Benefits of flexibility at the work-place

The possibility of having flexible working hours is becoming increasingly important in today’s hectic lifestyle. The need for companies embracing this is not only important for employee satisfaction but is also very beneficial to the overall company culture and values it permeates. Having flexible working hours as an integral part of the company culture creates the possibility for employees to work hours most convenient to their lifestyle and helps with maintaining a healthy work-life balance. When employees are satisfied in their environment and not burnt out, productivity increases together with employee engagement, therefore, resulting in a reduction in employee turnover. 

Introducing the culture of work flexibility within your business

Work flexibility encourages trust between the employer and the employee. It is important for trust as a company value and become an integral aspect of the company culture. Companies are sometimes hesitant to get on board with flexible working hours as it may be regarded as a trend that will eventually phase out or that may harm current processes and set the business back. Successful working flexibility needs to be based on a symbiotic give-and-take relationship between employer and employee. If being allowed to work fewer hours on one day, it is then the employee’s responsibility to ensure that these hours are made up on another day. 

This creates trust, and through two-way communication, and ensuring all deliverables are still maintained in a timely manner, companies can smoothly transition into the flexible hour culture. Furthermore, for someone who is used to working mainly at the office, employees need to also become accustomed to working in a different environment outside the usual office setting. We offer workshops to companies in which employees are educated about the flexible hour concept and how they can take on a participative role to ensure a smooth transition. 

This is not something which can be achieved overnight but is best if introduced into the company gradually and in phases. The first step in the right direction is to introduce a policy whereby employees who usually work from 9 am to 5 pm, are given the possibility to go at work anytime from 7 am to 10 am, as long as they still carry out the 8 hours of work per day. This can be tweaked to best accommodate the culture and the company’s existing policies. 

Improving employee loyalty and increasing job satisfaction

With Malta currently experiencing a close to a full-employment business scenario, it is a very competitive environment and has become of more utmost importance for companies to work at retaining their key employees at all costs. Having a friendly environment at the workplace that facilitates and respects all other employee priorities besides work, and in which they are also shown support makes for better retention rates. We strive to discover various ways in which the workforce can remain loyal and satisfied while also ensuring that performance remains constant. Such alternatives can include encouraging employees to better themselves and their skills by offering training courses that would directly benefit their career growth. Having flexible hours in this equation would then also support and benefit such learning opportunities and enable employees to undertake other projects outside of work.

With the rise of more people joining the workforce and opting for a career, while still having families and other responsibilities to juggle, having flexible working hours has become of more importance. Also, with millennials having recently entered the job market in droves, such perks have become increasingly sought after, making a proper work-to-life balance crucial for overall employee satisfaction and retention. While businesses strive to remain at the top within their market niche, the same importance should be given to recruitment to ensure that the company attracts the best talent, which would then in turn increase profits, minimise employee turnover and appeal to potential stakeholders. Flexible working shouldn’t be viewed as a nuisance to employees, but rather should be embraced and implemented wherever possible. This is the first step towards agile working, and the right step towards more positive results.