One in four employees said the ability to work flexibly was even more important since the pandemic, the survey from recruitment platform Limber and hospitality insight firm KAM media has revealed.
More than half of the recipients chose ‘work-life-balance’ and ‘pay and benefits’ as the factors that had the most influence over the job they chose, with ‘fun and enjoyment’ (47%) also ranking as a crucial element.
Limber founder Chris Sanderson said many businesses had found flexibility forms a key part of the future of work, and people thrive in an environment where they are able to adapt their work to their needs.
He added that embracing this new way of hiring would bring some difficult challenges for operators. This included not least the increased administrative impact of employing people on a flexible basis, but he also believed there were also some understandable concerns to think about, such as how to build a functioning rota with flexible staff.
Furthermore, a focus on choice and flexibility from employers on their hours is evident, with 60% wanting the chance to work added hours, 43% wanting the opportunity to pick up extra shifts last-minute and 43% wanting to switch hours easily.
That's the spirit
Some 60% of recipients also felt the working hours in hospitality weren’t flexible at the moment.
The research also showed nearly a key benefit to flexibility was an increase in operator’s core team spirit, with just over half (54%) of those surveyed stating flexible working would improve workplace morale.
Core teams who weren’t constantly working in understaffed teams were fundamentally happier, with 43% of hospitality employees stating understaffed teams encouraged them to look for another role.
However, Sanderson said, flexible working was not a want but a need, with the trend for flexible working set to continue.
Clear benefit
He said: “The benefits for operators are clear - through accessing a wider talent pool through flexible working, operators will fundamentally be able to appeal to a far broader selection of people and therefore make better use of their talent by building their network.
“This will help operators build a more liquid workforce, which in turn will help with reactive hiring, such as managing leavers, holiday requests or seasonality.
“The world is going to become more flexible rather than less, but flexible teams, deployed properly can be a massive asset to any operator”.
