Business panel: What are the advantages and disadvantages of flexible working?

FLEXIBLE working is giving flexibility over where and when your employees work taking into account their personal needs. It is a move away from the traditional five-day working week and nine-to-five working day and often involves some degree of working remotely.

Nowadays some employees no longer need to work from a physical office to undertake their duties. Thanks to innovations in IT and communication tools, flexible working is now a viable option for some employers.

Working a four-day week or nine days in a two-week period is also becoming a popular option for some companies. Employees are responsible for working their contracted hours over a period of time, often working longer hours to have a day off.

Depending on the type of business, flexible working could see a number of advantages including increases in employee morale, job satisfaction and productivity, cost savings on overheads, the ability to attract and retain employees, reduced levels of employee turnover and absence and enhancement in company reputation.

There are benefits for employees as well which could include a better work-life balance, lower levels of illness and stress and flexibility can allow them to fit other commitments around work, making better use of their free time.

Despite these benefits, flexible working can divide opinion and there are disadvantages that should be considered including complexities around the management of employees’ hours to ensure they are fulfilling contractual obligations, some employees may not work efficiently without supervision if working remotely and compressed work weeks may mean client availability suffers and deadlines are not met.

In a recent survey that we conducted in the island we found that the 50% of employees cited flexible working as a reason to change their role, so this is certainly something that businesses should be considering for the future if they are not already.