If your business doesn’t offer flexible work options then top employees may look to switch to somewhere that does according to a new survey from Regus.

Over 3,000 professionals across a variety of sectors were quizzed on the importance of flexibility in today’s working life. And respondents left very little doubt about the value of a flexible approach.

91% of workers in the UK said that, faced with a choice of two similar jobs, they would choose the one that offered flexible working.  And almost a third of respondents (32%) also stated that they would have stayed longer in their previous jobs if flexibility had been offered.

Richard Morris, UK CEO, Regus, comments: “Businesses must think long and hard about the type of roles that they are offering to today’s professionals. The days of the fixed hours, fixed location job are becoming as outdated as the office fax machine. Flexibility is no longer seen as a perk, it is now a key differentiator for talented individuals.

“A flexible role is one where the individual has more control over where and when they are productive. Managers must get better at measuring on results rather than on time spent at a specified desk.

“There is also the current business climate to consider. The economic uncertainty requires business to be more agile and nimble so operating with a fluid and flexible workforce, using available workspace, makes real commercial sense. Put simply, those businesses not thinking flexibly risk a talent drain.”