“Flexibility requires an open mind and a welcoming of new alternatives.” – Deborah Day
Having a happy and healthy workforce by providing good work and finding ways to establish and maintain this is a conversation that needs be kept at the forefront for all businesses. It’s not necessarily a workforce that is being built but a community that contributes in some shape or form to society at large. Therefore creating a happy work community can have a much wider positive impact.
One of the practices that has come into play more recently is flexible working but what is it exactly? The UK government have defined it in the following way on their official website:
“Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home.”
It is a broad definition with a couple of examples but at the centre of it is the employee’s needs. What does the employee need in order to maintain an appropriate work life balance and at the same time maintain optimal performance? This a fascinating question overall but one area in particular that is most interesting, at this current time, is working from home and will be the topic of focus in this blog.
While it’s not applicable to all jobs, for many previously office based roles the working from home model was effectively tested and rolled out in one go during the pandemic and for many people it has become the new norm. Some businesses have embraced it but some remain reluctant. However one thing the pandemic has proved is many businesses can accommodate employees who want to work from home.
Let’s go a little deeper and look at some of the advantages and disadvantages to get an idea of how successful it’s been, with conclusions taken from the Office for National Statistics website (view section four ‘Perceptions of homeworking’):
- Advantages: Work-life balance has improved, employees are completing work faster and well-being has improved.
- Disadvantages: More challenging to think of ideas, fewer job opportunities and harder to work with others.
Advantages appear to be more at an individual level however the two key disadvantages seem to be related to collaborating – thinking of ideas and working with others. While it is clear that, overall, employees tend to be happier working from home there is still work to be done in helping them work as part of the team.
This doesn’t mean that we revert back to the old way of working for the sake of teamwork but actually embracing the advantages to both. The key is striking the balance between home and office working. Based on the UK government’s definition it must be in line with the employee’s needs and is not a one size fits all. What’s required is flexible thinking at all levels to allow flexible working to bare the fruit that businesses will benefit from.
Shaw Trust supports businesses with the recruitment process in order to provide good work. As a Disability Confident Leader, Shaw Trust can help businesses with making the necessary workplace adjustments for disabled workers. Please email employers@shaw-trust.org.uk to start a conversation.
Written by Jags Lota, Marketing Content Officer at Shaw Trust.
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