Flexible working has become increasingly important in recent years. This has been highlighted by the COVID19 pandemic and the need for as many people as possible to work from home. Of course, for employers used to working the conventional way this can be challenging as there are concerns regarding productivity and distractions when out of the office.
However, this is the way forward and all businesses should embrace it as much as possible. Here are 5 types of flexible working arrangements you can offer:
- Remote Working
Perhaps the most obvious solution is to offer remote working where possible. This is good for office personnel that can access all the systems from home and processes the paperwork remotely. They will need a computer and internet but most staff will already have these items.
- Shortening The Week
Another option that can help your workers have more flexibility is to shorten their working week. Instead of working 40 hours a week, shorten it to 35. Combine this with extended production hours and you’ll have a bigger window for your staff. Providing they perform their job properly and do the shortened hours they can be flexible about when they come in and leave.
This can also create the possibility of doing four days a week and creating a four day weekend. That can be great for work/life balance.
- Job Sharing
Another way to improve flexibility in the workplace is to encourage job sharing. This will allow people to take time off when they need it, because they’ll know there is someone else capable of looking after the work.
Job sharing is also a great option for anyone who has excessive other commitments and needs to reduce the number of hours they work but doesn’t want to quit.
You can start by using a local labor hire to supplement the role and always make a more permanent arrangement later. This allows your staff to temporarily or permanently reduce their hours.
- Reduced Hours
This means effectively offering your staff part-time work instead of a full-time contract. This maintains their benefits and employment status and allows them to deal with changes in their personal life.
It’s important to remember that most people enjoy work because it helps to define who they are. Taking a full-time job away without offering a flexible option can be seriously detrimental to their mental health and not necessarily beneficial to the business.
- Additional Vacation
You should also consider changing the vacation rules. An increasing number of businesses are offering unlimited vacation providing the staff member is up to date with their work. Obviously, you’ll need to look at the best way to implement this without affecting productivity. But, done properly you’ll find it boosts productivity and rewards the employees who put in the most effort.
There are other options to allow flexible working. You simply need to look at your current systems to establish how they can be changed for the better.
Posts by SpeakBindas Editorial Team.