New report indicates flexible working no longer a major issue

A new report indicates that the importance of flexible working to employee retention has fallen during the past year, with a number of factors being cited as reasons for that.

This report was published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the HR association. It shows that the number of people who quit their jobs due to the absence of flexible working went down last year, in comparison with 2023. Roughly 1.1 million employees resigned for that reason between January and December of 2024. By comparison, the figure for 2023 was 2 million. In percentage terms, this is a fall from 6% to 3%.

When it comes to reasons for the drop, one that is being cited is economic necessity. Liverpool John Moores University lecturer Gemma Dale has argued that more people are staying put because there are fewer jobs available. That view was supported by Claire McCartney of the CIPD.

However, other potential reasons have also been pointed out. HR specialist Tomos Bright told HR Magazine that:

“Many employers have fine-tuned and clearly communicated their hybrid models, making it easier for people to stay where they are.”

That suggests it is still very important for employees, but that more companies are meeting the demand with clear policies. Those policies must be worked out by managers and HR departments, but some firms bring in HR transformation services to help with that.

Bright went on to say that greater flexibility was becoming the norm within the business world now, rather than the exception.