IT contractors who take advantage of flexible working options when agreeing terms with employers may be better employees.

Employers that offer flexible working often benefit from reduced absenteeism, while offering contractors these options could also help to improve efficiency, according to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

Acas head of good practice services Gill Trevelyan explained that the benefits of employee flexible working are far reaching.

She added: "Providing flexible working can help to reduce absenteeism, increase employee engagement, improve efficiency and productivity and tackle the causes of stress."

Recent research by think tank Demos suggested that inflexible, stressful and emotionally demanding jobs can have a significant impact on parenting confidence.

In some cases, it can even contribute to emotional withdrawal.

Parents in well-paid, yet highly stressful jobs experienced a much higher incidence of negative impact, often owing to the lack of choice and emotional demands of their workplace.