The success of a business is largely dependent on the input from its workforce. Members of staff will naturally put in their best when there is a conducive work environment. As a manager, creating and enabling a productive work environment is more than just ensuring a comfortable physical space. You have to aim to strengthen office ties not just among the employees but between the manager and employees. Adopting flexible working habits and encouraging your team to benefit from flexible working hours is the right step in that direction. The sole focus should be that each member of staff delivers on assigned duties within the deadlines instead of emphasizing on the time each employee clocked in and out for the day.
Making work flexible in the office is all about adapting a plan that suits your employees’ needs. A lazy employee’s ineptitude may not necessarily be a consequence of not showing up for work on time or closing the shop earlier than usual. It is possible for one staff member to achieve more in an hour than another staff member would do throughout the day. It is all about attitude to work. You can make working hours flexible for your staff and they will still deliver on the job. Remote working or working from home is one way of making working habits flexible.
Working from home though requires that employees can have all the tools they need as if they were in the office. If their roles and responsibilities require them to handle important company details that should be kept private, then it is important to use proxies and VPN when on the internet. Residential proxies will give you the privacy your company needs and protect you from unethical hackers. Embracing flexibility at work pays off in the long run for you as the employer because of the advantages that come with it.
What are some of the reasons why your company should adopt flexible working?
Cost Savings
It is unwise to rent an office space for the whole day when for most of the working hours, your employees are either visiting customers or working from home. You can save costs as a business owner by practicing hot-desking. This will save the company some money on desks, office equipment, and rent as you will only be paying for seats and office equipment used instead of the entire office space. Moreover, remote working results in costs savings for the employees as well through a reduction in transportation costs. Your workforce will also save on formal outfits since they will be working from home some of the time.
Equality and Diversity
One of the reasons companies embrace flexible working hours is to give some smart individuals who may not have the 9 to 5 working hours resilience to be inclusive. Some employees prefer to work from their homes because their kids are still young and they want to be able to spend more time with them. There could also be disabled but smart individuals who cannot afford the journey every day just to be within the office environment. These people can also deliver their jobs well from their homes. Adopting flexible working is likely to result in a culture of inclusion, equality, and diversity.
The technology enabling flexible working is affordable and within reach
To get your work done most times, you just need a computer system, regular internet, and some other office equipment. These are things you can also have at home. Instead of computer desktops, replace them with laptops so they can easily be carried around. So, there is no reason not to make work flexible.
Flexible working improves retention
One of the best perks you can give to your employees is to allow for work flexibility. It gives your staff opportunities to manage their personal schedules and achieve a better work-life balance. Needless to say, most employees will stay with or opt for jobs that offer flexible working turning down offers that might pay more but leave no flexibility. Many companies have started to even work with agencies that provide payroll outsourcing as an efficient way to pay their employees when working remotely.
The changing work-world
The coronavirus pandemic forced most companies to adapt to flexible working. As a result, so many workers started working from home with only skeletal office activities going on that it becomes hard to adapt to the pre-pandemic working schedules. Remote working was in place even before the pandemic but it was rather an exception, a privilege only few could afford. Nowadays, some big enterprises have permanently adopted the work-from-home option. As a company hoping to measure up to your competitors or overtake them, you have to flow with the trends. Otherwise, you may lose your important staff to your competitors just because of your rigid office rules.
Improves Employee Engagement
One of the ways to show your employees that you trust them to deliver top-class work is by allowing them the option of flexible working. Engaging an employee is making them understand their roles and what they need to do to contribute to the company’s success. This improves when you trust them to go about it using their preferred working style.
Work-life balance
Adopting flexible working for your employees is a straightforward way to improve work-life balance. Having to go to work every day and staying away from your family for at least nine hours keeps you away from some of your home duties especially if you are married with kids. When you have a flexible working style, it will help you make out time for some other aspects of your life that are lacking attention. This way, you will be able to improve your work-life balance.
Conclusion
There are so many reasons why companies adopt flexible working and frankly speaking, the coronavirus pandemic has forced more business organizations to adopt this style. If you own a company, you should consider giving this option to your staff because chances are that almost all your competitors are doing this already. If they are boosting the morale of their own staff with this measure, then they will definitely be more productive than your company. After all, the staff determines the company’s productivity.