Why your workers want a flexible working environment

The term has made rounds all over the internet, and became especially popular during the lockdown period. Industries that had always been adamant on the impossibility of adopting remote working schedules suddenly found a way to make it all work with social distancing regulations in place.

This triggered a sort of awakening amongst the general population. Disillusionment ravaged the masses as they came to the realisation that they did not, in fact have to be in the office all day in order to carry out their duties.

In fact, a recent study which sampled 10,000 individuals across five nations revealed that 76% of Brits find a flexible working policy to be the most valuable company perk. 

But a lot of the time when flexible working is mentioned, people tend to jump straight to remote working. And adopting a flexible working environment doesn’t necessarily mean that remote working has to be used; it is simply an option. 

And it turns out that remote working isn’t for everyone. Some people need a clear change of environment in order to be more productive -and so would find it difficult to get things done if they are housebound 24/7. Some people just work better if they are surrounded by other people in their team -and so would find it difficult to locate the morale to do work if they are constantly alone.

Flexible working is a mindset that needs to be adopted. It’s acknowledging that your employees have obligations outside of work, and it’s giving them the autonomy to manage their time as they see fit. It’s a form of mutual respect, where both the employer and the employee trust that they will deliver on their part of the relationship. It’s a results based philosophy which places the importance on the goals achieved rather than the time put in. That way, your workers will feel valued as individuals and would find that they enjoy working for your company.