Flexible working hours or ‘flexible employment’ has been defined as considering the work output which is desired of an employee as opposed to the time an employee spends face to face with somebody in the office. It is not meant to set any boundaries or limitations; rather, it opens up more avenues for employees. As many people tend to perceive this term, it is not just about the incorporation of an employee’s needs, it is actually about prudent hiring.
It can be a lot of different things and not just somebody working a part-time schedule. It could also involve communicating through email or phone, to skip the stress of a tedious commute, or a contractual job, job – sharing, a reduced work week, or just a flexible full time job. The structure isn’t thought out at first, instead, the accomplishment of a certain work goal is considered and then a creative schedule is taken into consideration which is meant to get an employee towards the desired goal.
The present generation of employees feels very strongly about flexibility in work. Interestingly, it has been noted that the present working demographic is three times more likely to leave a job because of no scope of work flexibility than the people who only have five or six years left until retirement. Those people begin to consider about winding up their careers by going for an early retirement but they are not fully ready for it, so part-time or other flexi – hours arrangement are found to be quite attractive to this lot.
Economies are constantly evolving – transcending national boundaries, they are becoming global. The 9 to 5 work clock is virtually obsolete, commuting to offices takes up a considerable part of the day and costs a lot of money and in such a scenario technology comes to the rescue which allows employees to work any time of the day irrespective of the place. Simultaneously, the labor market consisting of skilled workers is shrinking which makes it imperative for companies and other organizations to take individual needs into consideration, a readiness to adopt a wide range of such flexible working arrangements.
In the wake of such uncertain times in the global economic scenario, where the pool of skilled workers is shrinking at a rapid rate, employers are coming up with new and innovative ways to retain their employees.
Here are some key benefits of flexible hours:
TO EMPLOYERS
1) It has been widely observed that flexible hours are keeping everyone in a win – win situation. Not only have employees become more productive, they are loyal to their employers and are overall content.
2) Employers will definitely have a more productive and efficient work force which would increase the rate of retention and will attract potential employees.
3) The biggest benefit employers are experiencing is the amount of money they are saving in the whole process. Savings, in terms of office space, other expenditures happen to be one of the biggest concerns for small and medium-sized business establishments. Sometimes due to the travelling nature of job the office desks are vacant most of the times. When such employees remain absent, it leads to a big wastage for the company.
4) In case of unforeseeable conditions like storm, flood, earthquake etc. flexi-working comes as a great help and things won’t go awry at the workplace.
5) As an employer, it will enhance the organization’s image for future employees as they will prefer such workplace over others.
TO EMPLOYEES
1) Flexible working hours tend to help people lead a healthier life and will also help people sleep better.
2) Employees save a lot of money, time and energy that is spent in the daily commute.
3) They can have more control over their domestic activities, gaining a balance that is required between home and work and hence earning more time to spend with their family.
4) Employees can take time out for things like their child’s doctor’s appointments, bank work, other government offices work and everything else they had missed if they were engaged in something at the office.
A recently conducted study showed that companies who employ telecommuters experience growth at a faster rate as opposed to companies with only in-office staff. One of the main reasons is the ability of companies to employ sales persons in different geographic locations. It was also observed that if somebody was away, people would pitch in to help out. Instead of isolation and resentment, a more productive and connected work environment evolves because in such a situation, everybody enjoys the benefits.
Flexible working hours are the need of the hour as such an arrangement offers practical solutions to otherwise complicated situations.
