Many businesses have cut back on flexible working and are changing their policies, with employees coming back into the office.
Recent research from LinkedIn found a third of companies in the coming months are planning to cut back on flexible working in the UK. Even though research shows that nearly two-thirds of workers said they were more productive in a hybrid or working-from-home setting.
Employers Direct offers FREE HR Advice to businesses of all sizes, within any industry in the UK. Our qualified HR advisors are here to offer your business confidential, in-depth, actionable advice on any HR query or issue you may face.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the requirement for employees to work from home helped businesses and employees adapt to a flexible working life at scale.
The progress of flexible work was very slow before this and was usually pushed by zero-hours contracts. About 12% of adults worked from home regularly.
The CIPD conducted research on flexible working. It demonstrated the slow progress over the last 10 to 15 years. During the pandemic, this increased to 44%. It was the most significant rapid shift in working patterns since 1939.
Today businesses in different industries are struggling with whether to continue flexible working. Now that covid restrictions have been removed.
Employers Direct offers FREE HR Advice to businesses of all sizes, within any industry in the UK. Our qualified HR advisors are here to offer your business confidential, in-depth, actionable advice on any HR query or issue you may face.
Industries such as banking announced early on that they would be expecting staff to return to the office after the pandemic. Whereas other businesses said they would be working from home indefinitely. And some businesses decided to do a bit of both with hybrid working.
There is still a debate on whether flexible working is the best option for businesses, with many split opinions on policies.
Some employees find that working from home makes them unproductive. But others have stated it has helped with their career progression.
Many employers and some parts of the government have shone a negative light on flexible working. They believe that if workers aren’t seen in the office they are gossiped about – creating a hostile working environment.
Surprisingly younger employees have raised worries that flexible working might stunt their progression within a business. A new phenomenon called ‘hybrideeism’ has seen employees coming into the office for video meetings to prove they are working.
This phenomenon suggests that there’s a stigma around flexible working. That people who work from home and therefore work flexibly, contribute less to the business. Or that they are less committed.
This stigma is unusual as research suggests that flexible workers are more productive, and engaged, with high levels of job satisfaction and job longevity.
There may be a cultural mindset still present, that for an employer to trust that you are working and doing your day-to-day duties, then you must be physically seen doing them. Trust in employment relationships is clearly lacking if this is the case.
Employers, directors, HR professionals and managers should be embracing flexible work and its positives if they want to retain talent and recruit the best for their business.
Something else to consider is now that the government have put forward the new flexible-working legislation, it is likely that more employers will receive flexible-working requests.
Employers Direct offers FREE HR Advice to businesses of all sizes, within any industry in the UK. Our qualified HR advisors are here to offer your business confidential, in-depth, actionable advice on any HR query or issue you may face.
Deciding what’s right for your business can be difficult to apprehend, especially if you’re a small business. Flexible working has positives and negatives for both employees and employers.
If you do decide to change your employee’s current working patterns, it’s important that you amend your policies and are aware of the new plans put in place by the government.
If you would like more advice on the flexible working plan – speak to one of our HR and Employment Law advisors free today at 0800 144 4050.
The Employer’s Direct helpline is available 24/7. Fill in the form here to request a callback.
Employers Direct offers FREE HR Advice to businesses of all sizes, within any industry in the UK. Our qualified HR advisors are here to offer your business confidential, in-depth, actionable advice on any HR query or issue you may face.
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The new plans will be available next year. That’s why it’s important to get ready for the changes now.
The eight reasons why an employer can refuse the flexible working request will not be changing.
All employees can legally request flexible working – not just parents and carers.
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