What was once a necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic has become a defining aspect of the modern workplace. Flexible, remote, and hybrid working models are no longer uncommon but have become mainstream. Before the pandemic, less than 25% of people had worked remotely, but that number rose to 80% in 2021, with 60% of respondents enjoying some form of flexible working arrangement.
The adoption of flexible working arrangements was remarkable and with 75% of organisations continuing to offer such options, it seems to have been successful. Many people are still working remotely when possible, with only 1.3% of respondents who can work remotely choosing not to do so.
Employers have observed their employees' enthusiasm for flexibility, as most organisations (63%) report that over 71% of their employees use flexible working arrangements.
Employees are embracing flexibility
Employees are fully supportive of flexibility in the workplace. They reported that 66% of roles allow for flexible working, and 90% of those who can, are taking advantage of these arrangements. 24% of survey respondents work all the time remotely, with another 27% visiting their place of work once per week on average. That's over 50% of people who spend on average a half day per week in their place of work.
50% of respondents spent less than half a day in their place of work
Organisations want more visibility
While half of organisations state they are happy to continue offering flexible work, 34% of employers actively want people back in their place of work full-time. And less than 1% want employees to work all the time remotely.
Most organisations see 1-2 days working from home as their preferred flexible arrangement. The reasoning behind the 'return to work' push varies from work-related arguments like increased collaboration, building loyalty and company culture to learning by osmosis. But other reasons, including existing real estate investment, different management models or having more oversight, also contribute to management wanting to see employees in person more often.
The cost of reducing flexible working
Regardless of the reasoning, return-to-work policies may backfire. Getting employees to agree to change their flexible working arrangements is a challenge. 76% of respondents say they would turn down a role that didn't meet their flexible working needs. And employers report 30% of new starters rejecting roles over flexibility issues.
Employees are willing to trade flexibility, nearly 60% of respondents stated salary as being more important than flexible working, and 44% of people see financial benefits as the most importanttypes of benefitswhen considering a new role. Employers can look at increasing financial benefits to offset reduced flexibility. However, with over 330,000 open positions in Ireland as of September 2022, many people can and do expect reasonable flexible arrangements and increased financial benefits.
Bridging the gulf between organisational and employee needs around flexible working
Employee engagement peaked in 2020 at the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic, when most people who could, were working 100% remotely. And while employee engagement has since settled back to pre-pandemic levels, flexible working is a proven way to work. And giving people the flexibility to work where suits them best leads to better performance.
In some form or other, flexible working is here to stay. However, employers now need to balance individual employee, team, and organisational needs.
Bridging the perceived gulf between organisational and employee needs is key to successful flexible working arrangements.
Outside of remuneration, employees see security, advancement, and a pleasant environment as the main reasons to remain in a role. And employees' needs, align quite well with their employer's concerns around collaboration, culture, and learning. People want to work and collaborate in teams with people they like. They want to know their jobs are secure and that the organisation they work for has a positive culture and provides a pleasant work environment. And they want to advance, which requires learning and experience they can only get from their colleagues. Organisations that leverage people's desires can negate many perceived downsides to flexible working.
Leaders need to consider why and when people should work on-site. People need to see the value in working on-site that goes beyond their day-to-day tasks. Teams need time and space for creative interaction when they are together, allowing for bonding, relationship building, and learning.
When people are working remotely, the organisation needs to provide clear structures for communication between team members and collaborators. They need to provide an agreed framework and approach to meetings and workflows.
In short, instead of trying to map flexible work to pre-pandemic norms, leaders need to see it as the first step of a new way of working and evolve the culture around new people first norms.
An essential first step to developing a people-first work culture is implementing an employee-driven wellness program. Cpl's Future of Work Institute has worked with clients across different industries and sizes to develop collaborative wellness programs.
Download our wellness brochure to learn more or reach out to Elysia Hegarty, Associate Director & Wellness Lead
