• All mothers want for mothers day is the ability to work and parent – yet 42% need more flexibility than they have today 
• Three quarters of mothers with flexible working believe it is limiting their career progression
• Mother Pukka is fighting back against new rhetoric from CEO billionaires and privileged politicians including Nigel Farage who are calling for an end to working from home. 

DATE; 12th March 2026: As Mother’s day approaches campaigners are urging employers to do more to encourage flexible working as mums risk being left behind. The call comes as a wave of organisations announce return-to-work mandates, which could force mothers out of the workplace.

A new Flex Appeal report with market research company Vivid Interface researched the views of 2,959 working mothers in January. The brand new data has lifted the lid on the current reality of flexible working, uncovering that flexible working is silently being reversed with 35% of mums reporting increased office attendance expectations in the last year.

Mother Pukka is fighting back against this silent re:flex which is being inflamed by dangerous anti-flex rhetoric that is building momentum in the media – including Nigel Farage, who hit the headlines blasting that people need a “shift in attitude and to work harder” calling for an end to working from home.

New research from Flex Appeal shows almost half of mums (42%) want more flexibility than they currently have, and 9 out of 10 mums (93%) need it due to childcare responsibilities. Mothers are also finding that even when they secure flexible working, it often holds them back. Three-quarters of mothers with flexible work believe it is limiting their career progression.

Flex Appeal, founded by Anna Whitehouse, aka Mother Pukka, is urging businesses and the government to make work more flexible to adapt to modern lifestyles, including advertising flexible working upfront in job adverts, and offering a flexible first approach to working.  Ahead of the government consultation into flexible working, Flex Appeal is calling on the government to recognise the flexible working roll-back that many mothers are experiencing, and is keen to highlight that the perception of flexible working and the reality from this new research are two different things.

Anna said,

“I am sick and tired of hearing privileged billionaires bleeping about how important it is that we get people back to the office- as if the party is finally over and we need to pull our socks up and get back to work. Mothers’ flexible working rights are being rolled back silently in plain sight with more and more employers calling for increased office time, meanwhile mums are still not finding jobs that are flexible enough around childcare, and when they do, their careers are suffering for it.  

Flexible working isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Office hours and school-pick up do not line up, the pittance amount of holidays that we have vs school holidays does not add up – and something needs to give. As a result mums are limiting their career progression or being forced out of work altogether.  It’s not just women who are negatively impacted, either; businesses are losing highly qualified, skilled, experienced employees every day because of rigid, out-of-date policies. Flexible working can and does work, but more needs to be done to implement it.”

Of those surveyed, 20% said they have complete flexibility at work, while 38% said they have partial flexibility. Many mums reported a negative attitude towards flexible working in their organisations.  Only 14% say they feel comfortable asking for flexible working, and 1 in 5 (20%) say their workplace is explicitly unsupportive.  Only 1 in 5 say roles were advertised as flexible, with over a third saying they had to request this once they were hired. Worryingly, 29% say their flexibility arrangements are informal, leaving many powerless to fight back if managers make a U-turn.

Those who have flexible working said it reduced exhaustion from commuting, gave them more energy outside of work and lowered stress levels. Two-thirds of people (65%) also said they want more flexibility to achieve a better work-life balance.

About the research

Market Research company Vivid Interface researched the views of 2959 working mothers in January 2026 using a e-survey mechanism. An invitation to participate in the survey was posted on social media in the UK. No incentive was offered to respondents for participation.