The unstoppable drive towards flexible working has sounded the death knell of the old fashioned 9-5 office environment.
According to IWG’s Global Workplace survey 80% of Brits said they would turn down a job that didn’t offer flexible working.
Savvy employers are recognising that a flexible approach to flexible working can help and retain staff and improve productivity in the process.
Workers don’t want to endure the daily two-hour commute to work five days a week and they’re voting with their feet.
The Manchester Evening News and Regus have teamed up for the third in a series of joint breakfast events looking at how the world of work is changing and the way workspaces and employers have had to change accordingly.
The breakfast event on Wednesday, November 27 will look at;
- How improvements in digitalisation and cloud technology are making it easier than ever for a person to plug in and work from anywhere.
- Productivity: A trial in Japan by Microsoft found productivity increased by 40% when employees were given a four-day working week. Flexible employers committed to helping staff enjoy a better work-life balance are being rewarded with productivity gains.
- Environmental gains: 41 per cent of Brits cite commuting as the worst part of their day and recent research has shown that it takes only 20 minutes of travel for workers to be susceptible to chronic stress. Unnecessary commuting could soon be eliminated as businesses promote flexible working policies and allow their employees to work from serviced offices closer to home – helping the environment at the same time. Such an approach could save 115 million hours of commuting time per annum. That is equivalent to 14 million days spent at work (according to Regus study).
The joint Manchester Evening News/Regus event will hear from companies who have a flexible approach to working and hear from staff who have directly benefited. It will also look at the challenges some employers face in trying to become more flexible.
Confirmed speakers include: Jamie Wilson, founder, Results Through Digital; Shelina Begum, business editor, Manchester Evening News; Paula Williams, director, onefouroneb2b.com, William Lees-Jones, managing director, JW Lees and Richard Morris, CEO, IWG.
This is the third and final event in a series of breakfasts held in partnership with Regus.
The event starts at 8am to 10am at Spaces, Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester
For further information visit www.eventbrite.co.uk
