Press Release
Australian Workers Want Flexibility
Friday May 16, 2008
Flexible working conditions are the most attractive employment benefits according to a poll by listed recruitment company Hamilton James & Bruce (HJB).
In the poll of over 100 people, 68 per cent of respondents said that flexible working conditions were the most attractive employment benefit. This was followed by extra paid leave at 19 per cent and private health care at 7 per cent. Mobile phone/laptop and childcare assistance were seen as the least important factors at 4 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
Australian workers clearly value the ability to tailor their working week to meet their family or lifestyle needs. With record low unemployment, strong jobs growth and an ageing work force, this is a clear signal to employers that they need to be open to offering flexible working arrangements to attract quality talent in the future.
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HJB, Deborah Wilson, said,”HJB introduced flexible working policies several years ago. By offering arrangements such as working from home, part time work and flexible work schedules, we’ve been able to attract and retain qualified, experienced people, and around 10 per cent of HJB’s workforce is now employed on a part time basis.”
Employers should note that employees taking up flexible working arrangements aren’t restricted to women returning to the workforce after having children. According to Ms Wilson, men and women who simply want to work fewer hours per week or spend some of their week working from home are also embracing the flexible working arrangements on offer.
“You can see this when you look at the increase in part time employment as a proportion of total employment. In 1997, part time employment as a proportion of total employment for females was 39 per cent and grew to 45 per cent in 2007. During the same period of time, the proportion of men working in part time employment more than doubled, rising from 7 per cent in 1997 to 15 per cent in 2007,” she said.
Ms Wilson also believes that every role at HJB has the potential to be filled by someone who is willing to work in a flexible or part time capacity. To this extent, HJB is now advertising all available positions on www.parttimeonline.com.au, a new online recruitment site.
“As employers start to realise the benefits that flexible and part time working arrangements bring, we have no doubt that more and more employment services will pop up to support this need,” she added.
Established in 1979, Hamilton James & Bruce is an acknowledged leader in the Australian recruitment industry and has a proven track record in finding the right executive, middle management and support people for permanent, temporary and contracting roles. Hamilton James & Bruce has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Parramatta, Chatswood, Wacol and the Gold Coast, and can build a national or local solution to meet any recruitment need.