Norfolk parents say businesses not offering 'flexible hours' risk losing employees
A survey shows that a third of parents with primary school-aged children said they would consider switching to a 'term-time contract'
Two parents who lives in Norfolk are telling us that businesses which don't offer flexible working hours to their employees risk losing out on a wealth of local talent.
It comes after findings from a multinational company's survey, of more than two thousand working parents, shows that half want to work differently to the typical 9 to 5.
"I know myself that it can work well"
Rebecca Wright lives near Norwich and says some parents are being pushed towards it by rising costs:
"If you are working full-time and you've maybe three children, with holiday clubs being around £50 a day, you're looking at spending at least £150 a day. Something like that is only going to work if you make a lot of money.
"Work can definitely be done and done well outside of the standard 9-5. I know myself that it can work well, it works for me. I put a huge amount into my work because my employer gives me that flexibility and trust to get my job done to a high quality."
"Increases productivity and loyalty to their employer"
Anna Meneghello is from Bowthorpe: "We need to change this mindset that 'flexibility' results in a lack of productivity. Especially when that flexibility around school holidays increases productivity and loyalty to their employer.
"We also need to show them how flexible hours can be functional, through the value of something like annualised hours where you're not losing that productivity. If you're waiting eight weeks before for annual leave requests to come in, it's harder to arrange cover and plan your workload."
What else does this work show?
The research from Amazon shows that a third of parents with primary school-aged children said they would consider switching to a term-time contract.
Two in five said their employer offers no opportunity to work flexibly.
What flexible working options do employees have?
As of April 6th of this year, employees can request to permanently change their working hours, from day one of their employment.
More details on this can be found, here.