How to find a flexible job

The pandemic has changed our working lives in so many ways and the world of work has accelerated its change significantly.

What matters to you has probably changed. You may have barely seen anyone for 18 months, you may have been working from a tiny flat with no outdoor space, for a company that hasn't looked after your wellbeing, and you may have been on furlough with more time to reflect. All of this impacts your feelings towards what you want from work.

Flexible working has been an aspiration for many over the past decade. But previously there was a real lack of trust between employers and employees’ in their ability to work from home. Many employers saw it as an invitation to skive off and get away with doing less, creating a culture of presenteeism and ‘facetime’.

Finding an organisation that had adopted holistic, flexible working policies was rare. Some more forward-thinking organisations allowed one day per week to work from home as a benefit, but this was few and far between. Remote employers were slowly growing in number but were still the minority, often with huge competition for those roles and a perception that only tech businesses and niche industries could operate that way.

The pandemic has changed all of that. Where organisations were once wary of allowing people to work from home, it's now the norm in most sectors. Homeworking and flexible working has leapt forward by probably ten years over 18 months.

Given that the pandemic has lasted as long as it has, with many of us used to a more flexible routine, it’s unlikely that many workplaces will embrace a return to ‘normal’ full-time office work. At least for the time being.

In the Escape survey in 2021, when asked what the most appealing work benefits were to candidates when assessing opportunities, the top 3 related to flexible working.

• Three quarters (74%) of professionals said that a flexible working location is a primary barometer they use when assessing whether or not they’d be interested in a new role.
• 3 in 5 people (60%) said flexible working hours was the most critical factor to them.
• 42.9% said a 4-day working week was the most important to them.

Working remotely gave people a taste of autonomy and better work-life balance. 26% of people told us that the best part of working remotely was that they were able to tailor their schedules to when they were most productive and felt that they were able to get more done in their own time than when they had to be in the office.

However, while flexible working is now an expectation, many people don’t want to forgo the office entirely. In our survey, when asked about their preferences for working flexibly in the future, 72% of people said they’d like to work remotely at least part-time. 36% said they wanted to work remotely full-time, and 24% said they wanted to work remotely full-time but from a coworking or shared workspace. Only 1.5% of those we surveyed said they didn’t want to work remotely at all going forward.

You now have the opportunity to find work that not only suits your professional needs but better suits what you want for your life more generally. So how can we land a flexible job that suits our needs?

1. Look for roles with a flexible working policy (duh).

Looking for organisations that are clear about what their position on flexible working policy is the first step. If you know you want flexible hours or the opportunity to work from an office sometimes, ensure the jobs you are applying for mention that. Applying for a job without checking that their policy suits your needs could cause issues later down the line.

Check what expectations there are for staff, whether there’s complete flexibility or a specified limit of days in the office or at home.

If there's no mention of their flexible working situation it could well be that staff are expected to be in the office when working. If that's really not what you're looking for, don't apply.

2. Understand what your community and connection needs are.

What matters to you might have changed over the course of the pandemic. Take this into consideration when thinking about your next career steps. Take some time to work out the no-matter-what's and the nice-to-haves when it comes to flexible working. For your life right now, what do you require? If you need more help with this part, check out our article about identifying good opportunities for youself.

While working remotely has a lot of benefits, there are downsides too. 43% of people said they didn’t believe remote working was the best way to generate ideas or work collaboratively.

If you know being in the office environment and social interaction are important to you, look for jobs that specifically mention what initiatives they have to facilitate connection between staff. Initiatives such as remote team activities or providing a budget for teams to work in local coworking spaces will go a long way to help prevent feelings of isolation.

3. Look for clearly defined boundaries and support for remote workers.

Most remote workers are putting in extra time working from home. To mitigate the risk of burnout, look for evidence of initiatives to support staff mental health and wellbeing. Are there 'mental health hours' or 4/4.5 day weeks available?

These interventions can help stem some of the mental health risks associated with working remotely and the intense screen time. There’s a growing body of evidence to support the idea that fewer days can be a huge competitive advantage and facilitate a healthier and more productive team. We’d recommend having a read of Buffer’s insights as a fully remote team who explored the 4-day week. The Escape the City team has been experimenting with a 4 day week, and found huge benefits for wellbeing, productivity and the connection between the team.

4.Consider roles outside of your city, and even country.

When we were required to work in-person, we were often limited by where we lived and the organisations within a reasonable distance. If you're looking for a remote role you are no longer tied down by your location. You can work from anywhere, and your employer can be anywhere too. Without being tied to one location, you can have access to awesome jobs with organisations that you care about.

The world is your oyster. But remember that time zones should also be taken into account.

Ready to start your flexible working job search? Check out the latest jobs on our Job Board. You can also filter job results by their remote options to find the roles most relevant to your needs.