Thank you to everyone who attended or sent apologies for our first HR Hour.

We had an engaging discussion on sectoral disparities within organisations, specifically around managing both office-based and field-based teams – while many head offices have long offered fully flexible working to office-based staff, the same flexibility is harder to extend to field-based workers.

Key Points:

“Flexible” doesn’t necessarily mean “work from home.” For field-based workers, other forms of flexibility, such as adaptable shift patterns or parental benefits like time off for school events, can be considered to ensure inclusivity in flexible working programmes.

Resources: We compiled research conducted prior to this call, which we hope will be useful for all participants (see below).

Feedback: Overwhelmingly positive, affirming that these events provide a valuable safe space for networking and idea-sharing.

Next HR Hour

Join us for the next HR Hour on Wednesday, 11th September, where we will discuss Workplace Wellbeing.

• Part time roles
• Job share
• Flexitime
• Hybrid
• Shorter working weeks

According to PayFit’s 2024 report, which took survey responses from 2,000 full-time salaried employees across a range of different-sized companies and industries:

• 52% said “Choosing where and when I want to work”
• 33% said “Having the option to work from home”
• 32% said “Being able to fit important life errands around work”
• 31% said “Getting to choose what hours I want to work”
• 30% said “Working the same contracted hours, but when I choose”

No one size fits all and you don’t necessarily have to reduce your hours. Allowing someone to pick their kids up from school once a week by leaving two hours early… you can let them do that and make that time up some other time, e.g. working from home… it’s about thinking outside of the box.’ Different people need different things – for example, time off on particular days for religious reasons (A 2023 British Chambers of Commerce study highlighting sectoral disparities).

In a 2019 study carried out by CIPD with an NHS Trust, it was shown that Implementing flexible working has had tangible benefits at this trust, in terms of retention and reduced sickness absence.

‘Exit interview data showed that lack of flexibility was the number one reason for people leaving and that, although we thought we had flexibility at policy level, at ward level there was resistance.’

The pandemic showed that, in the case of flexible work design, the impossible turned out to be possible after all. The enforced trial of homeworking demonstrated to many that it works better than they could have imagined and perceived barriers have faded away as managers have learned to design work differently.

Employee engagement and loyalty: Flexible working can be linked to higher employee engagement, leading to employees being more likely to be flexible and loyal to the organisation.
Positive influence on work performance: Flexible working can increase productivity and quality of work, with employees working more efficiently, and organising and managing their workload better.

An estimated 4 million UK employees have changed careers due to a lack of flexibility at work.

According to CIPD, for those organisations planning to increase the uptake of wider forms of flexible working, key reasons include to:

• Improve their ability to attract and retain staff (60%)
• Support employees’ work–life balance (60%)
• Support staff motivation/productivity (54%)
• Support employees’ mental health and wellbeing (54%)

Flexible working is pivotal when looking for new roles. Almost a fifth (19%) of employees are currently looking for a new job.

When thinking about a new role, 71% say being able to have a flexible working pattern is important to them and 69% say the ability to work remotely is Important.

Millennials value work-life balance: 92% of people born between 1980 and 2000 identified flexibility as a top priority when job hunting. 

In a recent CIPD survey, 60% of employees say they have flexible working arrangements in their current role. This has jumped from 51% who said this in a similar CIPD survey last year.

For those workers whose jobs prevent homeworking, resentment or unfairness may be an issue: can you improve the motivation and engagement of these workers by offering greater flexibility of hours? (From the 2023 British Chambers of Commerce study mentioned above)

Half of employers say hybrid working has made absences more difficult to manage, poll finds (People Management)

CIPD report: Labour Market Outlook – Spring 2024

PayFit’s 2024 report: Mind the Flexible Working Gap -What Employees Really Want From Flexibility