“Having children is career suicide”. Discuss.
It’s a sad state of affairs that in the twenty-first century, we’re seeing quotes like this. But we’re not surprised. Flexible roles still seem to be the golden goose for many professional working parents.
Our Flexible Working Survey 2017 found that attitudes to flexible working have improved in the last ten years since our part-time and flexible recruitment agency started. But clearly, more needs to be done.
- 96% of employees of the 1,150 people who completed the survey were women.
- 85% of these said meeting family commitments was the number one factor for choosing flexible roles.
- 63% of those asked were primary carers of children.
The four key areas for flexible employees are:
- Meeting family commitments
- Using skills and expertise
- A convenient location
- Rewarding and stimulating work
If a job isn’t local, it doesn’t always allow the employee to meet their family commitments easily. With local nurseries and after school clubs finishing around 6pm, a long commute is often out of the question.
But ultimately, if children weren’t in the equation, these working parents would have much more choice in terms of roles. So why should they be penalised? If more employers embrace flexible working as a ‘norm’, not a benefit, and seek to advertise permanent positions with a flexible option, they can benefit from great rewards, such as better employee retention, reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.
Get in touch if you’d like to find out more about our flexible and part-time recruitment agency today. We’ve got some great live flexible roles in local areas across the southeast and southwest.
