Companies to Offer More Flexible Work, But Only to New Employees

A study by the consulting firm Oxford Economics identified that employers around the world are more likely to provide labor flexibility to attract and hire new staff than to grant it to their current employees.

"Employers today are more likely to see flexible working as an incentive for potential employees than a benefit for workers they already have," warns Oxford Economics through a study titled Empowering Your People. According to global research, 58 percent of business executives consider that work flexibility makes a company more attractive, but reserve it for new talent.

In contrast, flexible work as a benefit to working satisfaction and productivity for the current workforce was mentioned fewer times by executives surveyed in 20 countries, including Mexico. In fact, 33 percent of business leaders say that flexible working hours are “temporary” in their industry and employees will be back in the office soon.

“Companies really need to understand that people are moving to organizations that do have these benefits,” says Alma Campos, Founder, Mueve y Emprende. In this sense, the specialist argues that this issue came about mainly because companies have lost the ability to listen to their teammates.

“The workforce is indeed demanding flexible work schemes and that is why they must be a part of talent attraction strategies. But this does not mean that the schemes actually exist in the workplace or that, even if they do, that organizations have the elements and attributes to implement them effectively,” Campos added.

According to a Citrix report, 52 percent of workers in Mexico say that their company does not provide the level of flexibility they expect regarding how, when and where to work. Another study by the same firm reveals that half of the people who have returned to the office did so on the instructions of their employers without being consulted on the matter.

Oxford Economics’ research reveals an imbalance between the expectations of new employees and the experience that companies offer. "It is of little use to attract potential employees with flexible work policies if the resulting experiences are not up to it," the study points out. However, experts point out that such a policy is becoming increasingly important for new hires to even consider working at a company.