By Softworks Workforce Management Solutions
We all know that flexible working arrangements bring many positive benefits to an employee’s life including a better work/life balance, greater job satisfaction, more autonomy, increased energy, creativity, motivation and morale. Flexible working gives employees greater ownership and control of their own time and working hours enabling them to manage their responsibilities outside of work. This can in turn reduce stress and anxiety for employees, who are struggling to balance their busy lives.
For a long time, employers viewed flexible working as simply an “employee perk” or something used by working mums, who fancied a few hours out of the home and a bit of “pin money” doing “mummy jobs”. There was little understanding or interest in exploring the true benefits of offering flexible working and how these arrangements could be used to drive business goals and objectives.
Many employers were happy to sit on the fence, wondering will this “new fad” take off, while simultaneously, employees were embracing flexible working arrangements and actively seeking out employers who could offer them a better work/life balance.
Covid 19 pushed many organisations right off that fence as in order to survive they had to quickly embrace flexible and remote working. And the great news is this forced change has proved to many employers that ultimately flexible working is good for everyone. Many organisations will continue to offer flexible working post covid as they have seen the advantages it can bring.
If used properly it can lead to positive and profitable outcomes. Set out below are a few of the business benefits.
- Enhances recruitment and retention
- Reduces stress, fatigue and unfocussed employees, through the ability to better balance work and personal responsibilities
- Increases employee satisfaction and morale
- Reduces absences and tardiness
- Enables better customer service with the ability to offer extended time and days
- Improves health and wellness for employees
And let’s not forget the financial benefits
- Helps retain staff and cuts down on training costs and costs associated with the settling in period for new employees
- Reduces overheads
- Allows employers to extend service hours, reducing the need for overtime
- Working hours can be matched with peaks and troughs of the business to maximise productivity and cut costs
- Reduces costs in relation to absenteeism, sick leave and tardiness
- Reduces employee turnover and recruitment costs
- Offers potential for more office space options and reduced real estate costs
- Improves scheduling for peak periods and reduces costs by scheduling in line with business demand
Businesses that recognise work is a resource rather than a place you go to are already making savings by adopting flexible working practices. By creating an environment where employees have higher levels of satisfaction and motivation, productivity also increases, which has a positive impact on the bottom line. Happy workers are productive and productive workers drive business. In order to continue to attract, retain and develop talent, businesses need to understand what drives their workforce. Modern workers are increasingly expecting more when it comes to balancing work and family life. For some a 9 to 5 job can seem like a prison sentence!
If you are interested in learning more about how Softworks Workforce Management Solutions assists organisations to manage flexible working, contact us today and we will organise a demo at a time convenient to you.
