Contractors are now more likely to be judged on the results they produce rather than the hours they clock up, one expert has suggested.

Martin Lyne, director of small to medium enterprise marketing at T-Mobile, has said that small firms realise that flexibility is hugely important in the lives of their employees, with the traditional nine-to-five mentality becoming increasingly rare.

He explained that this is possible in part due to mobile technology allowing workers to pick up and respond to emails on the go.

"Our research demonstrated that the majority of business leaders now judge staff by the results they achieve rather than time spent in the office – mobile technology helps small businesses be productive regardless of where they are," continued Mr Lyne.

Meanwhile, the latest REC JobsOutlook report said that flexible staffing will be key to growth, with one in four employers planning to take on agency workers over the next three months and one in three planning to hire temporary staff, including contractors, within the next year.