Women keen on flexible working, Xing study finds

2 March 2022

Companies must respond better to women’s needs to attract female staff

While 49 per cent of Germans advocate being allowed to spend more than half their time outside the office, women in particular value flexibility and especially those in the parenting age group (30 to 49 years). Around 55 per cent would like the option of staying at home for half their working hours, a study conducted by Forsa on behalf of Xing E-Recruiting has found. Not having to commute to the office was an advantage for 74 per cent of women and 69 per cent of men as it lowers costs and employees decide how to divide up their time. Avoiding coronavirus was also a factor.

Choice of worksite tops priorities

Almost two thirds of women (61 per cent) would prefer to choose their place of work compared to 53 per cent of men. “Money alone does not make you happy. That also applies to the working lives of many Germans. Cultural factors such as trust, flexibility and freedom play a major role,” according to Petra von Strombeck, CEO of New Work SE (formerly Xing SE).

Health more important for women

Women also value health aspects more than men. Nearly half of women (49 per cent) said they would like their employer to pay more attention to mental wellbeing compared to 36 per cent of male respondents. Around 42 per cent of women would like their employers to put more supportive health care measures in place compared to 36 per cent of male interviewees. “The results are a warning for all those not paying sufficient attention to their employees different needs,” von Strombeck stressed. “Companies must pay attention to their female employees’ needs or they will start losing a large part of those qualified skilled workers in future.”
cb/sb/pb

Sources and further information

new-work.se

About the Xing survey

Forsa has conducted the survey on readiness-to-change on behalf of Xing E-Recruiting since 2012. It investigates staff satisfaction and the reasons for employee fluctuation. A total of 2,523 employees in the German-speaking countries (1,004 in Germany) were interviewed for the survey. Xing E-Recruiting provides digital recruitment solutions as part of the Hamburg-based New Work SE company.