Flexibility with remote working is definitely a way to attract more diverse people. In particular, it gives opportunities to individuals with special needs.

Disabled and still in recovery, I currently cannot cope with working in an office. Ending up repeatedly medically unfit to work, my CV is full of gaps and I was really determined to find a company where I could see myself lasting. I have applied only to a handful of places and if there was no fully remote working option, it was a deal-breaker.

Remote working is a total game changer.

I require a lot of time physically on my own in order to function.I can use my coping mechanisms without restrictions and fear of judgement.

Most importantly, I can truly be myself, which saves me an inestimable amount of energy. I’m also able to focus on my job without being overstimulated by my surroundings and without the pressure of in-person social interactions.

When you join a company and you hear all these things about flexibility, it feels like your career can really be sustainable. I want to, and can see myself, staying at PensionBee. Its approach to flexible working is how I’ll thrive and grow. So it's really vital. I’ve always wanted to work and I just never stopped pushing myself. But I need to be supported and to feel safe.

PensionBee’s approach to flexible working has helped me enormously because without it, I don't think I'd be working at all. After I had my son, I came back to work full-time for a bit, in my role as Head of Talent. I then moved to a four-day week but I was still feeling quite overwhelmed by all of the different responsibilities I had and like I wasn't getting to spend enough time with him.

I actually handed in my notice before putting in a request for flexible working, because I thought that I just didn't want to work at all. However, handing my notice in started a conversation about flexible working. I was given the opportunity to move into a new role as Head of Culture, Inclusion and Wellbeing.

I still have the same level of seniority, good opportunities for progression, and am able to work on things that are really interesting. It's just the scope of my responsibilities was changed so that I could do it manageably in a three-day week. I also chose to do that three-day week spread out over four shorter days.

This works really well for me because I find that in the type of work I'm doing, and the pace at which the company moves, I feel a bit out of the loop if I'm out for too many days. Being in for four shorter days a week gives me the opportunity to still be in all the conversations that I need to be in and keep up with the pace of change, but it also means that another little bit of the day is just for me and my son to spend quality time together. It’s made an enormous difference to my wellbeing and how I feel. I can now imagine a way for me to have a really exciting and fulfilling career and also spend all of the time that I want to spend with my son.

When I am not at work, I’m in rehearsals for a show. That’s not something that I’d be able to do if I was working in central London and having to commute, because usually rehearsals start at 7:30pm. I would probably still be on a train home from central London at that time. Being able to work from home has meant that I can commit to shows and really get involved in the local theatre community without worrying that my train is going be late.

When I was looking for a job, my main criteria was that it had to be remote. I didn't want a job that is advertised as mostly remote and then it turns into you have to be there every day for a meeting.

I wanted one hundred percent working from home so that I knew exactly where I stood and didn't have to worry that it was going to change. I personally would never work in a job where I had to be in an office all of the time anymore because it would take away so much from my other passions in life.

If a company isn't prepared to be flexible and give a little bit for their staff then it's a sign their priority is their business and nothing more. I want to work somewhere that also cares about the wellbeing of their staff.

This then reflects in the people that they attract. They get people that want to stay there and progress, which then feeds back into the business side of things as well.

PensionBee’s flexible hours have been very useful to me and my team. I’ve only ever worked part-time for PensionBee. In the early days of PensionBee, I started out doing two or three days in quite a flexible arrangement because the company was still forming.

At the time, it was good for PensionBee because the amount of work they required from a designer fluctuated somewhat. And it was good for me because I was doing lots of other things at the time so it all worked out very nicely.

I've had a number of different arrangements, like working a few days a week or taking larger chunks off and then working solidly for a block. Flexibility has been really valuable to me in pursuing what I want to do in life.

Now, I work four days a week and use my time to start a family. It’s great to be able to spend time with my 14 week old son, Caspar, and it's really helpful as a new parent to have that flexibility.

Flexibility is fundamental to the way I want to work. It makes my life a lot easier and I work better under that arrangement as I have more freedom about when I work.

Remote working is also really helpful to my team.as we have a lot of international members. They use our ability to work from abroad and actively take us up on that policy. By extension, as a manager I get to keep those people because this arrangement is good for them and they're happy so they do good work.

Flexibility attracts great people. The days of being nine to five in an office are long gone and that's not how you're going to attract great talent. I truly believe that your life inside and outside of work needs to work together harmoniously for you to actually do your best in both of those environments.