20 Apr 2023
As the weather heats up, bosses in the UK have been urged to let staff work flexible hours. As TUC boss Frances O’Grady said: "Nobody should be made to suffer in the heat for the sake of keeping up appearances.”
But what is flexible working?
Flexible working is a way of working that suits the employee’s needs. This means that you could have flexible start and finish times, or be allowed to work from home.
Many employees are eligible for flexible working and the majority of us can work remotely if our job allows it. If your current job doesn’t allow flexible working, you’ll be happy to know that all employees have the legal right to request flexible working, not just parents and carers.
This is officially known as ‘making a statutory application’. There are conditions that need to be met in order to be eligible to make applications when done this way.
If you’re interested in flexible working or working remotely from time to time, it may be worth compiling a list of the benefits and sitting down to discuss them with your boss. If your boss isn’t living in the past, they may consider your proposal without having to create an application.
Benefits to Businesses
Many businesses don’t realise that they are only harming themselves by not allowing their employees some flexibility or the ability to work remotely.
The majority of graduates and even older employees are now choosing to ditch their 9-5 office jobs for more flexible jobs. Employees are choosing to have a better work/ life balance in order to take control of personal and professional growth and employers should embrace this.
By allowing your staff more flexibility, it gives them better job satisfaction and happy staff produce a better quality of work as they generally enjoy what they are doing more.
In addition to this, employers face fewer distractions when they work at home. When an employee works from home, they can control their environment, and by feeling in control of their surroundings, they are often a lot more in control when it comes to their work also.
They produce higher quality work and do so with job satisfaction. Without the distractions and office politics, employees fall in love with their work again as it becomes their only focus. They can allow their creative juices to flow in an environment they feel safe and secure in- distraction free.
As your staff enjoy their job more, you will find they have fewer sick days and better staff retention rates. This means your businesses productivity and performance increase further.
It really is a no-lose scenario as you will not have to constantly be on the lookout to replace staff who leave for employers with more flexible working arrangements. There is a skills shortage in the UK at the moment and many employers are struggling with employee retention. This is one way to safeguard your business against the prospect of becoming one of them.
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