New research from the Chartered Management Institute reveals flexible working arrangements are among the leading reasons managers choose to remain with their current employers.
The CMI surveyed over 1,000 managers and found that two in five cited flexible working as one of the main factors behind their decision to stay in their role.
Remote and hybrid working options ranked above competitive pay, job security, and interesting work as retention drivers for managerial staff.
The findings arrive as first secretary of state Louise Haigh announced new plans to strengthen the legal right to flexible working across British workplaces.
Haigh told a union gathering that business leaders would have to “properly consider” flexibility requests from staff with an in-person meeting to discuss the move.
The new policy would require bosses to meet with employees who request flexible arrangements and provide compelling rationale for any refusal.
Ministers have also moved to strengthen flexible working protections through the Employment Rights Bill, which includes measures such as banning zero-hour contracts and ending so-called firing and rehiring practices.
Petra Wilton, director of policy at the CMI, said managers “need the skills” to strike the balance flexible working requires “as they know that being together as teams has an important role to play, especially when it comes to onboarding new recruits effectively and bolstering team dynamics.”
“Skilled managers recognise this and choose what good looks like for their teams and that includes ensuring employees feel valued and heard when it comes to reasonable flexible working requests,” Wilton said.
The research emerges against a backdrop of growing tension between employers and staff over the return to office-based working across major City firms.
Barclays (BARC) is facing significant internal backlash after tightening its home working policy, requiring staff who live within a 40-minute commute to work in the office three days a week.
Thousands of Barclays employees have reportedly backed calls to overturn the London-listed bank’s new policy, pushing back against the stricter attendance requirements.
Staff at the bank have also called for a one-off payment to help offset the additional commuting costs imposed by the change in working arrangements.
The dispute at Barclays highlights the broader friction emerging between large employers seeking greater office presence and a workforce that has come to regard flexibility as a fundamental workplace expectation.