The Decline of 9 to 5

29 November 2019

Once considered the ‘norm’, traditional, 9-5 working patterns are in decline as individuals look for more flexibility to improve their work-life balance. Organisations must recognise that the world of work is changing and that flexible working patterns are important for their current and future workforce.  In contrast to traditional working hours, flexible working refers to a change in employee hours, working times or place of work.  

Flexible working can be important to individuals for different reasons, and may help with; caring responsibilities, studying commitments, wellbeing, or preparing for retirement. It can also create a more diverse, inclusive workforce and attract a wider pool of candidates when advertising vacancies. However, despite positive outcomes and increased demand, very few advertised vacancies mention flexible working.
To attract a wider pool of good, quality candidates, flexible working should be discussed in the very early stages of recruitment. Hiring managers should look at the job design and ask, can we offer flexibility in this role?

If the role can be worked flexibly, this message should be communicated in a clear, honest and positive way in all advertising materials. By failing to mention flexible working, this may present barriers as potential applicants may presume that this isn’t an option and enquiring about it, may lead to their application, automatically and unfairly, being rejected. Organisations who also engage with recruitment agencies should communicate their commitment to flexible working so recruiters know that they can confidently put forward candidates who seek flexibility – again, potentially increasing the talent pool for organisations.
For more information, please contact the Recruitment Team on 0141 352 7445 or Recruitment@evh.org.uk