Mars UK and Virgin Media O2 named most flexible large employers

Food manufacturer Mars UK, telecommunications business Virgin Media O2 and global data solutions employer Telus International have ranked as the top three most flexible large employers in the world for 2023.

The Flexa100 report, carried out by flexible workplace search engine Flexa Careers, analysed the employee benefits, working hours and working locations on offer at 180 employers in 70 countries. If an organisation scored more than an average of 50%, a sample of employees were surveyed to assess their satisfaction.

The data highlighted that the number of job seekers expressing a preference for remote-first roles more than tripled between January and December 2022, with the number of workers wanting roles with fully flexible working hours increasing by 23%.

Start-ups with fewer than 100 employees and scale-ups with no more than 300 employees accounted for the top 10 most flexible workplaces globally, as well as 81% of the list overall, while start-ups represented 54% of the list. Larger employers with 1,000 or more employees were higher in the report than ever before, with Telus International ranking top this year and last.

The most flexible sector to work in was found to be software as a solution, accounting for 26% of employers, with HR and recruitment ranking second and accounting for 14% of the overall list.

The top three most flexible large employers were:

1. Telus International
2. Virgin Media O2
3. Mars UK

The top 10 most flexible employers overall are:

1. Locum’s Nest
2. Boldly
3. Prolific
4. FourthRev
5. Tyk
6. Filtered
7. Datafold
8. Whereby
9. ScreenCloud
10. Flash Pack

Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and chief executive officer of Flexa, said: “Flexible working is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Since last year’s report, we’re increasingly seeing this reflected in policy making, with new and soon-to-be laws recognising that flexible work is now firmly a part of the mainstream.

“In the last few months alone, employers have moved to make the four-day working week a permanent fixture, and policymakers have progressed bills to enshrine shorter working weeks in law and give all employees the right to request flexible work from their first day of employment. In 2023, there’s no excuse not to offer staff choice over ways of working.”