Last week RMT were on strike, kicking butt and taking names - and the entirety of the United Kingdom’s railways had come to a halt, pulling us back to when Covid had us all stuck inside. For those who tried it, travel was near impossible. Others, mercifully working from home - are reminded of the joys of flexible working - the truth is that sometimes, for reasons entirely out of our control, we need a bit more bounce in our working environment.
At Get-Optimal, we have always had a positive work-life balance. There’s evidence to show that flexible working increases employee productivity, and loyalty and is one of the top three factors candidates consider when looking for a new position.
So how come flexible working has become essential in the new world of job benefits? And what is flexible working anyway? Let this week’s blog take you into the world of flexible work and explain how this perk can inspire the sort of workplace culture they’ll be knocking down the door for.
So what is flexible working? Accurate, flexible working is defined as “a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home”. This includes job sharing, working from home, part-time work, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours and phased retirement. So, essentially, working like we were during Covid. The virus made flexible working the new norm - it became second nature to fit our eight+ hours of work day around childcare, education, laundry, or simply cooking a meal for the family and putting the kids to bed. Gone are the days of using what little holiday you have for hospital appointments and school runs, flexible working steps in - allowing the night birds to work late into the evening and the early birds to start at the crack of dawn.
According to the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey, 43% of respondents said that flexibility in working hours helped them achieve greater productivity, and 30% of respondents said that less or no time commuting enabled them to be more productive. Throw in another hour of sleep and no commute time - your chilled-out workforce will be focused and sharp from the moment they start work. It has recently been shown that our circadian rhythms (when you’re likely to wake up and go to bed) are as unique as our fingerprints, and - once you know this, it seems odd to expect everyone to work the same hours. Aren’t we all familiar with the post-lunch dip? Moving past just sleep, allowing your people to dictate their hours has enormous mental health benefits; stress is managed efficiently, as homelife such as managing childcare and helping elderly relatives to appointments need not impact productivity - less stress and more bliss equal a happy, healthy, functional work-life!
As always, opening the conversation about flexible working requires an open and inclusive attitude to workplace improvements. Out with the old, in with the new. Acknowledge that the working world has changed and that you want to keep up. Why not use the rail strikes to open up this conversation? Have you noticed an increase in productivity or morale over the past few days? It’s always better to lead by example, so share how being at home has made you feel. If you encourage conversation over interrogation - and listen to your staff, you’ll find out who might need a little bit of flexibility in return for a lot of commitment.
Need more time to talk to staff about how they want to work? Then why not get someone else to write your job ads? At Get-Optimal we’ll help you increase the quality of your candidates by optimising your Job Ads whilst also ensuring a diverse talent pool, all using our high-tech AI. Most of your ads will be ready in ten minutes, so there’s no hanging around wasting precious time you could spend on a new flexible working policy.
Collaborate with us at Get-Optimal today. Book a consultancy and take control of your recruitment marketing, don’t continue to speculate. Make the change. Be the change, and work differently.
Nico Wylde
Get-Optimal Marketing & Comms
Nico@get-optimal.com
Last week RMT were on strike, kicking butt and taking names - and the entirety of the United Kingdom’s railways had come to a halt, pulling us back to when Covid had us all stuck inside. For those who tried it, travel was near impossible. Others, mercifully working from home - are reminded of the joys of flexible working - the truth is that sometimes, for reasons entirely out of our control, we need a bit more bounce in our working environment.
At Get-Optimal, we have always had a positive work-life balance. There’s evidence to show that flexible working increases employee productivity, and loyalty and is one of the top three factors candidates consider when looking for a new position.
So how come flexible working has become essential in the new world of job benefits? And what is flexible working anyway? Let this week’s blog take you into the world of flexible work and explain how this perk can inspire the sort of workplace culture they’ll be knocking down the door for.
So what is flexible working? Accurate, flexible working is defined as “a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example having flexible start and finish times, or working from home”. This includes job sharing, working from home, part-time work, compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours and phased retirement. So, essentially, working like we were during Covid. The virus made flexible working the new norm - it became second nature to fit our eight+ hours of work day around childcare, education, laundry, or simply cooking a meal for the family and putting the kids to bed. Gone are the days of using what little holiday you have for hospital appointments and school runs, flexible working steps in - allowing the night birds to work late into the evening and the early birds to start at the crack of dawn.
According to the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey, 43% of respondents said that flexibility in working hours helped them achieve greater productivity, and 30% of respondents said that less or no time commuting enabled them to be more productive. Throw in another hour of sleep and no commute time - your chilled-out workforce will be focused and sharp from the moment they start work. It has recently been shown that our circadian rhythms (when you’re likely to wake up and go to bed) are as unique as our fingerprints, and - once you know this, it seems odd to expect everyone to work the same hours. Aren’t we all familiar with the post-lunch dip? Moving past just sleep, allowing your people to dictate their hours has enormous mental health benefits; stress is managed efficiently, as homelife such as managing childcare and helping elderly relatives to appointments need not impact productivity - less stress and more bliss equal a happy, healthy, functional work-life!
As always, opening the conversation about flexible working requires an open and inclusive attitude to workplace improvements. Out with the old, in with the new. Acknowledge that the working world has changed and that you want to keep up. Why not use the rail strikes to open up this conversation? Have you noticed an increase in productivity or morale over the past few days? It’s always better to lead by example, so share how being at home has made you feel. If you encourage conversation over interrogation - and listen to your staff, you’ll find out who might need a little bit of flexibility in return for a lot of commitment.
Need more time to talk to staff about how they want to work? Then why not get someone else to write your job ads? At Get-Optimal we’ll help you increase the quality of your candidates by optimising your Job Ads whilst also ensuring a diverse talent pool, all using our high-tech AI. Most of your ads will be ready in ten minutes, so there’s no hanging around wasting precious time you could spend on a new flexible working policy.
Collaborate with us at Get-Optimal today. Book a consultancy and take control of your recruitment marketing, don’t continue to speculate. Make the change. Be the change, and work differently.
Nico Wylde
Get-Optimal Marketing & Comms
Nico@get-optimal.com
