How Flexible Working Practices Can Enhance Employee Wellbeing
Flexibility in the workplace is more important than ever. A change in working habits has increased employee appetite for flexible working practices, while around 93% of job-seekers are actively looking for flexible positions. To attract and retain the best candidates, employers should be focused on providing flexible arrangements as standard.
However, it’s not simply about appealing to desirable candidates. Integrating flexible working patterns into your everyday operation can increase employee well-being, drive productivity levels, and protect the bottom line.
What Exactly is a Flexible Workplace?
Workplace flexibility is a rather broad term. It can be as simple as allowing employees to take more ownership of their working patterns. This can involve opening up the floor to input regarding shift patterns and working hours. It can include giving employees the chance to decide how many hours they’re based in a traditional office setting, and how much work they can perform while stationed at home.
Today, flexible workplaces are no longer in the minority. While remote working might have been seen as a luxury only a few years ago, a significant proportion of businesses have adopted remote or hybrid working as standard.
In the United States, more than 12% of full-time employees work exclusively from home.
Additionally, more than 28% of employees have embraced a hybrid working model.
What’s more, it’s not just startups that are spearheading flexible working practices. Many Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Delta, and Apple are now flex-friendly.
While the freedom to work from home is often considered the benchmark for a flex-friendly company, it’s not the only hallmark. Other flexible workplace initiatives include:
- Scheduling: Employees are free to determine their working hours. This can include earlier starts for early finishes or compressed work days for an additional day off at the weekend.
- Paid Time Off: Some businesses allow employees to take additional personal days, without having to eat into their allotted vacation time.
- Job Sharing: A more flexible approach to fixed positions. A single position becomes a shared role, allowing employees the freedom to reduce hours or book vacation time safely in the knowledge that responsibilities are covered.
- Career Development: Employees are free to explore other departments and new roles within a company, without having to sacrifice their existing position.
What’s Behind the Shift to Flexible Working?
For many years, employees have felt pressure to go above and beyond for their employers. There are many reasons for this. Some employees are worried about failing to meet contractual obligations or falling short of key performance indicators.
However, this approach doesn’t always guarantee high levels of productivity. When a worker is forced to wear many hats and constantly deliver beyond expectation, there’s an increased risk of burnout.
Employees are now finally in a position where they feel comfortable enough to establish their own boundaries and ground rules when it comes to work. A healthy work-life balance has always been important, with a recent upswing in home working evidence that traditional office setups aren’t always the best environment for a productive operation.
While there’s conflicting evidence about the productivity of remote workers, findings do suggest that a hybrid model does tend to produce better results. It’s all about getting the balance right. Those employees who work exclusively from home tend to have trouble managing their schedule, resulting in them working longer hours than what’s required. When following a hybrid model, employees tend to strike the right balance.
Why Businesses Should Embrace Flexible Workplaces
Companies that want to secure the best candidates for roles need to think seriously about offering flexible working arrangements. Younger job-seekers are actively looking for flexible positions, with these arrangements just as important as generous salary packages.
Flexible workplaces can appeal to a broad pool of talent. When a company opens the doors to hybrid and remote employees, local skills shortages aren’t a concern. The result is a more diverse and highly skilled workforce.
Businesses that provide a flexible workplace can also look forward to increased employee engagement. Employees who are free to take charge of their schedule tend to be more engaged and generally more productive. This results in better performance across the board, increased customer satisfaction, and better levels of employee retention.
There’s also the obvious benefit of enhanced employee well-being. A better work-life balance typically makes for healthier employees. There’s generally less stress involved with hybrid and remote working, with fewer sick days and significantly reduced instances of burnout.
Flexibility is also particularly advantageous for companies that prioritize innovation. Flexible and hybrid models encourage autonomy, providing workers with the space they need to thrive. Autonomy can free up employees from mundane administrative tasks, allowing workers to think more creatively and pioneer innovations.
How To Make Your Workplace More Flexible
Ready to reap the benefits of a flexible workplace?
Whether you’re a startup looking to bolster your ranks or an established company keen to integrate flexible working into your operation, the approach is the same. Creating the right environment for flexible work takes careful planning, but a little effort goes a long way.
