Employees are motivated by a range of factors including salary and advancement opportunities. A recent study suggests that 95% of employees are looking for flexitime as a priority, so if you are an employer it could well be worth offering your staff flexible working conditions if you want to attract the brightest candidates and keep them. This article covers the benefits for employers. (For employee benefits read part one here.)
The key benefits for employers include:
- Staff retention. Statistics show that employees are more likely to stay put if the company they work for offers flexibility. Approximately 80% of staff surveyed at Accenture claim their ability to balance their work and home life affects their desire to stay at the company. Of the staff surveyed at AstraZeneca's , 80% of women and 61% of men said flexibility was ‘very important’ when it comes to deciding whether to stay with the company.
- Low-cost rewards. Flexible working practices cost next to nothing to implement but can be seen as a huge reward for employees. Up there with better salary and promotion opportunities, flexitime can make a big difference to staff members’ productivity and job satisfaction.
- Reduced sickness absence. Working flexibly can help to maintain a healthier work-life balance. As a result, many employers find that short-term absence is quickly reduced, while long-term sickness caused by stress and related illness also tends to drop. Flexible workout helps employees to avoid burnout and cuts the sickness absence cost associated with this.
- Greater efficiency. Flexitime gives staff an incentive to get the job done in a shorter space of time. Rather than stretching tasks to fit the standard nine to five, employees are more likely to get the job done quickly so they can clock off at a more convenient time.
- Better working relationships. Allowing staff to manage their own working hours makes them feel more trusted and valued. This can improve relationships between managers and employees as conditions are less rigid.
- Cheaper working arrangements. If your staff members are coming in at different times of day it may be possible to cut back on desk space, equipment and utility costs, which could lead to significant savings.
Provided that employees do the hours they are contracted to do – at whatever the time of day that might be – employers should have no reason to stand against flexible working opportunities. The benefits are proven and there are no real downsides.
