Bosses used to assume that flexible working meant their employees were watching daytime TV and sending the odd “reply all” email to look busy. Then, coronavirus arrived and working from home became vital to keeping many businesses afloat.
There’s no denying the first few weeks were tricky as the proportion of people working from home shot up from around 5% to 49%. But there were silver linings. Until lockdown, we spent an average of 221 hours a year travelling to and from the office, but suddenly we could use that time for leisurely breakfasts with our families. Parents no longer had to dash frantically to pick up from after school club; we cooked our favourite recipes, did online workouts and quizzes and, crucially, we still managed to do our work.
Now, as lockdown measures are lifting, many of us are reluctant to resume our old office lives. “We’ve surveyed 1,000 working parents and 87% of them want to change their work lives to include more flexibility,” says Mubeen Bhutta, head of policy and influencing at the charity Working Families. “Going through lockdown has shown many office-bound jobs actually can be done flexibly.”
So, how can you convince your employer to make flexible working the new normal? Here’s the evidence you need …
Working from home works
A global pandemic is nobody’s idea of a perfect backdrop for a major change in working practices, but in spite of the obstacles, millions of office workers have transformed into home workers and our jobs are still getting done. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey has even told his 5,000 employees they can choose to work at home forever. “We want employees to be able to work where they feel most creative and productive,” explained a spokesperson. Bhutta isn’t surprised. “OK, we didn’t choose this situation,” she says. “But flexibility is clearly available in many more jobs than had been advertised on that basis. We need employers to ask themselves, has there really been a significant drop in productivity? I think they’ll find employees have been doing their best in very challenging circumstances.”
People are working smarter
A huge amount of time during the office working day is wasted on interruptions and unnecessary meetings. “We all know the stress of presenteeism, of having to sit in a meeting room for an hour while someone drones on – it drains activity,” says Tracey Follows, founder of the strategy consultancy Futuremade. “Working from home allows you to take control of how and when you use your energy,” she says. This in turn can lead to increased efficiency.
It makes employees happy
You want to jump on a video call from the park? Download documents at the beach? Thanks to Vodafone’s unlimited data, you can. Helping employees to achieve a better work-life balance is an obvious way to support them and encourage their loyalty. “Flexible working means the employer gets an engaged, happy employee who is able to concentrate on their job while they’re working because they can also plan for the school pick-up or to visit elderly relatives,” says Bhutta. “When people have autonomy they are loyal and committed, which leads to benefits in terms of productivity.”
The traditional office is outdated
One look at the deserted skyscrapers in our cities shows that it’s time to retire any romantic attachment to Mad Men-style central offices. Especially now that screen partitions between desks, regular deep cleaning and one-way traffic systems will need to be implemented to help prevent future waves of coronavirus. Offices could well transform into occasional spaces where people meet for training days or to collaborate on projects. Even the CEO of Barclays Bank, Jes Staley, has acknowledged that “the notion of putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past”. While, sadly, this might signal the end of the office biscuit tin, it could save employers hundreds of millions pounds in annual office costs.
Businesses can access more talent
Saying goodbye to the traditional office means an opportunity to welcome in new staff, talent and ideas from all over the world. “Flexibility opens up the workforce to many more people,” says Follows. “It gives opportunities for talented people who live far from big cities, who are from different socioeconomic backgrounds or have disabilities. It’s an opportunity to be grasped.”
Employers get to be human too
During this crisis, thanks to all the video meetings, we’ve got to know our colleagues and bosses as actual people who have overloaded bookshelves, home schooled kids and cute puppies in their lives. Employers have become relatable, not just an intimidating presence at board meetings. “Seeing people’s kids and dogs popping up on video calls has meant that people’s responsibilities have become visible in the world of work, in a way that they weren’t before,” says Bhutta. “It’s been a real opportunity to see people beyond their role at work. And that’s something we don’t want to turn the clock back on.”
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