Nearly 90 percent of women are seeking or open to remote work, according to data from InHerSight, a company-reviewing platform for women. But their top priority in 2024 is not a home office; it is flexible work hours, Beth Castle, InHerSight’s managing editor, wrote in Fast Company.

More than 70 percent of women include this requirement in their job searches when using InHerSight, a company that helps women find companies and jobs. That led Castle to write that while remote work is highly desired, companies that offer an integration of work and life have can attract talent by showcasing their approach to work-life balance

“Being judged on the quality of your work rather than the number of hours you spend in a chair at the office has always been an important part of employee satisfaction and equity work because such flexibility allows people, women especially, to navigate the sometimes-impossible task of working and building a life,” said Ursula Mead, CEO and cofounder of InHerSight. “Remote work during the pandemic allowed remote workers to exercise that fluidity, and moving forward, instituting flexible work schedules are a way for us to hold onto what we know works while returning to in-office or hybrid schedules.” 

Work-life harmony is a growing demand among all job seekers. In 2023, 70 percent of job seekers were looking for new jobs to accommodate more flexible working arrangements and higher salaries, according to the Journal Record. Organizational culture and systems workplace expert Tammy Dowley-Blackman told InHerSight that this is of particular importance to members of Generation Z, which currently makes up about a fourth of the workforce. 

This is where Gen Z is different and far more equipped and savvy than prior generations,” Dowley-Blackman said. “They have an understanding that if they don’t seek work-life balance, this world we live in is that much more intense.” Flexibility isn’t about “working less” than prior generations; it’s about reserving time in the day for key survival tools, like therapy and community, in a turbulent post-pandemic world. 

In this world, the top five essentials among women job seekers, according to InHer Sight, are the following:

"1) Flexible work hours: Ability to set your schedule as long as you get your work done;
2) Ability to telecommute: Flexibility to work remotely
3) Salary satisfaction: Salary, merit increases, cost-of-living adjustments, overall comp
4) Paid time off: Sick days, vacation days, and personal days
5) Learning opportunities: On- and off-site skills training, speaker series, conferences, etc.:"

“It means the old tactics for recruiting women talent, like touting maternity leave, don’t work as well anymore,” said Mead. “Paid parental leave is always important and always will be, but saying you offer 12 weeks of paid time is now a baseline benefit. It’s expected. In 2024, women want more.” 

“This is an opportunity for companies to view their employees as whole people and to reassert their commitment to healthier work styles for all,” she added. “That’s a lesson we all learned during the pandemic. Now let it become a core value.”