The benefits of flexible working
July, 2015
- One obvious way to help employees achieve work-life balance is to offer them flexibility of where they work from and what times they work – at least on some days of the week where they need this flexibility most.
- Yet, why do most companies, including the ones that are in technology / connectivity, insist on a physical show of presence at the office premises – much like what landlords expect from peasants!
- Research indicates that flexible work arrangements may reduce stress because employees working on flexi-time and shifts are generally more satisfied with their jobs, more satisfied with their lives, and experience better work-family balance.
- Although the business environment has constantly been subject to change, this pace of change is now more rapid than ever.
- Consequently customer expectations have changed, with the advent of web and social media; they expect goods and services outside traditional business hours.
- Contrarily employees seek to strike a balance between work and home life. Caught in the middle, organizations strive to satisfy customers while trying to match their employee needs.
- Flexible work patterns tend to address these issues by giving employees the flexibility at work which would capitalize on employee productivity while catering to the dire needs of customers.
- A study conducted amongst 19000 employees from distinct industries and large multinational companies indicated that greater levels of flexibility were typically linked with better health and reduced stress levels.
- Apart from the employee motivation and productivity benefits, think of the time and ‘energy’ savings on commuting, attiring and office space. Perhaps companies could consider flexi-times, part-time working, temporary contracts, or even job sharing, shift-working and home working.
- It maybe that your staff requirement may fluctuate during the year due to seasonal peaks and troughs, you could then perhaps consider annualized working hours. Yet why do Boards / CEOs not encourage this?
