Flexible Working: Essential or Impractical?

There's still absolutely more that needs to be done to support employees to enjoy some freedom and flexibility in balancing work and life. And I don’t accept that 9-5 is the only way...

The desire for flexibility has certainly heightened since the Covid-19 pandemic, after the majority of employees saw that it was possible to be productive, successful, and highly efficient to work from home and to work at a time that better suited them and their lifestyle. 

This employee expectation for some level of freedom is further portrayed through EY’s recent Work Reimaged Employee Survey, whereby 1,000 workers were asked about flexibility in the workplace. It revealed that four out of five employees want some flexibility at work, and 47% admitted they’d even consider changing jobs if flexible working wasn’t an option. 

But this demand for flexibility can be difficult for some businesses to facilitate. Employees’ desires and employers’ appetite (and scope) to deliver are two very different things. Can flexibility ever truly be a win:win? And if it can, is it the silver bullet we’re looking for to solve the growing recruitment and retention challenges facing business owners here in Telford (and across the wider UK)? One of our Directors advocates for a new approach, believing that genuine flexibility is the future…

Back in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Felicity Wingrove, TBB Director and Strategic Advisor at Zen Communications abolished the traditional working week for her PR and content agency. And, she never looked back. 

“We always offered flexible shifts - anytime between 7am and 7pm - because we wanted to support our team to achieve a positive life-work balance (in that order), but it wasn’t enough. So, in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdowns, we took the bold and brave decision to abolish the working week entirely. This means that we no longer have set hours or days that we have to work. Instead, we all have the autonomy to work when and from wherever best suits us and our clients, allowing us to show up motivated, productive and focused.

“From the outset, we established a metric of success – what success actually means for each employee, for each client and for the agency as a whole. And decisions and timings have to be a win for all three, or it’s back to the drawing board. Using this gives our team the power to show discernment and to use their judgement, and all without having to seek permission or provide an explanation. But, as with anything like this, we were anxious to officially launch it. How would our clients react? Would it impact business? Would it be as beneficial to the team as we’d hoped? We did what we could to mitigate and manage it all, but ultimately we pushed ahead because we knew it was the right thing to do. And we needn’t have worried. 

“Close to three years on and everything we had hoped – and more – has come to fruition. Our team feels empowered, respected and trusted to make decisions to best suit them and their clients. They work when they’re most focused and without distraction, and they bring their very best selves. They still absolutely deliver what our clients need, when they need it, but the timeline for the production of that work is handled very differently. And that’s great news for clients, who are loving the calibre of work, the creativity, the focus, the delivery, and the sheer energy that our team always has for them. Yes, we were always good at all of that, of course we were, but now it’s at a different level.

“But it wasn’t easy, and meant really considered communication with our clients, as well as regular check-ins. And yes, if something important and time-sensitive comes up and a client needs us, then it takes priority. Always. 

“Commercially it’s brought some really tangible benefits. We’ve cut costs by refining and downsizing our office; it’s made us super-compelling from a recruitment perspective and widened our pool of candidates as we’re able to consider those who can’t be tied to traditional working hours; and it’s improved employee retention even further as we’re really tough to leave!

“Whilst we appreciate that it’s easier for a service-based agency like ours to be flexible, I believe that there’s still absolutely more that needs to be done to support employees to enjoy some freedom and flexibility in balancing work and life. And I don’t accept that 9-5 is the only way. I’d urge all businesses to consider their business structure with fresh eyes. What would need to happen for them to be able to take a leap and introduce genuine flexibility into their working lives? It’s a scary step but I’m confident they’ll never look back.”

Let us know your thoughts and approaches to flexible working - have you tried and tested? Have you considered the benefits it may have on business and your team?