How flexible are you as an employer - REALLY?

If you’ve tried asking your employees what they prefer: office or remote working, I’d be willing to bet you don’t get just one answer.

And if you ask business leaders whether their employees get more done at home or in the office, you’ll get equally conflicting information. This is because (surprise, surprise) how people work best depends on their personalities – and their priorities.

Here’s an example: A young person with no children or caring responsibilities relishes coming into the office where they can learn about the business and bounce ideas off more experienced colleagues. But another employee, who has small children and an elderly relative, prefers to work from home and says they get more done remotely.

So who’s right?

In some ways, the answer is both. Both employees are as productive as each other when they’re in the right working environment – because they’re working the pattern that benefits them.

But in another way, the answer is... that we’re asking the wrong question.

The flexibility conundrum isn’t about whether people are more productive when they work at home or in the office. It’s about giving them the freedom to choose.

Responsibilities, life circumstances and priorities change over time, so what an employee needs to do their best work will also fluctuate.

Telling employees they have to do the opposite of what they need right at that moment simply isn’t very… flexible.

So while the ‘office v remote’ debate continues to dominate conversations, let’s shift our focus to something more important: What does flexibility at work really mean, and how flexible are you – really?

First, let’s remember why true flexibility is great for company culture – and the world we live in.

It’s a feminist issue

Let’s face it, we need women in work. It’s good for diversity and it’s good for business. In fact, a recent study by McKinsey found that organisations with a good gender split in their leadership teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than those who don’t.

That’s pretty big.

And yet, like it or not, most caring responsibilities outside of work still fall to women, and so it’s women who most often seek flexible working patterns. And yet the increase in childcare costs has made it a whole lot harder for many women to return to work.

Some businesses are actively addressing this – like Amazon with their recently-launched term-time only contracts. Marketing gimmick? Maybe, but it’s also a step forward for workplace flexibility.

Because by offering flexible working as standard, you’ll not only open your recruitment to a wider range of candidates, but you’ll be doing something to actively close the gender pay gap.

As long as you pay fairly, that is.

It’s a climate issue

If as an employer you’re serious about the planet, you’ll need to get real about flexible working. Did you know that if employees in the United States who have remote work-compatible jobs worked from home just half the time, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 54 million metric tons a year?

Plus, people who have flexibility and freedom in their work life make better purchasing decisions, so they’re less likely to buy single-use plastic and other non-recyclable products.

Yep, that’s right: when you’re not time poor, turns out you’re a better consumer.

It’s a health issue

We’ve all felt the beginnings of burnout. You know the feeling – when even the dog gets looked after more than you. Well, rigid working patterns and a lack of flexibility isn’t helping. In fact, WHO says that long working hours are so bad for our health that they’re responsible for up to 750,000 deaths a year.

So let’s get serious. Offering employees flexibility in their working patterns is good for physical and mental health, and that has an obvious knock-on effect on your productivity.

No one’s working hard if they’re off sick.

So what can we do?

Ok, so we get it: flexible working is good for society, candidates and employers. But how can you truly be a flexible employer?

First, you need to think outside the box of the ‘office v remote’ debate. Your employees will be most productive when they’re working how it suits them – whether that’s from home, from the office or on a ‘work from anywhere’ scheme.

They’ll also give the most back when they feel rested, trusted and valued – but remember that what helps them with that will change over time.

You can do this by:

• Listening to your workforce, familiarising yourself with their circumstances and understanding their personality types
• Giving employees the freedom to choose their own work hours within certain parameters. That might mean core hours or a totally pick-and-mix approach if your industry allows it
• Offering job shares. This works for employees who have caring responsibilities outside of work and allows them to take on a full-time job with total flexibility
• Creating a results-based work environment. Lose the clocking on and off and focus on outcomes rather than schedules. Who cares what hours your employees work as long as they get results?
• Investing in technology. Your company isn’t truly flexible unless you’ve invested in the necessary tools to support remote work – from video conferencing platforms and project management software to secure remote access to company systems
• Communicating clearly. Transparent policies and clear expectations and boundaries are key. Oh, and make sure they’re consistent for all employees

In a world where everything’s customizable (oat milk skinny latte, anyone?) why shouldn’t work be, too? By putting strategies in place where your employers can choose, you’ll make a more inclusive environment that’s good for everyone – and you’ll move past the office vs remote debate.