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How Flexible Work Benefits Companies and Employees?

how flexible work benefits companies and employees

During the first pandemic of our lifetime, employees and companies adapted and became more open to flexible work. And legally, anyone can request to work flexible hours, not only parents and careers!

Flexible working was once a non-traditional way to work, but things have drastically changed over the past few decades! Is this for the better?

Well, let’s check out How Flexible Work Benefits Companies and Employees and let you decide for yourself…

how flexible work benefits companies and employees

What Does Flexible Work Look Like?

There are different ways to define flexible work, but the best way to look at it is an arrangement between employers and employees. Flexible work includes:

  • Allowing an employee to choose where they work, it could be from home or even another country.
  • Selecting a schedule that works best for them, could mean unconventional working hours.
  • Scheduling their day on their terms.

This may seem strange or even look like a freelancer’s schedule or someone who has started their own business and is working for themselves. However, employers can implement flexible work into their company.

Read more: Stanford University Mission and Vision Statement Analysis

Or how about compressed workweeks?

Several types of work can be flexible if the employer allows it. When you apply for a job, you know yourself if you want to be full-time, part-time, seasonal or, work-from-home. Another popular demand among employees is compressed workweeks. This means working 40 hours over four days instead of five. A long weekend doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

Benefits Of Flexible Work For Employees

Having the flexibility to choose your own hours, start, and finish time sounds great, right? Well, companies are becoming more open to this all over the world. Big names such as Amazon, Apple, and Tesla hire employees for remote and flexible work. There are several benefits to flexible work, and it comes down to a better work-life balance.

Choosing Your Schedule

You should be eligible for flexible work if you have parenting commitments or caring for someone in your family. Choosing your schedule can be extremely helpful in these circumstances. However, many people without these commitments would like the choice too.

Benefits like getting your kids ready for school. Take your dog on a morning walk, or perhaps you would like to have a little extra time in the morning before rushing to work. All are good reasons for requesting a flexible schedule.

Productivity

Employers may think that having staff who work from home or remotely means they can’t keep a close eye on what they’re doing. However, this may not be the case! A Stanford study showed that working with a flexible schedule surprisingly increases productivity.

Another survey that included remote workers found that, on average, they worked 1.4 days more than in-office workers per month. That adds up to over 16 days a year!

Some people may deem it unfair that employers expect their staff to work at 9:00 am, be productive until 5:00 pm, and switch off and leave. When an employee sticks to a strict schedule throughout the day, productivity levels drop, and work suffers.

People actually work harder…

For some people, their highest productivity comes when they are in their own home working in the evening. Others could be working from a bustling café with their headphones in—some lucky ones in a remote part of the world enjoying an iced coffee or perhaps a pinna colada.

The beauty of flexibility is you get to choose where you work and when you work (if that’s your agreement with your employer).

how flexible work benefits company and employees

Money-Saving

I’m pretty sure no one on the planet would say no to saving money, and flexible work promotes just that! Think about all the money you spend on commuting, gas, lunches, coffees, professional clothes; the list could go on. Many of these costs are lower or even eliminated if you work remotely. A study showed that working from home can save an employee up to $4000 per year!

Commuting

A study from 2019 showed that commuting just 30 minutes per day can increase stress and anxiety levels. Imagine your commute is an hour both ways and sometimes you come across traffic problems, that’s over ten hours a week just getting to and from work.

Whether your flexible work allows you to work from home, work in another country, or arrive at work during non-peak periods, all these have great benefits to lessening commute stress. No longer commuting or cutting commute time can do wonders for your mental and physical health.

Location

As we touched on before, choosing where you work is an excellent benefit of flexible work. Not only does it allow you to have greater access to a choice of different jobs, but it will also enable you to apply for companies that would be out with your reach if their offices were in a town or city you were unable to commute to.

Imagine you lived in a rural town, owned a house, and kids happily went to their local school, but you were qualified for a job in the city. If you did not like the idea of relocating, you could work from home instead. It is also great for companies that allow flexible work as they have a greater variety of candidates to choose from.

Educational Goals

A flexible schedule allows you to pursue your educational goals, whether attending evening classes, a part-time college course, or weekend classes. Many employers will likely support you as long as you are not distracted from your work.

You may return to school if you wish to receive higher qualifications to help you in your current role. Or perhaps you’re thinking about future opportunities and promotions.

Better work-life Balance

Many people are sick of being a slave to the office and working their lives around 9-5. Having the flexibility to lead a happy working life and complete personal tasks with less stress is a positive part of flexible work. Maybe you need to be at home for a delivery, or your child’s suddenly fallen sick.

Imagine how much stress would be off your shoulders if you didn’t have to find a babysitter at the last minute or arrange to collect your delivery at the weekend. Simple things like this also benefit the employer, as they then have better retention rates and a happier, more productive employee!

Benefits For An Employer

Employee Retention Rate

For companies, a high retention rate keeps the company going. If you have happy staff, a suitable environment for work, and reliable managers, the retention rate is bound to be higher. A reported 72% of employers said that flexible work had a significant impact on employee retention.

If you offer flexible working options, staff are more likely to stick with the company. Another study showed that 80% of employees would choose a job with a flexible schedule over one that didn’t. These figures show that the smart thing to do, especially in this day and age, is to offer the option of flexible work!

The Best Candidate for The Role

As an employer, it can often be difficult finding the perfect candidate. Offering flexible job options opens up a window of opportunities for candidates from out of state or even the country to apply! It means that you can find the most suitably qualified person for the role.

how flexible work benefits company and employee

Employee Trust and Engagement

If you are good to employees, rest assured you will get great benefits in return. Offering flexible work and proving you trust your employees to get the job done on their schedule shows a tremendous amount of respect. You will probably notice fewer sick days, less staff turnover, and career longevity.

Having employees who have been with the company for many years is a testament to a company’s trust.

Money-Saving and Eco-Friendly

With the hot topic of world climate change, companies want to become more eco-friendly. Employers can save money on rent, either not renting at all or sizing down to smaller offices, and the effect of that is using less water and electricity!

Diversity in the Workplace

As mentioned before, employing outside the town or state allows you to have more options for skill sets, experience, and backgrounds.

A study found that companies that used a more diverse range of staff had their teams perform better than those who didn’t! Accepting employees with a different range of backgrounds and character brings more knowledge and personal experiences. It is a smart move!

The New Normal

Post pandemic, people do not want to return to the way they worked before. Many people have gotten used to working from home. Some enjoy it more than others, of course. But if companies can reshape their flexibility and work with employees, there will be a much higher employee satisfaction rate.

If the work-from-home life doesn’t appeal to you, that’s ok! There are other options of flexibility like mentioned before you can look into compressing your workweeks or working out a new schedule to suit you and your boss.

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Final Thoughts

Work flexibility seems to be the way forward for companies in the US and worldwide. People adapt, and accessing work anywhere, anytime is becoming easier with ever-changing technology. Working flexibly is an excellent option if you are a busy mum or have other commitments.

Or perhaps an employer is looking to save some money after a crazy few pandemic years. Letting staff work remotely can save you some buck and increase your employees’ overall productivity.

All the very best with your Flexible Work in the future!

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