Mum’s the word

02/07/2008

Businesses feeling the strain of the skills gap could find a solution by offering flexible working to mothers, a report has revealed.

The survey, by workingmums.co.uk, found that a large proportion of mothers say they feel ‘frustrated’ by the lack of flexible working positions available.

As a result, employers are ‘missing out on a huge pool of talent’, said the website.

Almost three quarters of mothers said they are looking for a new job, with around 90% saying flexible working is the most desirable working condition.

Nearly one in five said they have had a request for flexible working turned down in the past, with just 30% getting the flexibility they requested, and a further one third having to make a compromise with their managers.

Kate Shelford, head of people and profit at national estate agency WOW property, said the company has built a network of agents by offering flexibility to its employees.

“Offering a more flexible working environment has enabled us to find agents who bring a refreshing customer service approach to the buying and selling of homes,” she said.

Gillian Nissim, founder of WorkingMums.co.uk, added that mothers have a ‘wealth’ of skills built up from caring for their children.

“Mums are great at managing time, and have a natural skill at building rapport. They tend to have excellent time management skills, are good at prioritising, able to balance a huge number of different tasks, and are great at inter-personal skills such as negotiation and patience,” she said.