform to register their preferences specifically for flexible roles at organisations offering a range of different working environments and cultures.
This means that job seekers searching specifically for flexible roles more than doubled in number (up by 132%), compared to the previous quarter (Flexa recorded 9,473 job seekers prioritising flexible working between April and June 2024).Flexible employers still take a more moderate approach
Yet employers are taking a more moderate approach to flexible work than staff.
59% of job seekers preferred roles offering ‘fully remote’ work (whereby teams work remotely on a full-time basis) last quarter. By contrast, just 2% of job posts advertised ‘fully remote’ work between July and September 2024.
The number of ‘fully remote’ job posts also halved between July and September 2024, compared to the previous quarter (4% of roles advertised the benefit between April and June 2024). By comparison, demand has increased by 18% since April, when half of job seekers preferred ‘fully remote’ jobs.
Flexa’s data suggests that employers are far more likely to accommodate ‘hybrid' work (a mixture of home and office based work), instead of ‘fully remote’ work.Over three quarters of roles offer hybrid work
77% of job posts advertised ‘hybrid’ work - offering anything from 1-4 work-from-home days per week - last quarter. Yet just over 1 in 10 (11%) of job seekers preferred ‘hybrid’ roles between July and September 2024.
The number of jobs offering ‘hybrid’ work also rose by 22% between July and September 2024, compared to the previous quarter (63% of jobs advertised the benefit between April and June 2024). Whereas job seeker demand for ‘hybrid’ roles has remained relatively stable since April.
The gap between workers’ and employers’ preferences suggests that compromise could be key to finally overcoming the home-office divide.
Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and CEO of Flexa, comments:
“Flexible jobs are on the rise despite the wider labour market slump. ‘Return to office’ mandates aren’t putting off increasing numbers of job seekers who are looking for roles offering different kinds of working environments and cultures - nor the rising number of employers offering them. Yet workers still want a greater level of flexibility than businesses are currently able or willing to give.
“If workers could choose right now, our data suggests that a large number would work remotely full time. Whereas companies would rather staff come into offices for at least some of the week. To end the home-office divide for good, each side will have to come together and find a path through the gap between their current preferences. The good news is that there’s no shortage of options. Flexibility is a spectrum, and employers and employees have anywhere between ‘1 WFH day per week’ and ‘fully remote’ work to meet at a point that works for both sides.”