Work that keeps the UK workingHow flexible working can help power 24-hour Britain in a post-Brexit age

A study from Quinyx, the workforce management expert

Forewordfrom Erik Fjellborg, CEO and Founder - Quinyx

For today’s businesses, times are tough.

From staying on top of disruptive technologies, to keeping up with 24-hour consumer demand, business leaders face new challenges at every turn. Getting ahead of the competition is only possible with the right workforce, in the right place at the right time.

But, this isn’t as simple as it sounds.

In the UK, the battle for talent rages fiercer than ever, while Brexit and a turbulent economy are adding to the pressures facing employers as they attempt to attract and retain workers.

It is in this context that flexibility at work has become crucial for business success.

Employee flexibility is all too often equated with lower productivity and increased costs. In particular, business owners and managers fear logistical headaches and wasted hours spent wrestling over spreadsheets.

At Quinyx, we believe the opposite to be true. With the right tools and technology in place, flexible working can allow businesses to improve productivity, save time, reduce costs, improve employee retention and boost employee happiness. We have even pinpointed the exact financial boost UK businesses could expect to achieve if they fully embrace flexibility in the future.

This means that it is vital that employers get flexible working right. Top of the list is recognising the need for true flexibility for everyone – including those that make up often-forgotten workforces, such as blue-collar workers.

To help British businesses understand and embrace flexibility in their organisations, we have undertaken research highlighting the flexible landscape in the UK today, including British worker sentiment, and what the future of flexible working could look like. You can explore what we found – and our recommendations for employers – in this report.

While a degree of flexibility exists in the UK’s workforce, we still have some way to go. The good news is that greater flexibility can benefit everyone – from the workers that want more of it, to the employers that can implement it.

Now is the time for a flexibility revolution.

Research methodology

Current and forward-look economic analysisEconomic analysis was conducted by Development Economics on behalf of Quinyx.

Development Economics analysed ONS datasets, including the Labour Force Survey, the Workforce Jobs data series, the Business Register and Employment Survey, and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, to create a snapshot of flexible working in Britain today. The data sets used captured the period between 2011 and 2017.

These data sets were used alongside a worker sentiment survey (more detail below) to develop estimates of the potential future scale and value of flexible working in the UK.

Worker sentiment researchWorker sentiment research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Quinyx. A survey of 2018 full and part time workers in the UK was conducted between 17.08.2018 and 23.08.2018.

Of the respondents, 50% work fixed hours, and 50% work non-fixed hours.

Work that keeps the UK working Work that keeps the UK working02 03

24 HOUR BRITAIN:

Powering the always-on economy

The UK’s workforce is evolving to meet the demands of a 24-hour economy

Differenttypesofwork,includingpart-time,shiftandseasonalwork,contributetokeepingBritain always running

Today’s on-demand consumer mentality means businesses now operate in an ‘always-on’ economy.

To meet customer demand for 24/7 access to products and services, businesses have needed to adapt employee working patterns to match. As a result, the traditional 9-5 job is becoming a thing of the past.

Part-time workers

Shift workers

Seasonal workers

We have conducted an extensive analysis of ONS data to paint a picture of the 24-hour workforce powering Britain today. These are the shift, seasonal and part-time working heroes who save our lives, fuel the country with coffee each morning and get us from A to B. In short, they are the people whose daily work keeps the UK working.

8.4mpart-time workers in the UK in 2017 – a quarter of the total number of UK jobs

3.8mshift workers in the UK in 2017

109,000seasonal workers were employed in Q3 of 2017

32%of seasonal jobs in Q3 2017 were in distribution, hotels and catering – rising to 47% in Q4

Demand for seasonal workers is higher amongst elementary occupations than managerial roles

1 in 4shift workers are in the health sector

11.4%increase in shift workers between 2011 and 2017

25%Older workers provide the largest share of the UK’s part-time workers – nearly 25% are over 60

3/4Nearly three quarters of part-time workers are women

7.1%increase in part-time jobs between 2011 and 2017

Evening and night shift workers

691,000people went to work outside of ‘9-5’ in 2017

31%increase in evening and night shift workers between 2011 and 2017

57%of the night shift workforce are elementary, caring & leisure and process, plant & machine operative workers

Night and evening shifts are increasingly dominated by male workers

66%of night shift workers work in the health, wholesale & retail, accommodation & food services and transport & storage sectors

