Sitting on a bench outside of my ex-employers’ office, I sobbed silently.
That morning I’d gone into the office thinking it was like any other work day, and then I was called to a meeting with my manager.
No sooner had I sat down when I was handed a settlement package and asked to leave. I wasn’t even allowed to go back to my desk to collect my belongings.
So now there I was, sitting crying to no one as a newly unemployed person.
All this, just because I’d put in a formal request to work from home one day a week.
I’ve lived with an autoimmune condition – which causes painful swelling in my joints and severe itching – since the age of 18. But things quickly got worse when I started an investment banking role.
This was a dream job on paper. I wanted to be somewhere I could work hard and progress quickly. However, the long commute and inflexibility of hours were making my symptoms worse. My joint swelling became so bad I was unable to walk at times.
I was told by my employer that they were open to flexible working requests. Bear in mind that this was back in 2017 – before the pandemic made remote or hybrid working commonplace – so it was a big deal. I jumped at the chance.
I remember thinking that if I could work from home for just one day a week, on the occasions that my symptoms flared up, it might just save my health and current career.
At first, it seemed like my employer was open to the discussion: they sent me to an occupational health therapist who, based on the severity of my symptoms, recommended that I register as disabled to protect myself from discrimination.
This should have been my first clue that everything was not what it seemed. But at the time, I was naive enough to assume that their openness to flexible working was genuine.
You can imagine my surprise then, when just 10 days later I was called into that meeting and let go.
It was while sitting on that bench, feeling like a failure, that I realised if I wanted to protect my health and succeed in my career, I had to find an employer who wasn’t just ‘open to flexible working requests’ but one who was genuinely flexible in their culture and attitudes.
Sadly, this wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
What followed felt more like detective work than a job hunt. I spent hours scouring companies’ websites, LinkedIn pages, and employer review sites trying to find ones that catered to my needs, where I would be able to work hard and build a thriving career while protecting my health.
But the information didn’t exist.
Eventually I found an employer who claimed on their job ads to be flexible. However, this turned out not to be true. Despite saying they were open to me working from home when I needed, my employer was surprised when I actually did so more than once.
While working at another company that promised the same, I was made to feel like the odd one out because I was the only one on the team working from home. I felt I had to work extra hours to prove that I was just as committed to the job as my in-office peers. The same pressure led me to send pictures of myself in the hospital to my manager to justify why I wasn’t able to come into the office.
After a couple of years working like this, I realised that this problem wasn’t going to go away. If I wanted a solution, then I had to fix it.
One night, while at the pub with my now-husband, Maurice, we decided we wanted to change the status quo for all workers who rely on flexibility due to health needs, caring responsibilities, or simply personal preference. According to research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 4 million people changed careers due to a lack of flexibility at work in 2023.
That’s how the idea for Flexa was born.
When we started out in 2019, we focused on vetting and verifying companies’ flexible working policies; the aim was to help job seekers access transparent information about what was on offer. Since then, however, our work has evolved.
In the pandemic, working from home suddenly became the norm for most office workers. It pushed people to reevaluate their working lives and what they wanted from their job.
Today, workers care not only about where they work but how and when they work, too – think flexible working hours or four-day weeks.
They also want to know things like whether companies offer diverse teams, social impact-led missions, and rapid career progression. So we’re helping over 3 million job seekers find this information, too.
Ultimately, knowing that a company is ‘open’ to flexibility isn’t good enough. The most crucial thing we’re still helping candidates find out is whether the things companies are marketing themselves on – like flexibility and great cultures – are genuinely embedded into day-to-day practices.
And that’s why I take issue with the Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill.
While it claims that it’ll give all workers the default right to request and access flexible work, I’m sceptical that enforcing this from the top down is the right solution.
By putting the onus on employees to request flexibility, there comes a risk of requests being rejected, and individuals feeling alienated for asking to work differently. And as we know, mandates rarely change mindsets.
Plus, since every employer will be able to claim to be flexible, job seekers could find it difficult to work out which employers genuinely champion this type of work.
Essentially, the right to flexible work may become a poisoned chalice. Flexibility is a force for good, but forcing employers to introduce it will only create resentment.
I do think there is a simple solution. If employers are transparent about the level of flexibility they can accommodate, workers can find roles that suit their needs and will want to stay. It’s a win-win. And when other companies see how those who are offering flexibility are benefiting, they will follow.
Flexibility is a spectrum, and workers have varying needs and preferences, but if employers can be accommodating it can be a real game changer, and I’m part of the proof.
Being fired and receiving a settlement from my employer really did turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Having the freedom to work remotely a couple of times a week or flex my hours means I can better manage my autoimmune condition and keep my symptoms under control. It also means I can fit in the exercise I need to feel energised, and work when I feel most focused.
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Not only has this been transformative for my overall health, but my career has benefitted too.
Genuine flexibility has enabled me to build a thriving company, become a LinkedIn Top Voice on the future of work, and host a podcast that gets millions of impressions a month – I never would have imagined that would be possible when I was sitting outside my ex-employers’ office crying.
Luckily, employers are increasingly realising this, too. Last quarter, more flexible jobs from verified flexible companies were advertised on Flexa than ever before. Employers know that by offering genuinely flexible roles, they can attract top talent who want flexibility, and create an environment that helps their staff and the business thrive.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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