The Future is Flexible Working

The Future is Flexible Working

How to Strategically use Flexible Working Arrangements to Benefit your Business

We all know that flexible working arrangements bring many positive benefits to an employee’s life including a better work/life balance, greater job satisfaction, more autonomy, increased energy, creativity, motivation and morale. Flexible working gives employees greater ownership and control of their own time and working hours enabling them to manage their responsibilities outside of work. 

This can in turn reduce stress and anxiety for employees, who are struggling to balance their busy lives. There was little understanding or interest in exploring the true benefits of offering flexible working and how these arrangements could be used to drive business goals and objectives. 

Many employers were happy to sit on the fence, wondering will this “new fad” take off, while simultaneously, employees were embracing flexible working arrangements and actively seeking out employers who could offer them a better work/ life balance. It’s pretty clear by now that flexible working is no fad, it’s a trend that is set to continue, with many counties now legislating for it. I

f you are still sitting on the fence, it’s definitely time to jump off and get on board. If it is introduced as part of your overall business strategy it can make a major contribution to your business and in turn your bottom line. 

In this blog post, I will examine how flexible working arrangements can be used strategically to benefit your business. I will look at the many types of flexible working arrangements in operation today and the benefits they can bring to an organisation including better retention rates, reduced costs and improved productivity. Furthermore I  look at organisations that have embraced flexible working arrangements and how this change is positively affecting their business.

The Rise of Flexible Working 

In recent years we have seen a huge increase in the use of flexible working due to improvements in communications and information technology. Employees don’t necessarily need to be in their office every day of the working week. People can now work from home on a regular basis whilst remaining in touch with the office. 

Furthermore, there is an increased demand for flexible working with employees seeking flexibility over both their time and space. They do not want fixed hours, but instead prefer to choose the hours they work. For many young workers, flexible working is now considered the norm rather than the exception. At the same time, organisations’ demand for flexible working has also increased. With businesses now having to meet the 24/7 customer need for their services, there is a demand for flexible working. The recession has drastically changed the nature of work, reducing the number of full-time jobs and causing many organisations to rely on part-time and temporary staff, assigning them to flexible working schedules.

Benefits of Flexible Working Arrangements 

Business benefits

• Enhances recruitment and retention. 
• Increases staff motivation by providing a greater sense of control. 
• Reduces stress, fatigue and unfocussed employees, through the ability to better balance work and personal responsibilities. 
• Increases employee satisfaction and morale. 
• Improves commitment and productivity resulting from support for personal work style preferences. 
• Reduces absences and tardiness. 
• Improves coverage and scheduling for the department. 
• Improves transportation and parking options. 
• Uninterrupted time for creative, repetitive, or highly detailed work. 
• Better customer service, ability to offer extended time and days. 
• Improves health and wellness for employees. 
• Positive company culture, good for the public image of the organisation. 

Financial benefits 

• Helps retain staff and cuts down on training costs and costs associated with the settling in period for new employees. 
• Reduces overheads – it may be possible in some instances to double up on facilities e.g. desk sharing etc.
• Allows employers to extend service hours, reducing the need for overtime. 
• Working hours can be matched with peaks and troughs of the business to maximise productivity and cut costs. 
• Inexpensive benefit to implement and automated solutions provide a quick return on investment. 
• Reduces costs in relation to absenteeism, sick leave and tardiness. 
• Reduces employee turnover and recruitment costs. 
• Potential for more office space options and reduced real estate costs. 
• Improves scheduling for peak periods and reduces costs by scheduling in line with business demand.

The Future is Flexible Working 

In order to remain competitive and to respond to sudden changes in demand, adapt to new technologies and be in a position to innovate constantly organisations need to become more flexible. In order to attract and retain top talent, businesses need to be able to respond to employees demand for non-full-time working hours and/or flexible working time schedules that will suit their chosen lifestyles and to balance work and family life. 

“ Millennials view work as a thing, rather than a place. So companies will need to free themselves from the traditional nine to five mentality if they want to attract and retain this generation of workers. The Millennial generation will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020 so it is vital employers understand what motivates them. Many companies will have to completely re-think how they attract and reward their workers, or risking losing the best talent to companies which adapt to meet their needs in near future. “

References

Abid, S.& Barech, D. K. (2017). The Impact of Flexible Working Hours On The Employees Performance. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 5(7), 450-466.

ACAS.(2015). Flexible working and work-life balance.

Allen, R.S., Dawson, G., Wheatley, K. & White, C.S. (2007). Perceived diversity and organizational performance. Employee Relations, 30(1), 20-33.

Atkinson, C. & Hall, L. (2011). Flexible working and happiness in the NHS.  Employee Relations, 33(2), 88-105.

Clarke, L., van der Meer, M., Bingham, C., Michielsens, E. and Miller, S. (2009). Enabling and disabling: disability in the British and Dutch construction sectors. Construction Management and Economics, 27(6), 555-566.

Costa, C. and S. Sartori. (2005). Flexible Work Hours, Ageing and Well-being. International Congress Series 1280, 23–28.