Hammer Out a Plan
For established businesses, it’s common for employers to dish out flexible policies on an individual basis. This can work for some organizations, but it can create division and negatively impact company culture. You might decide to offer a long-standing employee a generous flex policy, but quickly find yourself unable to provide the same offering to everyone who wants the same deal.
Rather than adopt an ad hoc approach, it’s important to work closely with an HR consultant or an internal HR team to iron out the specifics of your flexible working policy. Ultimately, you need to decide what will work best for your organization. In some cases, flexible working might not be a good fit for certain roles or departments.
Alternatively, you might realize that flexible working can be introduced across the board. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here, so experiment with different flexible policies to find the best possible fit for your organization.
Run a Pilot Scheme
Just because a flexible working policy looks great on paper, doesn’t mean it will deliver the right results. You might decide there are a couple of different options that might work for your business. #
Consider running pilot schemes in tandem to see which one delivers the best results. You’ll want to closely monitor performance during these trial runs so you can make an informed decision once your pilot scheme comes to an end. It’s important to gather as much feedback as possible from everyone involved before taking the next steps.
Have the Right Resources in Place
A better work-life balance has many benefits for the employee, but you need to ensure they have the right tools in place to remain productive. Don’t assume access to a computer and a reliable internet connection will ensure they can do their job.
Will employees need additional software to fulfil their obligations?
Will you need to invest in additional monitoring software to keep tabs on productivity?
It’s better to absorb additional costs at this early stage, rather than constantly chasing your tail as you realize you need to budget for additional hardware and resources.
Communication is Key
If remote teams aren’t communicating with their line managers and in-person counterparts, your flexible working arrangement is doomed to failure. Communication channels will vary depending on the nature of your business and the specifics of an individual’s remit.
As businesses navigate remote work, ProofHub, a project management and team collaboration software offers a comprehensive platform to streamline communication, manage tasks, and enhance collaboration. For some businesses, email correspondence may prove sufficient
For some businesses, email correspondence may prove sufficient. For others, video conferencing solutions may be required to host daily huddles and weekly progress meetings. While too many meetings can negatively impact productivity, you’ll want to maintain clear lines of communication to increase transparency and encourage remote employees to be more accountable.
Invest in Training
Flexible working policies need to be supported if you want to achieve the best results. Even a solid policy will require a settling-in period, with everyone involved needing to be fully versed on expectations.
Remote workers need to be completely aware of what’s expected of them in their roles, while those managing them will also need specialist training on how to best supervise remote employees. You’ll need to rethink how to champion remote teams to drive productivity, encourage collaboration between dispersed teams, and liaise with employees when they’re not available for in-person meetings.
Monitor Performance
Flexible workplaces don’t work for every business. To determine whether this approach is best for your organization, you need to look at quantifiable results and the bottom line. Make sure you’ve ironed out clear key performance indicators to measure success against. #
You should also compare the performance of remote workers against their in-person counterparts. However, it’s not always a good idea to use a comparison model. Instead, hone in on actual results to underline what’s working and what isn’t.
Is it Time to Embrace Flexible Working?
Flexible working policies can unlock huge benefits with relatively little effort. However, making room for remote and hybrid workers isn’t the only way to drive productivity and improve employee wellbeing. Simply rethinking your office design can go a long way in enriching company culture and making a traditional workplace more conducive to productivity.
Whether you’re considering investigating new working models or contemplating a dynamic new design for your office, it’s best to approach the process with an open mind. Start by addressing the needs of your business and wants of your employees before you sit down and start planning.
Once you’re ready to implement changes, remember that you’re not locked into permanent changes and any initiatives you introduce can be developed and refined over time.
The Bottom Line
There’s no denying the benefits of collaboration across different departments in business. Embracing a collaborative approach entails breaking silos to unlock the full potential of your organization for enhanced business performance.
As such, understand the impact of organizational silos and consider our strategies for breaking these barriers, as recommended above. By doing so, your business can foster effective collaboration, boost productivity, drive innovation, and achieve overall success.
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