Flexible Working- have we really moved on?

There is no doubt that more people are now working flexibly. The world of work is changing. About 9 in 10 people either work some form of flexible working or want to. And more job seekers prioritise the need for a job to offer some form of flexible working when searching for a suitable role. Yet only 1 in 10 jobs are advertised as open to flexible working. Despite this, the traditional working hours of 9 to 5 are becoming more of a thing of the past as more people work flexibly with only 6% of working age adults working 9 to 5. The perception of flexible working being just for working mums still prevails however overwhelmingly 84% of men who work full time either work flexibly or want to. But it’s not just about working flexibly to take care of children or relatives. More people are looking for a better work life balance to pursue their own hobbies/interests or studies. 

Flexible working isn’t just about working from home or part-time. It is much more than this from offering flexibility in start and finish times for employees to allow for nursery/school pickup/drop off, attend evening class or medical appointment to working at a location closer to home. 

Whilst the numbers look encouraging as more of us want to work flexibly, how much does this translate into practice? Have we really moved on since flexible working rights applied to everyone? Presenteeism remains one of the biggest issues facing employers. Pressure to work long hours, always on culture and traditional norms when and where meetings are held, how work is carried out and so forth mean that flexible working is not being fully embraced by all employers. 

A large employer decided to end its long-standing flexible working practices after the CEO announced to its employees that it would require everyone to be in the office. The effect this had on its reputation was damaging let alone the legal implications and impact on staff morale. As a result, the company did a u turn however the damage had already taken hold.

Flexible working brings many benefits for employers and their workforce including improved retention, employee engagement and wellbeing, increased productivity and helping businesses become more equipped to respond to shifts in the market. 

So how can we move on from this? 

A key barrier to flexible working is our own unconscious biases we may have around the notion of flexible working i.e. belief that flexible workers are less committed, only applies to those with caring responsibilities or issues around trusting colleagues who work from home. And for some sectors it can be perceived as more challenging such as Retail, Hospitality and Health. However there are some great initiatives employers in these sectors and others have taken to change culture and practices around flexible working so it becomes the norm rather than been seen as a challenge including: 

·     During job design, asking ‘How can we make this role flexible?’ rather than which roles can we make flexible or why can’t we make it flexible. 

·     Removing the question ‘Why do you want to work flexibly?’ The right to request to flexible working applies
to everyone and such question can act as a deterrent for some employees. 

·     Encouraging senior managers to work flexibly and promote the benefits and walk the walk i.e. leaving on time rather than working late and being mindful of other colleagues working patterns when organising 1 to 1s/meetings sends out positive messages to their teams. 

By making flexible working work and become part and parcel of workforce planning through adopting a more can do approach and leaders and senior managers role modelling, it should help encourage a more inclusive workplace environment and a place where people want to come and work.

References: 

Timewise, Flexible working: a talent imperative, A research study into the UK workforce: who wants flexibility, for what reasons, and how much it matters to them (September 2017)

CIPD, Health and Wellbeing at Work Survey Report (April 2019)