Did you know flexible working existed long before the global pandemic shook the foundation of work-life culture? Yes, for those working ladies balancing life between careers, maintaining a household, and children, work from home is a boon.

Today, not only women, even men are comfortable with a transition in their work timings. Did you know your employees can provide valuable inputs and creative solutions when they have the leverage to work at their pace?

Well, it’s time to bid goodbye to the legacy 9-5 jobs and opt for flexible work timing—a win-win situation for both employees and the employer!

Flexible working can be remote working, change in job timings, job sharing, or amalgamating all of these.

Do you know what bolsters flexible working?—the TRUST! Yes, it's the trust that you put in your employees to accomplish the task the best way they can do within an allotted time frame from any location.

The importance of flexible working
Here are a few benefits of flexible working that will encourage you to implement flexible working schedules and attain scalable business growth.

● Aids in increasing focus

The less the stress, the more focused your employees will be. Instead of instilling positivity at the workplace, studies reveal that employees who have flexibility in work timing are more passionate, dedicated, and focused.

● Offers a plethora of options for the employees

Apart from remote work timings, with an introduction of flexibility in work culture, you can introduce co-curricular programs to strengthen the core relationship between the employees to work as a team.

● Helps to overcome the stigma

According to experts, companies must introduce flexible working as an option for their employees. With this, you can help employees overcome the stigma of losing a job by making such demands. This will also empower your company as a performance-driven employee-centric organization that looks for its employees' well-being.

● Allows to maintain a work-life balance

It is much convenient for employees to have a balanced professional life once they have a grasp of their well-being. Hence implementing flexible working can ease their task and allow them to have a perfect work-life balance.

● Aids in bolstering productivity

Do you fear that your employee will miss his/her deadline with flexible working? Well, there may be a slight chance, but if you motivate them and set achievable goals, you can, in turn, boost their productivity to new heights.

As exciting as it sounds, you will need an expert in implementing flexible working as there are various types of flexible working arrangements, and an expert can save you from falling in the pitfall!

The types of flexible working arrangements
In order to implement flexible working in your organization, you must understand the distinctive nature of each flexible working arrangements. This would help you adopt the one best suited for your requirement.

● Telecommunicating

Telecommunicating indicates a part-time, flexible working schedule wherein employees visit the office premise on semi-regular intervals. This can be a full-time job, especially for those living in the vicinity of their office location. This arrangement instills productivity when employees visit the office twice or thrice a week.

● Remote Working

Remote working enables the option to work from any geo-location within the country or abroad. It is best suited for organizations saving down additional expenses of office setup and easing the task for employees to work on-the-go. It is also viable for businesses looking to expand their applicant pool. Here consistent communication and video conferencing are the keys to success.

● Condensed Workweeks

Instead of building a schedule of 9 working hours for 5 days a week, you can condense it with 10 hours for 4 days and add Friday as a holiday. This arrangement functions best for those hardworking employees compatible with long working hours and 3 days of the weekend.

● Customized working hours

What can be more enticing for your employees than a custom-built working schedule with their flexibility of time? While it is best for working mothers to arrive in office the late morning after completing the household task, a student may feel comfortable in an evening shift. So if you allow your employees to choose a time between 6 AM – 9 AM, that can ease their work-life balance and enhance productivity.

● Part-time job position

Several job seekers are interested in part-time job positions, which they can pursue a side job post their full-time job timings or as a regular job. Introducing this type of flexibility will boost productivity if coupled with a few benefit packages.

● Job Sharing

Another type of flexible working is job sharing, which somewhat resembles part-time jobs. In these, two or more part-time job seekers share full-time work. While it may not sit fit for many organizations, but it works best for certain businesses. Well, it's a win-win for both employer and employee because, as an employee, you have the flexible bandwidth to complete the assignment. In contrast, as an employer, you are saved from the perks of giving full-time employee benefits.

● The flexibility of Vacation Timing

Does your organization value performance more than work hour timings? Then offering unlimited paid offs can become your status quo to bolster business. If you value employees as productive assets, then you can be generous in granting them leaves.

Safeguarding from the pitfalls of flexible working
Although flexible working has a vast potentiality to escalate business development, it requires expert planning to implement in a way that will boost productivity and strengthen the bonds with the employee. Here is what an expert can do for you!

The expert takes a SMART approach—

● They will help you understand the Specific type of flexible work arrangement based on analyzing the type of organization and employees you have

● They will offer the Measurable benefits that you can earn by introducing such as arrangement.

● With their expertise solution, you will understand what Achievable goals your business can accomplish

● Experts will project a Realistic picture will trial and error methods to help you understand the gains or loss from the arrangement

● With their advice, you will know how you can attain success within a Time-based structure

Bottom-line
Flexible working is the new trend of the work culture, but this type of arrangement will require patience, practice, and trial & error methods. To bolster the concept of flexibility, you need to build trust, set achievable goals, and have a team of dedicated employees. It can be challenging, but with proper anticipation and strategy, you can achieve scalable success.