Technology is making flexible working easier

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GOV.UK describes flexible working in its purest form as “a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, e.g. having flexible start and finish times, or working from home.” It could include opportunities to job share, work compressed hours, work from a remote location part/full-time, or work flexibly within the office. Personally, I envisage flexible working as more than just working times and physicality. It's a culture that promotes innovation through removing the rigid nature of the workplace. Some companies such as KPMG have taken that culture and run with it by building 'agile workspaces' that encourage collaboration by breaking down department silos. It's an exciting time for business and staff alike, and it'll be interesting to see which organisations really take on board the culture of flexible working.


How are perceptions towards flexible working changing?
The ILM's research into flexible working has showed that perceptions amongst employers are namibia phone number library changing. As the demands of a 24/7 consumer culture grow, employers are inevitably leaning towards flexible working patterns to meet the needs of the market. Their survey of over 1,000 managers found that 82% feel that flexible working is beneficial to their business, reporting improvements in productivity, commitment and retention of staff, while 62% think it helps organisations better respond to customer need. Those with experience of flexible working are the most positive, particularly CEOs, who are both most likely to think it benefits their organisation (93%) and to have recently worked flexibly themselves (88%).


Until recently, out-of-office flexible working was inherently difficult as the technology just didn't exist to support remote working. Nowadays with the advent of high speed broadband, cloud computing and the proliferation of video communication, employees can share resources, computing power, and ideas, wherever they are in the world. The concept of the ‘virtual office’ is growing and with it employers are beginning to appreciate its benefits.