Flexible working has long been a concept, with many scholarly articles extolling the benefits of greater engagement and a nod toward promoting family friendly policies.
In 2003, the Government introduced the right to request flexible working which initially covered parents and carers and then extended to cover all employees. Offering flexible working practices was more of a tick box exercise. Fast forward to the last few years, and we are regularly reading about the 4-day working week, unlimited annual leave, home/hybrid working and flexible working hours. It’s mind boggling. Offering more flexible working practices can really help businesses to attract and retain the right employees in today’s competitive candidate market place. In today’s generation, it’s almost an expectation. A question I am often asked by clients is “What flexible working practices can I offer and what do I need to consider”? Here’s what I advise:
Flexible Working Hours
This is where employees choose when they work throughout the course of the day/week to fit around their personal commitments. Not only will they achieve a better work/life balance but by placing greater trust in your employees to ensure the work gets done, they are more likely to feel more engaged at work.
4-Day Working Week
The 4-day working week is currently being trialled in the UK by 70 businesses, following the huge success of similar trials in other countries and early adopters such as Panasonic and Microsoft Japan. This is where employees work 80% of their contracted hours for 100% of the pay.
Sounds like a raw deal to the employer? Actually, no. Business who have adopted the 4-day working week model have reported a significant increase in productivity, a decrease in stress and consequent increase in profitability.
Home/Hybrid Working
Many businesses already offer some form of home/hybrid working arrangement, recognising benefits such as cost savings from reduced or no office space. It also expands recruitment to national markets, not just local. However, this does need to be carefully managed. Maintaining employee engagement can be challenging, remotely and some employees may prefer be in the work environment, so working from home shouldn’t be imposed, unless absolutely necessary.
Increased/Unlimited Annual Leave
Some employers, like Netflix, offer unlimited annual leave. They place complete trust in their employees to take time off when they need it. Placing this degree of trust in employees can reap huge benefits in terms of employee engagement and commitment. Whilst you might not want to go this far, increasing your annual leave entitlement is a good move in today’s battle to win and keep key talent.
Key Considerations
You may not be able to offer flexible working to all of your employees for operational reasons, but this doesn’t mean that others should miss out on the opportunity. Just be careful that you have sound business reasons for treating employees differently, and communicate this well.
If you offer home or hybrid working, you will need to undertake a risk assessment to ensure that employees have a suitable work station. Flexible working isn’t necessarily a contractual right, but you need to be careful on the working of your employment contracts.
Flexible working is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity. We need to challenge the 9-5 and work smarter, not harder.
