A survey from WorkingMums, an online jobsite for professional mothers, found these mothers will be looking for jobs that will allow them to balance their family and work life - including flexible working and working from home.
According to WorkingMums, this gives employers an opportunity to re-examine their working culture and look into flexible initiatives to make their businesses more efficient, cut overheads, minimise overtime and reduce travel expenses.
Mandy Garner, a spokeswoman for WorkingMums, said: "The present economic situation is not all doom and gloom and actually presents some good opportunities for mothers to assess their working options and look at what is available to help them meet their needs."
This research comes in the same week Peter Mandelson, the secretary of state for business, put on hold plans to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children aged between six and 16. He claims this is to reduce red tape and ease the burden on businesses during the economic downturn.
But Garner added: "Employers should look at more efficient ways of working and how this can help them become more cost-effective while remaining productive. Employers should not get caught out while reducing their resources. Working mothers are a fantastic pool of talent that many business should be calling upon."
Tough times force mums back to work
Nearly eight out of 10 (79%) of mothers are planning to go back to work or increase their working hours because of the credit crunch.
