Flexible working arrangements have a positive effect on personal health and well-being, as well as interpersonal relationships, according to a new survey by FlexJobs Corp.
The survey, which defined a flexible job as a professional-level position that has a remote, flexible schedule, freelance or part-time component, found 99 per cent of respondents said a flexible job would make them a happier person in general and benefit their health.
The majority (89 per cent) said they thought a flexible job would help them take better care of themselves, while 87 per cent said it would allow for more time with family and friend and 69 per cent said it would increase their frequency of exercise.
Read: Telecommuting most popular form of flexible working provision: survey
More than half (54 per cent) of survey participants said their work-life balance either needed improvement or was pretty bad or terrible. And 36 per cent said their boss doesn’t model good work-life balance for them.
“As our survey demonstrates, those in leadership roles influence how their employees view work-life balance. In fact, only nine per cent say their boss’ work habits make work-life balance easy,” said Sara Sutton, founder and chief executive officer of FlexJobs, in a press release. “It’s important that good work-life balance is modelled from the top down, especially considering the positive impact a happy and healthy workforce can have on productivity, as well as company culture.”
The survey also found remote working is the most popular choice (83 per cent) for flexible working options, followed by flexible schedules (60 per cent), part-time schedules (40 per cent) and freelance work (34 per cent).
Read: Majority of Canadian employees rank work-life balance as good, excellent: survey