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Guest Blog: Why flexible working makes sense for you and your organisation

Due to the pandemic, many businesses are now practicing and promoting a safe working environment and have moved to flexible working arrangements as the best way to support their people. According to Pewresearch, 71% of the American workforce started working from home and found it somewhat easy since the pandemic.

In a study conducted by Zenefits, 67% workers said their employers offered some form of flexible arrangement including some of the biggest global corporations such as Google and Facebook.

What is workplace flexibility?

Workplace flexibility enables employees to have different or diverse workplace arrangements. Usually, flexible work arrangements best practice consists of three concepts:

An employee can choose where they work from
Company and employee agree to a work schedule that fits them
Employee to schedule their workday whenever they want

Many corporations are going further than these 3 pillars and are implementing other work arrangements, such as:

Implementing a 4 day working week
Alternative working hours or schedules
Work in any location

It goes without saying that these are just a few examples and companies are coming up with many creative ways to support their employees with flexible working that best suits them and their people. I’d love to hear creative examples you have seen in the comments.

Benefits of flexible work arrangements for companies

Reduced costs

One great benefit of flexible work arrangements is that it reduces the overall operating cost of your business. It reduces office energy consumption, supply cost, and even rental. Companies can implement hot-desking where employees use communal seats and computers on the days they come to the office. This allows the business to hire more employees without needing to expand its office space.

Staff retention

Covid-19 has changed perceptions on the ease of which many companies are able to operate with flexible and remote options. This means that many employees who would have previously accepted office based work structures will be more likely to leave an organisation that does not offer flexible working.

Attracting talent

As mentioned earlier, many professionals are looking for flexibility. Highlighting flexible work arrangements on your job advertisement can invite a lot of potential recruits and candidates as well as widen the pool of people that are able to apply such as parents, carers, people with disabilities and more, thus widening your talent pool. In addition, it also increases your job location scope. You can now hire candidates who live far from your office location and create diversity in the workplace – another great benefit of flexible work arrangements.

Benefits of flexible work arrangements for employees

The benefits of flexible work are not exclusive to organisations and can also help employees in improving their work ethic and productivity.

Increased creativity

A flexible working arrangement can motivate employees. They have the freedom to manage their own time and work schedules. As such, employees are more enthusiastic about their job, engage with their organization’s success, and make valuable contributions.

Moreover, for some employees, ideas come to them outside of normal working hours and locations. Creative thinkers may need different atmospheres to get their best ideas and think outside the box and may find the office to be loud and disturbing. Giving staff the freedom to work where it suits them best will help unleash their best work.

Improved well-being

Offering flexible working arrangements to employees can help improve their physical and psychological well-being. Employees can adjust their working arrangement based on the state of their physical and mental health. This will reduce the risks of fatigue, burnout, and stress.

Increased productivity

If an employee works remotely, they save commute time which enables them to spend more time with friends, family, on hobbies or just to wind down. This means productivity will be up as they will be getting more time to do the things that energise them. Flexible work also allows employees to fit their work around their most productive times of day and build the best working environment that allows them to be their most productive. It also allows them to adapt and change depending on what they feel they need each day.

Conclusion

There are many advantages of flexible work arrangements, including work-life balance, autonomy, and better health. Not only that, companies can reduce costs, increase employee retention and attract the best talent from a wider talent pool.

When flexible working is implemented and used appropriately, it’s win-win for both employers and employees.