A recent report by Personnel Today found that UK workers are much less likely to flexibly work during this economic downturn. Nearly three out of seven people, a full 41% feel obligated and pressured to be there during standard work hours, and 27% view that the number of hours they work is more important than their actual output.
Flexible working has been useful as 54% of respondents believe that flexible working promotes a better balance between work and their personal lives, and close to two-fifths of employers believe that it keeps loyalty among employees, and the same percentage believes that it makes their organisations more effectively run.
In spite of these numbers showing that productivity is likely to be increased, the plurality of businesses prevents this and they’re missing out on a great opportunity says David Plumb, O2’s manager of enterprise. He stated that he believes that if an employee feels like he or she has to sit at a desk due to a feeling of obligation that the organisation will suffer because he won’t have morale to do his job right.
One way to fix this has been proposed by Mr Plumb, when he suggests that the board members should lead by example and adopt flexible working, suggesting taking time to pick up their kids from school and teleconference.
In conclusion, it appears that flexible working is the way of the future as Generation Y enters the workforce, and with technology making this easier than ever, maybe now is a great time to start with flexible working.
RecruitmentRevolution.com, an online recruitment agency
Castle Hill House