A survey of 1,700 part-time workers by Timewise, which promotes flexible working, found nearly two thirds feel less up-to-date with team developments and more than half miss out on networking opportunities.

The report says these issues can have a knock-on effect on business, limiting part-time employees’ ability to develop their skills and connections and so reducing the value they can add to their teams.

Around 70% of the UK workforce is either part-time or full-time with some form of flexible working pattern.

Timewise’s founder, Karen Mattison, said: “It’s time to end ‘flexism’ in the workplace. The workforce has changed but the workplace has not caught up.

“Much of working culture is still rooted in the 5-day 1950s model, with a lack of flexibility around when meetings, training and networking take place – leaving part-time workers isolated. With as few as 6 per cent of people thought to work a traditional ‘9-5’, we have a strong mandate for change.

“Part-time and flexible aren’t the future of work. They are the now.”