How We Want To Work: What Employers Need To Know About Candidate Work Model Preferences

New employment models are on the rise, and workers want to engage with their employers in different ways to the past. Nearly half of workers globally would prefer to work in a job that’s not full-time, whether that means becoming a contractor, freelancer, part-time worker, seasonal employee, gig worker, or something else entirely.

Workers are looking for flexibility, autonomy, and continuous learning opportunities. They’re willing to take risks and are looking for work that allows them to get the right work-life balance. Non-traditional forms of employment can provide exactly this – allowing people to supplement incomes over the short-term, while also giving them the freedom to explore different roles and develop in-demand skills. People can control where, when and how they work; reducing stress and allowing them to find the ideal work-life balance for them.

How We Want To Work: What Employers Need To Know About Candidate Work Model Preferences

Embracing New Employment Models

We asked nearly 18,000 people across 24 countries about the ways in which they prefer to work. By juxtaposing the results with our Total Workforce Index, we’re able to explore whether the preferences of workers are being met by organisations.

Our research has found that employers around the world are embracing alterative work models, but not necessarily to the extent workers demand. In fact, in 22 of the 24 countries surveyed, demand for non-traditional forms of employment exceeds the supply of jobs that provide this.

How We Want To Work: What Employers Need To Know About Candidate Work Model Preferences

In an era of talent shortages and skills gaps, effective workforce planning needs to account for how people want to work now. Since individuals are embracing new ways of working, it’s important that organisations do likewise, to ensure they can attract and retain in-demand skills. Yet at the same time, organisations must ensure that they maintain a clear and full picture of their workforce across each form of employment, so they’re able to make more strategic decisions about growth and allocation of resources.

Non-traditional employment models are a choice, not a last resort. Download our whitepaper How We Want to Work: What Employers Need to Know About Candidate Work Model Preferences for insights that can help you more effectively attract and retain the best candidates across new ways of working.