So Mr Musk has, in his unending wisdom, decided to stop Twitter employees working from home. Which has inevitably led to countless articles asking, “Is this the end of flexible working for everyone?”
The answer is no. Of course it’s not. Just because some eccentric billionaire has decided it doesn’t work for his business (which it did), it doesn’t mean that it will impact the rest of us.
So, why is flexible work here to stay?
Companies that have a pro-active and well-managed flexible work policy have a happier, more engaged, more productive and more profitable workforce that stay with the company longer and are more likely to recommend the company as a place to work.
In short, the company makes more money and spends less.
And countless studies support this.
An article by the Institute for Employment Studies & The Work Foundation suggests that people working flexibly can generate as much as 43% more revenue compared to those that don’t. This is reinforced in a study by HSBC back in 2017 that shows 81% of people that had access to flexible work said it had a noticeable positive impact on their productivity.
BT have said that they believe offering remote work has led to a saving of approximately £100million per year, increasing their profits by as much as 20% in some years.
Gallup has shown, in various studies, that flexible work leads to a more engaged workforce which in turn leads to numerous benefits, including a 40% decrease in mistakes, 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability.
Studies by CIPD show that flexible working can also significantly reduce stress by giving the employee more time with family, caring for loved ones, recovering from illness or doing the things they love.
Flexible work has also been shown to increase diversity across a business and increase the number of women in senior leadership roles, which again leads to further increases in team engagement, productivity and overall profitability of a business.
The list of studies and statistics demonstrating the benefit of flexible work to both employers and employees goes on and on and on.
To me, and the companies we work with, scientific studies by reputable organisations and universities from around the world count for a lot more than the unfounded opinions of one person.
So Elon may have created a minor speed bump in the road as we move, as a nation, towards more flexible working practices, but that’s all it is.
Besides. What kind of company would say, “we want lower productivity, higher staff turnover and lower profits”?
Apart from Twitter.
If you would like more information about working flexibly or how to go about requesting flexible work, then drop us a line using the Live Chat (managed by a real person) or sign up to The Returners' Tribe!
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