 ::Europe’s small businesses are leading the way in adopting flexible working practices and are benefiting from increased loyalty as a result.
Almost three-quarters of all small companies already offer some flexible working arrangements and being able to work away from the office is seen by mothers as the top benefit a company can offer, ranking it above more traditional benefits such as a company pension.
It is promising to see that businesses are recognising the benefits of flexible working and introducing options that will really help employees. From a small business perspective, the main benefits of flexible working are higher employee satisfaction, greater levels of staff retention and a much better work-life balance for parents. Employers could
boost morale in the workplace, hold on to staff for longer and improve productivity if they became more responsive to requests from employees to work from home. However, research shows that two-thirds of employers never, or only occasionally, accepted requests to work from home. This is despite the fact that the majority of companies that do offer home-working believe staff are more productive at home and only eight per cent think they are less productive.
The attitudes of senior management towards home-working has changed positively in the last five years and there are signs that it could become more common in the next year, with a quarter of employers saying that they intend to increase the number of requests they grant.
The allure of home-working for employees is becoming greater, given the stress and rising costs associated with commuting.
Employers and line managers should have more confidence in their staff, policies and in their own management capability to ensure that they recruit, retain and make the best use of the talent they have. The main motivations for employers to introduce the policy are to increase organisational flexibility, retain their workforce, widen the talent pool and meet employee demand.:: |
