Employees would sacrifice pay for flexibility
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Workers across Europe would accept lower wages in exchange for the opportunity to work flexibly
Research into attitudes towards working practices has found that two-thirds of employees would consider a pay cut in exchange for flexible working, while one in ten would sacrifice more than 20% of their total salary.
The survey by UC provider Avaya of over 3,500 workers across Europe, the UK and Russia found that 67% believed they would be happier working flexibly. However, only 51% felt they would be more productive.
UK employees in particular felt that the trust implicit in flexible working would build loyalty to an employer, with 52% believing flexible workers would indeed be more loyal.
Among those currently not working flexibly, 61% said that they would insist on doing so if legislation mandating the right to flexible working were to be introduced.
Parents were particularly keen on the idea (69%), along with those expecting their first child (76%).
“This is not just a case of those who have already embraced flexible working singing its praises,” says Avaya’s EMEA head, Michael Bayer.
“We found there is very little difference in opinion between employees who work flexibly and those who do not, in terms of how they view the benefits.”
However, he acknowledged the enduring perception that “management can be reluctant to implement flexible working practices because of trust issues”.
