Just less than 50% of British adults responding to a YouGov poll want to work more flexibly, with only 17% specifically saying they would reject the possibility.

A third of respondents said that greater flexibility would make, or already has made, them more productive, and 43% think flexible working has made them, or could make them, less stressed.

Just 17% of those surveyed said that greater flexibility would allow them to spend more time caring for their children, and flexible working is roughly equally desirable amongst male and female workers.

Helen Wells, director of charity Business in the Community’s diversity campaign Opportunity Now says: “For too long flexible working has been seen as a ‘Mummy track’, a benefit for working mothers. This research makes it clear that both women and men want greater flexibility at work, and that businesses benefit from that flexibility, with increased productivity and happier, less stressed employees.”