Work that keeps the UK working 05

Part-time work is prevalent in the accommodation & food services, retail and healthcare & social work sectors

Shift work is also prevalent in the wholesale & retail, accommodation & food services and manufacturing & transportation sectors

The largest contributor to the seasonal workforce is younger workers, with workers up to the age of 30 making up 75% of the seasonal workforce at some points of the year

The proportion of younger people working evening or nights is growing – evening and night shift workers aged between 21-30 increased from 19% to 25% between 2011 and 2017

Work that keeps the UK working04 Work that keeps the UK working 05

On the face of it, flexible working is on the rise – suggesting that employers could be waking up to the importance of providing more freedom and choice around working hours and scheduling. In 2017 there were 6.405 million people working under flexible arrangements as part of their main job, up from 5.123 million in 2011 – representing an overall increase of 25% in six years.

Flexibility is also high on UK workers’ priority lists. Our worker sentiment research found that one third of the UK working population cite some form of flexibility as the most important thing when looking for a new job.

So, what does the face of flexibility look like in Britain today?

Meeting demand with flexibility

Flexibility is key to businesses meeting the demands of a 24-hour economy

Flexible working in the UK is growing,withawiderangeofflexibleworkingarrangementsnow accessible to UK workers

FlexibilityremainsimportanttoUKworkers–itsitsatthetopoftheirprioritylist

Keeping the lights on 24/7 is a huge commercial and logistical undertaking for any business.

A key way of fuelling an always-on economy is flexible working. This is especially true in lower margin, lower wage industries, such as retail, hospitality, and transport – where employers need to come up with more creative ways of attracting, retaining and motivating workers.

Flexible workers

2011 5.123m

2017 6.405m

1/3(36%) said they’d need at least a 31% increase in salary if they were to waive flexibility at work

Older workers are most willing to sacrifice salary at the altar of flexibility

47%of over 55s said that no boost in wages could persuade them to forgo their flexibility

25%+of UK workers value flexibility so much that they said no increase in salary would make them forgo flexibility at work

Flexibility vs salary: where’s the tipping point?

To understand exactly how important flexible working is to the UK workforce, we asked UK full and part time workers to imagine a trade-off between salary and flexibility.

We found that:

Work that keeps the UK working06 Work that keeps the UK working 07Work that keeps the UK working 07

But, not all flexibility is the same

Today, the most common forms of flexible working are flexitime, annualised hour contracts and term-time working, though there has been relatively limited growth in these types of arrangements since 2011.

The most significant factor to influence the uplift in flexible working in the UK has been the gig economy and the rise of zero hours contracts. 44% of the growth in flexible working since 2011 has been driven by an increase in zero hours contracts – resulting in 654,000 zero hours workers in the UK in 2017, up from a mere 97,000 in 2011.

Type of flexible working 2011Q2 total (‘000s)

2017Q2 total (‘000s)

Change since 2011Q2 (‘000s)

% of total

Flexitime 2,445 2,678 233 18.4%

Annualised hours contract 850 1,159 309 24.4%

Term-time working 1,049 1,141 93 7.3%

Job sharing 91 93 2 0.2%

9-day fortnight 58 75 17 1.3%

4.5-day week 116 124 9 0.6%

Zero hours contract 97 654 557 44.0%

On-call working 418 467 49 3.9%

Total 5,124 6,391 1,267 100.0%

654,000zero hours workers in the UK

Work that keeps the UK working08 Work that keeps the UK working 09

A greater proportion of ‘white-collar’ professionals enjoy contractually enshrined flexitime arrangements, with below-average use among caring & leisure, and elementary occupations – typically ‘blue-collar’ workers. Among managers, directors and senior officials who work flexibly, 61% have a formal flexitime contract, compared to just 21% of flexible workers in elementary occupations.

Caring & leisure, process, plant & machine operators and elementary occupations represent 72% of all zeros hours contracts. Elementary occupations account for 33% of zero hours contract growth since 2011, while caring & leisure occupations account for 24% of growth. Zero-hours contracts also dominate the working landscape for women and younger workers.

Meanwhile, an increase in formal flexitime arrangements in recent years has been largely enjoyed by men rather than women - with the latter fuelling 71% of this growth. And, only one in four of those working flexibly under the age of 20 enjoy flexitime arrangements, compared to a 42% average.

