Once considered a “nice to have”, flexible working rights are being written into law with a new government consultation launched last month. Under government plans, every employee in Great Britain will have the right to request flexible working from day one.
But what does this mean for employers? Niki Fuchs, Managing Director of Office Space in Town (OSiT), answers some of the important questions facing UK businesses.
The Government has launched a new consultation on flexible working. What do these changes mean for employees?
Under current rules, employees have to accrue 26 weeks (half a year) of continuous service with an employer before they have a legal right to request flexible working, which employers are able to decline on business grounds.
However, under new regulations put forward by the Government this month as part of a new consultation on the future of work, employees will be able to request flexible working from day one of employment.
Is it a significant change for businesses?
The fact that employers were previously able to deny requests under business grounds is significant. The pandemic has shown businesses that it is possible to work in a more agile way, combining office and home settings, but the fact remains that flexible working policies have to be a two-way conversation.
Businesses should recognise that a more flexible approach empowers their team to best work around personal and family commitments, such as caring responsibilities, but a positive dialogue to identify and implement the best strategies for individual wellbeing alongside good business outcomes will always lead to the best outcomes for everyone.
The pandemic has led to unprecedented home working. Should businesses embrace this for the long-term?
Hybrid working can offer a plethora of benefits. In OSiT’s survey into the impacts of home working this year, over half (55%) of respondents cited the opportunity to save money as a main advantage of home working, while 15% reported that it was easier to accommodate childcare commitments. 43% also noted additional time with family as a key advantage of home working, corresponding with OSiT’s 2019 Commuter Survey in which 55% of respondents reported that the commute negatively impacted their time with family.
But, in our research, we also found that 37% of UK workers had experienced anxiety or depression while working at home, while 51% felt their mental health had been negatively affected and 39% cited difficulty unplugging from work – raising serious concerns of long-term employee burnout. 41% also identified difficulty collaborating with colleagues as a disadvantage of home working.
Working in the office therefore has significant benefits for workers as well as businesses, so employers should not feel pressured to pivot their work strategies on a whim. There has to be transparency between businesses and employees about the ways they think are best to work. It is no good spending time interviewing for a vacancy, engaging colleagues across the company to ensure that everyone is on board, only for the chosen candidate to push for changes to the terms as they were advertised because they want to work from home. Allowing employees to change the nature of their job on their first day at a new company will be damaging for businesses and their culture, as well as for individuals themselves.
So, I would strongly caution employers and legislators against the ‘false flexibility’ of permanent, full-time remote working and the damage this could cause to employee wellbeing and development.
Tell us more about “false flexibility”. Why can it be so damaging?
It is damaging because it doesn’t offer choice. By only allowing employees to work from home, which we know can be bad for productivity and wellbeing, employees can’t benefit from truly flexible working. This means the ability to choose the best environment for them between home and the office, and to utilise both according to their needs, tasks or priorities.
This is especially the case for younger employees, who have been some of the most hard-hit by lockdown. Without the office, I struggle to see how businesses can offer the mentoring, development and “water cooler moments” that are so crucial to early career learning.
In fact, during the second lockdown, just 16% of young people said they wanted to work from home permanently. 59% were struggling to stay motivated and more than a third had lost enthusiasm for their companies.
What approach should businesses be taking?
The value of office working in providing the chance to collaborate, develop professionally and define work-life balance should not be discounted when flexible workstyles are being developed post-pandemic.
Now is the time for businesses to look to the future – adopting a hybrid strategy in order to get the best out of their people. By offering a combination of home working alongside in-person opportunities and collaboration, businesses can build a more productive culture that not only attracts the best talent, but retains the best employees well after the pandemic has passed.
