More women working in the City are able to work flexible hours as fund managers and banks seek to retain talent.
The number of female City staff who are able to work flexi-time has jumped by more than a quarter in a year and four out of ten (39%) get the option of flexible working or compressed hours, said recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.
According to the firm this is up from 30% last year, and 23% the year before, as investment banks and fund managers “increasingly recognise the benefits of offering greater flexibility over working arrangements to help recruit and retain top talent”.
More than a third of male City staff (35%) also have the option of flexi-time.
Astbury Marsden says that the ability to take greater control over their working day is becoming seen as increasingly valuable to staff as it enables workers to meet other commitments or pursue outside interests.
It explains that working on “flexi-time” or doing fewer, longer days is one way in which staff can remain in a full-time position and still achieve a better work-life balance, as an alternative to going part time – meaning a pay cut and often the risk of slowing down career progression.
However, it adds that while this tends to be of particular benefit to working parents, it can be attractive for all staff, particularly as the trend gathers pace in other industries – notably the fintech sector, with which investment banks are increasingly competing for talent.
The research also found that six out of ten City staff (61%) now have the ability to work from home on a regular basis (up from just over half last year).
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