April 21, 2022
Flexible working has evolved rapidly with the advancement of HR systems, and has got its limelight with the recent pandemic outbreak. Flexible working is an umbrella term that is used to describe any job role or working condition that breaks the traditional norm of a rigid 9-5, five-day week structure.
The ever increasing demand for work flexibility has slowly moved the legislation in many countries to allow employees to make flexible working requests. This article will give a clear overview of what the future of flexible working means for HR.
Higher Productivity
It’s no surprise that the entire topic of workplace flexibility has a lot to do with productivity. The more companies provide flexibility for employees, the more employees are able to achieve work-life balance, which leads to greater satisfaction and, in turn, higher engagement levels.
Giving employees the freedom over when and how they should work lets them work in the ways or times they are most productive. This has in fact been proven, where according to a study 43% of digital workers said that flexible working hours have helped them achieve higher levels of productivity. Additionally, another similar study has concluded that improvements in employee well-being brought by higher levels of happiness can increase productivity roughly by 12%.
Easy Attraction Of Top Talent
Gone are the times when compensation was the only thing employees look for when joining an organization. It’s believed that nearly 40% of candidates worldwide say that flexibility is one of their top three considerations when choosing a company to work in. Surprisingly, 76% of millennials say that they don’t mind taking a pay cut in return for flexible working arrangements.
Moreover, since the pandemic has revealed the greater benefits of flexible working conditions supported by relevant HR management software, it is speculated that post-pandemic candidates who enter job markets will likely seek out job roles that offer great flexibility. This prediction has been backed up by a study where 56% of employees consider switching companies if the flexibility is not offered in the post-pandemic work context.
Higher Staff Retention Rates
As you might know, employee turnover and rearranging for new recruitments is an extremely expensive and tedious process. One of the main reasons why employees quit is because of low satisfaction levels. Around 81% of employees admit that they will be more loyal to their employers if they were given flexible working options.
With an effective HR platform, flexible working options are directly linked to improvements in employee satisfaction, morale, and engagement. All these correlations are important factors that contribute to a higher level of employee loyalty and retention. Around 91% of HR professionals also agree with this positive relationship between flexible working and high staff retention rates.
Promotes Greater Diversity & Inclusivity
Although rather underestimated, flexible working means the future HR can expect to meet more diversity and inclusivity in their workforce. The traditional work setting where employees report to work and follow a five day work week structure can significantly limit many types of people such as single parents, people with physical disabilities or those suffering from mental health issues (just to name a few).
The introduction of flexible working policies can attract this segment of people and widen the talent pool to a whole raft of talented people who want to work. The use of a diverse workforce has been directly linked to higher levels of creativity and invasion through the inclusion of more perspectives, which we can expect to thrive in the future of flexible working.
