Evie Jenkins
Flexible Working in 2019; What you need to know
- April 17, 2019
- , 10:49 am
- , Advice for Employers
It’s already common knowledge that the traditional, 9-5, sitting behind a desk working day is on the decline.
In fact, many employers have already introduced a new level of flexibility that allows their workers to adapt their hours, work from home, and possibly even work remotely. There’s also been a huge rise in the number of companies employing the skills of freelancers and contractors.
And with this trend of flexible working set to grow in 2019, it’s certainly something you’ll want to keep an eye on.
We’ve highlighted what’s already happening in the world of flexible working and what’s predicted to come for the rest of the year.
The right to flexible working
Although many employees don’t realise it, they do have a right to request flexible work after they have been in a job for 6 months. Although these requests don’t have to be accepted, as an employer, it is your obligation to consider them in a reasonable manner.
As more employees seek a shift in their work life balance and become aware of their rights surrounding flexible working, you may encounter more enquiries about various types of flexible working in the coming months and years.
With benefits on both sides, it’s likely that both you and your employees could profit from a new approach, so take the time to consider any requests you receive carefully.
Government Support
A partnership across government departments, business groups, trade unions and charities called The Flexible Working Task Force launched a new campaign earlier this year to help increase the uptake of flexible working.
As well as encouraging employers to use the strapline “Happy to talk flexible working” in their job advertisements, they have also published guidance on championing flexible working and have been highlighting the business benefits of flexible working.
Becoming a champion of flexible work can drastically improve your employee satisfaction and help to attract the best talent to your company.
Working Smarter
Thanks to advances in technology, there are many ways that your employees can work smarter, and this often feeds into flexible working.
As well as making it a reasonable request for an employee to work from home or work remotely, working smarter may also means that you can adapt the schedules people work too.
An extreme example of this may come if an employee needs to drop down the hours they work. Rather than losing a talented employee altogether, new technology or methods of doing things that can help them work smarter and in a way that convenient, so they can stay with your company and still find the balance they need.
The four day week
The idea of a four day week has been gaining traction on social networking sites after a handful of companies have adopted the new initiatives.
With reports suggesting that those who worked longer hours were actually less productive, some firms believe it well help to improve the way their employees work, as well as increasing their job satisfaction and giving a better work life balance.
While this is a drastic action that’s impractical for many companies, the logic behind it can be implied in more manageable way. An early finish on a friday, for example, or cutting back on overtime, could be ways you try and offer more flexibility to your employees.
Have you seen any major changes to the way your employees want to work recently? Have you got any plans to incorporate a more flexible policy in 2019? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
