The term “flexible working” refers to any working schedule that is outside of a “normal working schedule”. This means that the working hours an employee does can involve variations and variables such as when and where they are required to work.
Essentially it’s a way of working that suits both the needs of the employee and the employer, e.g. having flexible start and finish times or working from home but still means the work is done and will not adversely affect the business.
Why is there a need for work-life balance and flexible working?
People have always worked hours and times that are liable to change; however, it’s the pace of this change that’s become more rapid. This is largely due to the following reasons:
- Individuals want to achieve a better balance between work and home life, to spend more quality time with their family during the day and work when the children are in bed
- Organisations in turn want to match their business needs with the way their employees want to work, to improve job satisfaction
- Customers are also becoming increasingly more demanding – they expect to have goods and services available at hours to suit the needs of the business and their own working patterns.
The impact on individuals of being able to work flexibly can be hugely significant, and 99% of the time will result in improved morale and good feeling towards the employer. For some, flexible working can be the difference between working and not working at all. For most people, it means they are more able to cope with the challenges both work and home present to them.
Improved Productivity & Morale
It’s now widely acknowledged that offering flexible working to staff both improves productivity and morale. Research undertaken in 2014 by workplace provider Regus surveyed nearly 2,200 business owners and senior managers and reflected at that time an increased appreciation of the wider benefits of flexible working, including flexible location as well as flexible hours, compared with similar studies just one year prior.
For example, only 74% of those surveyed in 2013 had seen flexible working as a way to improve business productivity. In the 2014 survey, a whopping 90% of business owners and senior managers say said that “offering flexible working options is a highly effective way to improve staff morale”, and 81% said flexible working improved business productivity.
(SOURCE: fm-world.co.uk)
VST are champions of flexible working; we are well known for being a ‘lifestyle’ employer and we offer flexible working hours at our offices in Northampton. We were recently awarded a commendation in the Best Small Employer category at the Working Families Top Employers Awards.
Both our part-time and full-time roles offer varied, interesting work that comfortably fit in and around our employees’ personal commitments, such as school runs and additional jobs. To find out more visit our careers page.
