The benefits of flexible working
With the coalition government keen to promote work-life balance, employment specialist Nick Golding investigates the benefits of flexible working for employers and staff.
A recent study into the future of work, Managing Tomorrow’s People: Where will you be in 2020? by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, has revealed that a flexible policy – where employees can effectively manage where and when they complete their work – is now the single most important perk in the workplace.
It would be impossible to deny the impact that technology has had on flexible working. The rise of emailing and conference calling, for example, has made remote working, rather than from a central office, very simple to do.
And, according to one organisational psychologist, flexible working can have a huge impact on the productivity levels of an employee. Professor Cary Cooper, who teaches organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, explains: “Studies have shown that consistently working long hours will damage health, and one of the solutions to a long-hours culture is flexible working. It improves job satisfaction and has a positive influence on workplace performance.”
This flexible approach to working manifests itself in many different ways but, basically, those businesses that do not tie their employees to a nine-to-five, workplace-based culture could claim to be offering flexible work, and common forms of the practice include part-time work, flexible shifts and working from home.
Flexible working has mutual benefits
Benenden Hospital itself has become a flexible employer simply by adopting a laid-back and adaptable approach to the hours that employees work. Gill Landon, Human Resources and Development Director, explains: “We have nurses on extended hours, reduced hours, term-time work only, and some on four long days rather than five short. People come in at different hours or cut their lunch hour down. We accommodate wherever we can, always making sure that service needs are met.”
Positive side-effects of a flexible UK workforce can include a boost in loyalty among staff. It can also help to retain good people, which is a fairly vital ingredient for UK organisations trying to pull through one of the worst economic downturns for decades. “Flexible working can be a very useful retention tool,” agrees Gill. “Employees know they wouldn’t get the flexibility elsewhere and they are more satisfied with their working life. Loyalty is important, as is having an effective recruitment and retention tool.”
The new coalition government sees flexible working as an ideal way to improve the work-life balance of the country’s workforce, so as part of its manifesto, it has promised to roll out the right to request flexible working arrangements to all.
The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills plans to involve the whole country in flexible working of some sort, following a large-scale consultation process. As a department spokesperson explains: “Flexible working helps people to find more suitable working patterns and develop a balance between work and home life. But it can also be good for business, enabling employers to draw on a wider pool of talent, improve retention rates and increase staff morale and productivity.”
Future prospects
Such a roll-out would have a huge impact on the way that employers manage their staff, both in the private and public sectors, because if everyone has the right to request flexible work, traditional forms of management would have to adapt.
While private sector employers have been weaving flexible work into the culture of their organisations for some time now, Amanda Ludlow, Head of Business Development at Benenden Healthcare, feels that the sheer size and traditional nature of public sector bodies have made the switch a much slower process — despite the will being strong. “The public sector has an aspiration for flexible work,” she says. “But the reality is that the need for control is so vast, because of the size of the business, that it stifles any true flexibility because it is so rigidly enforced.”
Clearly there is a thirst for flexible working in the UK and, with a government keen to extend it to all employees, it is only the practicalities that could prove tricky for certain businesses. However, if the benefits of flexible working turn out to be as advantageous as predicted, adopting a more adaptable management attitude towards employees could prove to be just the tonic to pull the UK through the recession.
Making time for family
Four years ago, Carol Leslie negotiated a flexible working arrangement to give her more time with her family, while still allowing her to develop her career as a corporate affairs manager for Tesco. The 45-year-old now works Monday and Tuesday afternoons (3pm-5pm) at home, and full days in the office the rest of the week.
“The flexible hours allow me to spend valuable time with my son, Mason, which I think is really important in the early stages before he goes to school,” says Carol, who lives in Woodford Green, Essex.
“So many women have to juggle work and home life and feel guilty if they spend long periods of time at work. With the flexible hours, I definitely get the best of both worlds.”
She agrees that this type of flexible approach can act as a huge retention tool, adding: “I can only speak for myself, of course, but I would say that it is a major factor.
This article first appeared in issue 12 of benhealth, the magazine for Benenden Healthcare members.
Further information – health at work
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