FLEXIBILITY FOR THE FEW:

Uncovering the ‘professional privilege’ in flexible working

Accesstoflexibilityisnotequal

Youngerworkers,womenandblue-collar workers enjoy less flexibilityatworkthantheirolder,maleandwhite-collarcounterparts

Tobesuccessfulinthefuture,businesseswillneedtoofferflexibilityforall

While flexibility appears to be on the rise, a more detailed analysis of workforce trends in the UK today reveals a more complex picture, with many different types of flexible working offered, and opportunities unevenly distributed by occupation or sector.

Older, male, white-collar workers reap the benefits of flexibility

Towards universal flexibility

Our research suggests that certain groups have been too long forgotten when it comes to flexible working. Blue-collar workers in particular are the lifeblood of the UK economy – and yet they are relegated to second place when it comes to making working lives better, simpler and more enjoyable.

With Brexit closing in, this must change – and now. While questions remain around how the UK will access labour, especially blue-collar workers, after leaving the EU it is vital that employers do all they can to engage and attract these workers. This means empowering a previously forgotten workforce, by giving them a voice and choice to work as and when they want.

61%Of managers, directors and senior officials have a formal flexitime contract

Work that keeps the UK working10 Work that keeps the UK working 11Work that keeps the UK working 11

The untapped demand for greater flexibility

Workerswantgreaterflexibility– theyarenotsatisfiedwiththestatusquo

Lackofaccesstoflexibility atworkimpactsfamilylife,as well as workers

But,workersfacebarrierschanging the current state of flexibleworkingintheUK

The need for greater flexibility isn’t just found in the facts and figures.

Many of the UK workers we surveyed expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Our research found that a lack of flexibility in work schedules has negatively impacted the health and wellbeing of one in ten UK workers, and 17% of UK workers say that their schedule suggests that their employer does not care about their wellbeing outside of work.

And, it isn’t just workers that are being affected by inflexible working arrangements – but their families too.

We found that 21% of the UK working population feel that their current work schedules mean they don’t spend enough time with their families – by far the biggest criticism of the status quo by workers. We also found that:

But, these issues aren’t easy to change.

Two thirds of the workers we surveyed say that they face barriers when it comes to achieving a more flexible work schedule, rising to 80% for younger workers (those aged between 16 and 24).

One of the main barriers to achieving greater flexibility is that the call for it seems to come primarily from workers themselves, with a worryingly low number of employers leading the charge. Only 17% of the workers we surveyed said that their employers are proactively offering flexible working arrangements. This must change if we are to make a real difference to the state of flexible working in the UK.

A key barrier to achieving greater flexibility is perceptions of reactions to requests for flexibility. 16% of UK workers believe that their manager would react badly to a request for greater flexibility, and 15% worry that requesting flexible working would impact negatively on promotions/progression at work. The former rises to 18% for workers with children and 21% for those with another dependent to care for. Over one fifth (21%) of all shift workers think that their manager would react badly to a request for more flexibility (almost doubling from 12% of non-shift workers).

There is also concern for the abilities of employers to cope with implementing more flexible working arrangements. 15% of UK workers think that flexible working makes schedule planning too difficult for their managers. Workers also believe that shift work is harder for managers to schedule flexibly, than non-shift work.

Shift workers index highly when it comes to dissatisfaction with their current schedules. This group is almost twice as likely to need to miss important family/friend occasions as a result of their work schedules, compared to non-shift workers. They are also almost twice as likely to need to drop personal interests outside of work.

Respondents also hinted at the business impact of inflexible working arrangements. Nearly one fifth of the UK workforce say that they are not optimised for at least half their working day and only 9% think that flexible working would make them less productive at work.

17%of workers say their current work schedules mean they have to miss important family/friend occasions

15%of UK workers sometimes feel isolated from family and friends due to their schedule

Almost

10%of the UK working population go as far as to say that their family life is suffering because of a lack of flexibility at work

80%of young workers face barriers to achieving more flexible work schedules

15%of UK workers think that flexible working makes schedule planning too difficult for their managers

16%of UK workers believe that their manager would react badly to a request for greater flexibility

Work that keeps the UK working Work that keeps the UK working 1312

The UK has a lot to gain by embracingandimplementingmoreflexibleworkingarrangements

Greaterflexibilityatworkcouldboosteconomicoutputby£12billion by 2023

Our research has found that there is both demand and room for greater flexibility in the way Britain works.

