- Phoenix Insights’ new research shows that adults prefer to work less hours at the age of 30 and 34, despite the negative impact on their income.
- Flexible work is based on three factors: hours, location, and how people work.
- Eight out of ten workers are currently unhappy with their current job’s flexibility
- The primary reason to reduce hours is due to care or domestic responsibilities.
Phoenix Insights’ research on longevity shows that the top priority for flexible working is the number hours worked. Those aged 30-34 years old are the first to prioritize fewer hours with less pay.
Flexible working allows employees to balance work and personal commitments. Flexible working can take many forms, but the majority revolve around hours, locations, and timings. Flexible working can help more people enter the workforce and stay in employment for longer. It has a significant social and financial value for the individual and broader benefits for the economy.
Phoenix Insights* found that the number of work hours is the most desired flexible working arrangement. Early career workers want to work more hours or change jobs to improve their earning potential and progress, but early thirties marks a turning point. Even though pay is important, if you want to make a change in your working pattern, the age of 30-34 is when people are more likely to do so. This is even if it means that they have to lower their monthly income. When people reach their fifties, they are twice as likely to prefer to work less than more.
Why young workers want flexibility
Reduced hours are a popular choice for people over 50, who want to extend their working lives and transition into retirement. For those in their 30s or 40s, childcare is an important consideration. Phoenix Insights’ and Timewise** research found that people who work part-time do so primarily because of home or care responsibilities. Since the Covid-19 epidemic, people in their 30s have a preference to reduce work hours to include hobbies and other interests. A younger worker who was part of the focus group that conducted the research stated: “Covid changed things.” People want to pursue other interests besides work. “Part-time work is not just for parents.
Patrick Thomson is the Head of Research Analysis and Policy for Phoenix Insights.
“Flexible Working has become a hot discussion topic. The public debate is centered on whether or not people should spend more time at the office and less time working from home. Flexibility is more than just the debate about hybrid working. This is about making work more sustainable and accessible for a larger proportion of the society, who would otherwise be excluded from the workplace. This is not only important for the individual, but also for increasing productivity and combating economic inactivity.
Our research shows that while most people believe they can do their jobs or similar ones by the age of 60, they don’t think they will be able to do so at 70. Something needs to be done with the longer working life becoming the norm.
The cost of living crisis has left people with financial difficulties and millions of Brits are not saving enough for retirement. To address these challenges, it is important to encourage people to continue working and earning while balancing other commitments such as caring for others or being ill.
Flexible Work and Closing the Pension Savings Gap
Phoenix Insights’ modelling shows that 17 million Americans are not saving enough for retirement ***. Many people who leave the workforce early may face financial difficulties later in life, unless they are able to re-enter and continue working and saving. Flexible working is essential to get more people back into the workforce, whether it’s early in their lives when they still have time to save or later to add to their savings pot.
Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group’s analysis, found that working one day per week for several years after retirement could add up to PS21,000 in a retirement fund. PS18,000 of this would come from the fund growth as a result of delaying pension access to savings until 70 and PS3,000 from the extra contributions due to working one day per week.
Mike Ambery is the Retirement Savings Director for Standard Life, a part of Phoenix Group. He adds:
When people lose their jobs, they don’t always think about their retirement income. Time out of work can be a double-edged sword, as it means that pension contributions are not made and valuable employer contributions are lost. It is important to improve flexible working practices in order for more people to continue earning and saving, whether they are early in their careers or approaching retirement age.
The original version of this article UK workers prefer flexibility to pay since their early 30s appeared first on Human Resources News.
