“互让”：灵活和混合的工作政策如何支持职业发展，提高生产力，并赋予女性蓬勃发展的权力

How flexible and hybridworking policies supportcareer progression, In the spirit of ‘Give to Gain’ – the theme of International Women’s Day2026 – new research from International Workplace Group (IWG) highlights “Far from a shallow, transactional exchange, the ‘give’ and ‘gain’ associatedwith hybrid working policies is about reciprocity and real support; theforging of relationships that offer advantages for all. The freedom andautonomy hybrid working affords are translating into multiple benefits for “At the same time, progressive companies that offer more flexible waysto work are benefiting from deeper, more productive relationships withfemale employees that inspire long-term loyalty. Time and again, studieshave shown that firms with gender-balanced teams and boardrooms Fatima KoningGroup Chief Commercial OfficerInternational Workplace Group Plc The race for female talentIWD 2026: Give to Gain Since the start of this decade, workplaceflexibility has played an increasingly importantrole in attracting the brightest and bestto any business. The latest research fromIWG – a study of more than 2000 femaleworkers, commissioned to support this year’sInternational Women’s Day theme, underlinesits significance. 77% of the women surveyed opportunities, on average, more women thanmen seek part-time work. By making it possiblefor people to join on this basis, companiescan take a vital step forward in equalisingopportunity. When they introduce changes like Spotify’s ‘Work From Anywhere’ (WFA) model,first introduced in 2021, further underlineshow powerfully the promise of flexibility canboost recruitment. It reduced the time takento find and onboard a new hire by six days,while company data also shows around 50%of subsequent hires came from outside their When Zurich UK took the decision to advertiseall available roles on a part-time, job share orflexible basis five years ago, it was the firstcompany in Britain to do so – and it showedthat broadening access to hybrid and flexibleworking can open the door to a tidal waveof female talent. Since 2019, the number ofemployees hired on a part-time basis hasalmost quadrupled – and in 2023, 87.5% of 77% of women wouldbe unlikely to take ajob that did not offer 27% “These are striking statistics, but they makeperfect sense,” says Fatima Koning, Group ChiefCommercial Officer at IWG. “While the data A seat at the table More equal companies with more diverse leadershipteams make better decisions. Ultimately, they’re The ‘Give to Gain’ approach is already yieldingsignificant benefits for forward-thinkingfirms. At Zurich UK, for example, the numberof female hires at senior level has more thandoubled since 2019, while part-time internalpromotions increased 167% between 2022and 2024. “These numbers are heartening,” working can accelerate progress, and the datashows the immense impact this can have.The statistics speak not only of bringing more 66% of the women who participated in IWG’sstudy said flexible work has had a positiveimpact on their career, rising sharply forMillennials (79%) and Gen Z (76%). 66% was ‘essential’ for their career progression.According to the Financial Times, the genderpay gap among tech firms has alreadynarrowed thanks to a ‘growing acceptance’ women just starting out in their careers to seefemale line managers and team leaders working In IWG’s survey, 64% of women said bettercollaboration had been a key benefit of flexibleand hybrid working, 62% cited the advantageof being able to learn from leadership and 66%said they valued the opportunities it bringsfor sharing knowledge with others. The optionto work from a local flexible workspace cansupport inter-generational mentoring, as wellas meaningful collaboration between womenwho work flexibly, according to Koning. “Workingfrom home can be stressful and isolating, “This matters,” argues Koning, “because moreequal companies with more diverse leadershipteams make better decisions. Ultimately,they’re more productive and more profitable; astudy from McKinsey showed that companieswith representation of women exceeding 30%are likely to financially outperform those with 66% It’s also important, Koning notes, for youngerwomen to see those from the generation abovein positions of influence and responsibility.“While it sounds like a cliché,” she says, “you impacted their career Firms that have committed to giving their peoplegreater flexibility are already seeing significantgains when it comes to retention rates. ProfessorNicholas Bloom, an economist based at StanfordUniversity and one of the world’s foremostresearchers on flexible working, studied theeffect of increased hybrid work on more than1,600 people at Trip.com, a major online travel work per week – and the effect was even morepronounced among female employees, whowere 54% less likely to resign when offered theopportunity to work more flexibly. Elsewhere,almost three-quarters (73%) of the workingwomen IWG surveyed said they were more likely