As flexible working pioneers, my business partner and I are always interested in hearing how other businesses and other industries are implementing flexible working strategies, to move with the times and offer employees the work-life integration they crave.
So when we found an article in Flexible Boss recently on how Britain’s experiencing a flexible working tipping point, we were eager to read on.
The article is based on a new report that has been published by Lancaster University’s Work Foundation and Citrix, titled ‘Working anywhere: a winning formula for good work’. Academics have predicted that more than half of organisations in the UK will have adopted a flexible approach to working by 2017 and over 70% by 2020. With 100% remote working, I believe we are well ahead of the curve on being flexible.
Improved productivity, employee wellbeing, talent acquisition and retention and reduced accommodation costs are all clear reasons why businesses should embrace flexible working.
The rise in smartphone technology enables us to tap into emails and work while on the move, so surely the concept of spending 2-3hours commuting and then sitting in an office from 9am until 5pm is a thing of the past?
At KnownFour we all work remotely and remote working is actually the foundation in which we’ve built our business model. We rely heavily on technology to keep us all online and interactive and have also invested in applications that allow us to stay virtually connected and contactable. You can even work in the common work area!
But it’s not as easy for everyone, and even the report contains concerns raised by HR managers about how easily flexible working can be implemented (for full article read here: http://flexibleboss.com/2016/03/02/flexible-tipping-point-reached/)
As a new breed of recruitment agency we’re masters of our own destiny, creating the ideal working situation for all of our partners, enabling them to work at any time and from any location around the world.
It involves a lot of trust, a lot of drive, determination and motivation, but most of all it creates a brand new way of working that helps to integrate life and work. And what more can you ask for?
