FEATURE INSIGHT
Echoing Phipps, Sandhar says the magic word is ‘trust’: “Why recruit people we think we would need to ‘police’ each day?” But there is a danger that flexibility ends up being to the detriment of the employee. For example, more than a quarter (27%) of flexible workers told a survey on behalf of the Association of Accounting Technicians (ATT) that they put in more hours than when they worked to a traditional schedule. Also, 18% said they were worried that flexibility gave them less opportunity to engage in workplace social life and events. In addition, 15% said flexible working made them lonelier, 14% admitted to feeling guilty for working more conveniently than their fellow employees, and 13% expressed concerns over being passed over for promotion or other work responsibilities. There also seems to be a stigma to overcome among the workforce at large. As part of the wider ATT study, 500 employees who do not work flexibly were also surveyed. More than half (53%) said they think they do more work than
colleagues who work flexibly, and more than a third (37%) said they are envious of those working to non-traditional patterns. ... flexible working has to become more accepted and commonplace... Olivia Hill, chief HR officer at the ATT, said: “It’s worrying that many flexible workers feel that their colleagues see them as workshy or feel that they may be passed over for promotions. For this to change, flexible working has to become more accepted and commonplace in every work environment.” Flexibility, though, can also improve employee’s financial health. For example, Nick Whiteley, managing director of flexible working solutions organisation HFX, says: “An employee on, say, £10 per hour will earn about £19,500 per year gross and spends two hours a day commuting to work during rush hour. By working flexibly,
they could cut their journey time from two hours to one hour a day. That’s worth, deducting holiday time, £2,400 per year net. The equivalent in gross salary would result in an 18% increase. “What’s more, an employee commuting by train to work could save between £500 and £1,500 a year by travelling off-peak.” Some employers, meanwhile, are addressing their employees’ work-life balance through solutions during office time. One such organisation is digital marketing organisation Add People. Kerry Matthewman, HR manager at Add People, explains: “We’re in talks to bring a barber or hairdresser on-site so people can get their hair cut at work, or organisations to come and wash employees’ cars in the car park.” She adds: “It may only seem like a few pounds saved here and an hour saved there, but over time those can amount to days and triple figures that employees can instead spend with and on their family and friends.” In a working culture where spare time is precious, it could be said that every little helps. n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2019 | Issue 50
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