The chance to work from home is one of UK workers' top priorities, and it can be easily achieved through contracting.
Today's workers want more flexibility, they want the option of working from home, and they want to be given opportunities to develop their skills. But instead of waiting for their employers to wake up to these realisations, they could easily achieve all of these things for themselves, by becoming a limited company contractor.
Contracting and freelancing can help to give workers what they really want - it just requires that all-important first step from the individual themselves to get them on the way to achieving a better work-life balance and all-round improved job satisfaction.
A recent survey carried out by totaljobs asked workers what it is that's most important to them in a job, and many of the answers could be turned into a reality if more people became limited company contractors. Let's take a look at the results, and how to make that leap to actually getting what you really, really want from your professional life.
What do UK workers really want?
The totaljobs research found that two-fifths of workers prefer to work from home if they have the choice, but more than one-third (35 per cent) are not currently given this option. In fact, being able to work remotely is so important to 28 per cent of workers that they say they would want to move jobs if it wasn't allowed at their workplace. This figure was even higher among millennials, with 45 per cent saying they'd quit their job if they couldn't work from home.
Women in particular love the flexibility that working from home brings, with 24 per cent of female respondents saying they'd rather work at home than in an office, in comparison to 16 per cent of men.
Increased productivity was found to be another benefit of working from home, with 21 per cent of those questioned finding that being outside of a traditional office environment had a positive impact on their productivity, as well as overall professional happiness.
Martin Talbot, Group Marketing Director at totaljobs, commented: "Companies, as well as the wider economy, would benefit from embracing remote working."
Mr Talbot added: "Our research also confirms a shift towards remote working, with an increasing number of millennials viewing the option to work remotely as a priority when looking for a new job."
Why contracting is the answer
How is contracting the answer to giving workers what they want? Limited company contractors can work from wherever is most convenient to them, whether that's from home or in a remote location, like a coffee shop or co-working hub, allowing them to achieve that extremely coveted perk.
Naturally, this allows them to benefit from that increased level of flexibility that totaljobs also found was of high importance to modern workers. Contractors can set their own working hours and are in control of their own workloads, allowing for a better work-life balance.
What's more, PayStream's limited company service My PSC can help contractors to get a better handle on their work-life balance, as it provides them with administrative help and advice on the running of their limited company, meaning they don't need to spend hours poring over their company accounts and company admin.
There's even a My PSC mobile app, which contractors can download to keep an eye on their real-time limited company finances and submit expenses on the go while they're out on jobs. Get in touch with the PayStream team today to find out more, and start getting what you really want from your professional life.