By Gavin Warner, published 9 December 2025
Nearly three-quarters of UK businesses continue to provide flexible working arrangements, including three days in the office and two days working from home. This underlines how jobs with flexible hours have become a practical standard rather than an exception for many organisations and professionals.
The finding comes from new research conducted by specialist finance recruiter Sheridan Maine, which shows that flexible working remains a defining feature of the UK employment landscape despite shifts in workplace policy and economic pressures. In particular, the growing prevalence of jobs with flexible hours highlights how employers are balancing productivity, wellbeing and talent retention.
The survey, conducted over the summer of 2025, gathered responses from more than 150 senior accounting professionals and business leaders across the UK. The results indicate that companies are calibrating office attendance expectations while preserving flexibility where it delivers measurable value.
Participants included Chief Finance Officers, Finance Directors, Financial Controllers and other decision-makers, representing a wide range of industries. Their responses collectively suggest that flexible working is now deeply embedded across finance functions, with hybrid models enabling teams to prioritise critical in-office collaboration without losing the benefits of remote productivity.
Gavin Warner, Managing Director at Sheridan Maine, said: “Flexible working is not just a trend – it’s now embedded into how businesses function with 73% of businesses offering some form of flexibility to workers.
“Even as some organisations reintroduce return-to-office mandates, nearly three-quarters of companies continue to offer hybrid or flexible arrangements.
“This shows how vital flexibility has become in attracting, engaging and retaining talent in today’s competitive market.”
The research adds further context to current hiring dynamics. Employers are continuing to list jobs with flexible hours to widen their candidate pools, accommodate diverse personal circumstances and improve work-life balance without sacrificing output. For finance teams, the ability to schedule deep-focus work remotely while convening for key meetings in person is proving particularly effective.
The findings also shed light on wider business sentiment. While pay rises remained on the agenda for many in 2025 and some businesses reported plans to expand their finance teams, optimism about revenue growth was subdued, with a significant proportion of leaders expressing caution about the economic outlook for the remainder of the year. This careful outlook is influencing hiring strategies, with managers using flexible working policies to remain competitive while controlling costs and maintaining resilience.
For candidates, the availability of jobs with flexible hours is shaping career decisions. Professionals increasingly prioritise roles that offer autonomy over where and when they work, alongside clear development pathways and supportive leadership. As a result, employers who can articulate a thoughtful approach to flexible working are better placed to attract top performers, improve retention and build sustainable team culture.
Looking ahead, most respondents anticipate that hybrid models will continue to evolve rather than revert to pre-2020 patterns. Companies are refining guidelines around collaboration days, tools, performance measurement and communication norms to ensure that flexible working supports both business outcomes and employee wellbeing. From onboarding to project delivery, leaders are focusing on clarity and consistency so teams can operate effectively regardless of location.
Whether you are building a high-performing finance function or searching for roles that prioritise jobs with flexible hours, our team can help you align your goals with market realities and find the right fit in a landscape where flexible working continues to set the standard.
