According to research based upon official UK data, professional women are more likely than ever to work full time since the pandemic. This is especially true in sectors that have adopted hybrid and remote working as standard practices.
The analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) microdata published by Public First on Thursday provides some of the most compelling evidence to date of the benefits homeworking brings for both individuals and for the economy.
In the UK, the proportion of women who work full time has increased from 56.5% in 2019 to 587.7% this year. Public First, however, found that the increase was much greater in sectors where companies adopted hybrid work policies.
The proportion of full-time working women in finance and insurance has increased from 75% to 83%. In the information and communication sector, this proportion has risen from 79% to 83% and in other professional service from 68% to 70%.
This change was more noticeable for mothers. The proportion of women working full-time in finance and IT increased by over 10 percentage points.
Rachel Wolf, founding partner of Public First said that the findings were “convincing proof that the stuff which was accelerated by Covid really benefits a chunk the labour force who have high human capital but don’t work as much as men”.
The research shows that while there are many other factors which could explain the increased working hours of mothers, such as cost-of-living pressures and fathers who take on more childcare responsibilities, it is clear in some sectors that workers can do their work from home. In others they still have to be on site.
In administrative and support fields where remote work is prevalent, the percentage of women working full-time increased dramatically. In contrast, the hospitality industry saw a dramatic drop, as labour shortages forced employers to offer family-friendly hours.
It is important to increase the working hours of women, given that the UK workforce has been shrinking since the pandemic.
ONS data released this week revealed that the percentage of adults aged between 18 and 65 who are neither employed nor seeking employment has increased to 21.1% in the last three months. A record number, 2.6 million, said ill health prevented them from working.
The gains made in the employment of women could be threatened if employers try to reverse hybrid working policies, as the labour markets weaken and employees become less able demand flexibility.
Public First’s report was incorporated into a larger report released on Thursday by the Hybrid Work Commission. This group is tasked with providing advice to ministers about how best to maximize the benefits of working after a pandemic.
According to the commission, three-quarters (75%) of hybrid workers said that it helped them balance their work and family life. And 70% of parents with children younger than 18 years old reported that it was easier for them to juggle their responsibilities.
A majority of employers who use hybrid work arrangements are not convinced that they boost productivity.
This “perception gap” may be enough for British businesses to hinder their ability to maximize the benefits of remote and hybrid work.
The ministers have sent mixed messages about homeworking. At one point, they urged staff to return to work for the sake of younger co-workers and the city centre economy, but more recently, they cited the availability of remote working as a reason for reducing the eligibility of sickness benefits.