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Flexible working hours, homeworking opportunities and cover for emergencies or school holidays are the top concerns for working mothers, according to a British survey on Thursday.
The survey of 1,677 people by specialist employment advice website workingmums.co.uk showed that despite a tougher jobs climate, in which redundancies had risen dramatically during the recession, mothers clamored for a more malleable schedule.
Flexible hours for full-time jobs came top of the list for 85 percent of respondents who were asked what they thought made for a family-friendly employer. That came just ahead of homeworking opportunities.
"Flexibility is really key and being able to achieve an element of work/life balance," Workingmums.co.uk founder Gillian Nissim told reporters.
She said the recession had not reduced the urgency of this issue for working mums and that employers who want to be prepared for the eventual upturn would do well to listen to them rather than risk losing them to more forward-thinking rivals.
Many women said they had considered setting up their own business as a way around the flexibility problem and nearly half (45 percent) of respondents said they had looked into it.
Nissim said the workingmums.co.uk database alone showed that on average working mums have more than 15 years of work experience and a range of valuable skills picked up in the workplace and from their parenting experiences.
"So the benefits to employers of being able to accommodate a degree of flexibility is significant," she said.
Part-time work, flexibility around emergency cover or school holidays were the next highest concerns with extended maternity pay a fair distance down the list of concerns.
More than half (54 percent) of respondents said they would accept a less well-paid job in return for flexibility, with 40 percent prepared to consider this option.
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(Agencies)
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職場媽媽最關心哪些問題？上周四公布的一項英國調查顯示，她們最關心的是彈性工作時間、在家辦公的機會以及遇到急事或學校假期能否脫得開身。
這項調查由“職場媽媽“專業招聘咨詢網站（workingmums.co.uk）開展，共有1677名受訪者參與。調查結果顯示，盡管眼下就業形勢嚴峻，在衰退時期各公司冗員數量劇增，但職場媽媽還是希望能有一個更為靈活的工作機制。
在被問及“家庭友好型”雇主應滿足什么條件時，85%的受訪者將彈性工作制列為首選。其次是在家辦公的機會。
“職場媽媽”網站創始人吉莉安?尼西姆在接受記者采訪時說：“彈性工作制的確很重要，能夠實現工作和生活的平衡。”
她稱，對于職場媽媽來說，經濟衰退并沒有降低這一問題的緊迫性，想為最終的經濟好轉做好準備的雇主們應該好好聽聽職場媽媽們的心聲，而不是讓更有遠見的競爭對手將她們挖走。
很多職場媽媽稱她們曾考慮過自己創業，以解決這個靈活性的問題。近半數（45%）受訪者稱曾認真考慮過這一方案。
尼西姆稱，“職場媽媽”網站統計的一項數據表明，職場媽媽平均有15年以上的工作經驗，還具備一系列從工作和育兒中得來的寶貴技能。
她說：“因此，如果雇主能引入一定的彈性機制，對于他們將很有益處。”
其次，兼職以及能抽出時間應付急事或學校假期也是全職媽媽們所關心的問題，而增加產假薪水卻不是她們最關心的問題。
超過半數（54%）的受訪者稱，她們愿意以稍低的薪水來換取彈性工作時間。40%的受訪者已準備考慮這一方案。
相關閱讀
職場媽媽的困惑：如何平衡事業與生活？
經濟低潮帶動彈性工作制高潮
研究：彈性工作制有益于身體健康
研究：彈性工作制讓員工更快樂
（英語點津許雅寧 姍姍編輯） |