As the UK continues to battle against a challenging geopolitical landscape and economic pressures increase, British employers must make a choice – to either continue along the same path or forge a new flexible future.

But what would a more flexible future look like?

We have modelled two scenarios for Britain at work in the future. Both of these scenarios predict the contribution flexibility could make to the UK by 2023 – both in terms of scale of flexible jobs and their associated value of production (measured as GVA).

The first scenario follows the current trajectory of flexible job growth. It accounts for the most recent trends in changing patterns of flexibility and predicts what would happen if recent trajectories of growth continue at the same rates.

The second scenario looks at what could happen if we were to see an increase in the number of UK workers undertaking more flexible forms of work in the next five

years. That is to say, scenario two is what the UK could achieve if, acknowledging the unfulfilled demand for more flexible working we discovered in the previous chapter, UK businesses and policy-makers embraced the benefits of flexible working – and enact more of it as a result. Scenario two predictions are modelled from worker demands for greater flexibility and assume an 11% to 27% higher annual rate of growth for flexible working in the UK compared to scenario one.

Scenario Two: By 2023:Scenario One: By 2023:

9.3 millionjobs in the UK will have some kind of flexible working arrangement – up by 13% since 2017

The sectors with the largest increases in flexible jobs since 2017 will be health, business support services, wholesale and retail and accommodation & food

£558.3bnoverall value of production associated with flexible working arrangements.

The five sectors with the most flexible jobs will be (in order): education, healthcare & social work, wholesale & retail, professional services and business support services

9.5 millionjobs in the UK will have some kind of flexible working arrangement – an increase of 15% from 2017

The sectors with the largest increases in flexible jobs since 2017 will be: health, business support services and accommodation & food

£570.1bnoverall value of production associated with flexible working arrangements. This is £11.9 billion more than Scenario One

The five sectors with the most flexible jobs will be (in order): education, healthcare & social work, wholesale & retail, business support services, professional services

£12bneconomic output boost could result from greater flexibility at work

BOOSTING THE ECONOMY:

a vision for a flexible future

Work that keeps the UK working Work that keeps the UK working14 15

Our findings are clear – by embracing and implementing strategies to give employers greater flexibility at work, the UK could boost its economic output by £12 billion a year by 2023.

At a time when the UK’s future economic performance is in question, flexibility offers a viable answer. While no silver bullet, offering employees the opportunity to work when and how they choose could see businesses rewarded with benefits to boost their bottom lines – as well as happy, motivated staff.

How can employers embrace and benefit from flexibility?

Consider the 24-hour workforce

Start a conversation

With millions of workers clocking in as many of us go to bed, it is important that employers open up access to flexibility to everyone.

Flexibility shouldn’t be just for professionals working in offices every day.

By effectively communicating the value you put on flexible working, you will also reap rewards when it comes to attracting new talent.

Worryingly, a large number of UK workers believe that their managers would react badly to a request for flexibility, or that it could even impact their development at work. This perception is damaging for employers – even those that are open to requests for flexible working in their organisations.

To combat misunderstanding in your organisation, be open about your flexible working policies and encourage workers to talk to their managers as and when their flexibility needs change. This will – in turn – lead to happier, more productive staff.

Work that keeps the UK working Work that keeps the UK working 1716

Workforce management solutions can be cheap and easy to implement – and our worker sentiment survey found that nearly one third of workers believe that technologies that allow business schedules to be viewed, shared and managed from an app could help their businesses increase flexibility. At Quinyx, for example, we offer an easy-to-use app that can cut more than half the time managers need to spend scheduling their teams, while increasing the flexibility workers have to choose when they work.

Take time to understand your workforce’s needs

Use technology to improve flexibility

Flexibility doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.

Our research uncovered the importance of overcoming the barriers facing workers seeking greater flexibility. One way of doing this is through technology.

Our survey found that 20% of shift workers put the ability to pick and choose the shifts they work top of their flexibility priority lists, while 16% prioritise the ability to change or swap shifts at late notice. We also found that while those with children generally prefer the flexible option of working part-time, those with dependents other than children prefer starting work early or late instead.

This means that implementing a ‘one size fits all’ strategy for flexibility simply won’t work. Instead, it is important that employers give their workforce a voice and choice, by finding out what types of flexibility would work best for them. In some instances, this might mean offering different packages for different workers.

Work that keeps the UK working18