With International Women’s Day having just passed, we can’t help but think about all the ways women are being discriminated against on a daily basis, including in the workplace.
Over the past two years, men and women all over the world have had to adapt their work lifestyle, as we moved away from office culture and created a sustainable work-from-home/hybrid working environment.
It seems this shift has benefitted us a lot more than we would have thought! According to a recent study conducted by IWG, the world’s largest provider of flexible and office space, over half of female workers say that hybrid working has benefitted their career progression.
In recent months some business leaders have suggested that women’s careers could be harmed by the shift to flexible working models, however this study paints a very different picture.
Over half (56%) agreed that hybrid working has benefitted their career progression with three quarters (75%) of the study participants adding that hybrid working made them more productive and the same number said it had improved their work-life balance.
In fact, 49% said that they would consider leaving their job if forced to work from the office five days a week, demonstrating the integral role hybrid working is now playing in people’s daily lives.
Additional social benefits cited included 38% of women stating that hybrid working improved their mental health, while 56% agreed that there had been a greater distribution in household and childcare duties between them and their partner due to hybrid working.
There was also an emphasis on the financial benefits of hybrid working. Two thirds of respondents noted that saving both time and money from daily commutes into the office were key benefits. In addition, 17% of women added that they had been able to save more for house deposits thanks to their ability to work flexibly.
Could the days of long and unnecessary commutes be a thing of the past? Here’s hoping!
