Soon, millions will be to be able to request flexible working from day one of a new job. It's a good start – but more support for employers is needed.
By Nicola Smith, Director of Development and Innovation
The government consultation into ‘Making flexible working the default’, launched in September 2021, was widely welcomed. Today, the government has confirmed that it will be taking action in response, finally concluding that the right to request flexible work should be a day one right for all employees.
This is an important success for all of us who have made the case for a fairer, stronger jobs market – and is also a ‘win-win’ for employers and their (current and potential) workforces.
Along with government support for Yasmin Qureshi MP’s Private Member’s Bill (the means by which much new legislation will be introduced), today’s announcement means important new flexible working rights are coming. Alongside day one rights to request flexible work, wider positive changes that will now be introduced include:
We don’t yet know when these changes will take effect, but with committee stage on the bill taking place later this week, new legislation could hit the statute book in early 2023. In practice, these new requirements could be in place by as early as next Autumn.
Giving employees the right to ask for a flexible role from the moment they join an organisation – rather than waiting 26 weeks – is certainly a step forward. And in today’s tight labour market, it makes real business sense. With four people currently chasing every part-time job, there’s no doubt that the demand is there; if ever there was a time to advertise flex at the point of hire, it’s right now.
But we believe there is still much more to do to properly widen access to flexible working from day one. Why? Because this arrangement still puts all the onus on the employee to ask.
Our 2022 Flexible Jobs Index© shows that only 30% of jobs are advertised with any flexible working options, and research also shows that this stops people who need flex from ever applying. And when candidates do ask, employers have often not thought about what might be possible, and aren’t equipped to respond. As a result, all those people who need flex to fit work around their wider lives lose out – and employers can’t get the candidates they need.
So although we’re hopeful that the day one right to request will increase the number of employers advertising roles flexibly, we doubt it will fully deliver the step change in hiring practice and job design that our economy desperately needs.
The government could have taken this opportunity to take things a step further.
We think employers should be required to consider whether a job can be made flexible, and if they feel it can’t, to explain why not. And critically, if it can be done flexibly, employers should be required to state the flexibility on offer up front in the recruitment process.
How else will applicants know when they apply for work whether they will actually be able to do the job? We believe few people would feel comfortable accepting a new position and then a few weeks later, bringing up the need for a new working pattern on day one.
Of course not every role can offer flex in where, when or how a job is done – but as our Innovation Unit pilots continue to show, far more is possible across so many roles.
At Timewise, we also know that legislative change alone is not enough. We continue to call on government to provide a package of support for employers, to help them create and implement flexible jobs and behaviours, to sit alongside this new legislation.
This needs to include training managers in how to design flexible jobs, and manage flexible teams. And in some sectors, in which flexibility is more complex to achieve, it should involve supporting them to test and pilot different approaches.
If this support becomes available, employers will be able to get to a position where fully considering whether a job can be made flexible, and what options are the most suitable, happens before the recruitment process. Where hiring managers proactively think this through. And where doing so is seen as an opportunity to attract the best talent, rather than a problem to be solved.
More work also needs to be done to help those who engage and bargain with employers – for example Jobcentre Plus and welfare to work providers, recruiters and trade unions – to act as change agents for better flexible work.
In Scotland, we’ve worked with labour market intermediaries to improve access to fair flexible work; we now need to see widespread action like this across the UK. There is huge potential for DWP and its provider network to do more in this space – with employers struggling to fill full-time vacancies and so many potential applicants in need of flexible work, action here must be a priority.
Our previous work with DWP has shown that specialist support for job brokerage teams works to get people who are out of work into better paying flexible jobs. We’ve recently been working with Restart providers, supporting them to work with employers to identify opportunities for more flexible jobs, and can see how much potential there is to do more.
It’s also worth taking a moment to remember that those who won’t benefit at all from the right to request are people who don’t have an employee contract. The Living Wage Campaign’s Living Hours ask speaks to this challenge – calling on employers to make sure that their entire workforces have decent notices of shifts and a basic guaranteed minimum of hours.
The fact that exclusivity clauses will be banned for the lowest paid is a positive move, but doesn’t go far enough to give people the security over hours that’s needed. Wider changes in employer practice and legislation remain necessary here, to make sure that our jobs market has more of the good flex that employers and employees urgently need, and less of the extreme low-wage insecure work that is bad for everyone.
Today’s announcement is an important and exciting step forward in acknowledging how widespread the need for good flexibility is – whether that is in how, where or when people work. It opens the door to a real shift in access to good flexible jobs. But we know that this legislation is only the first stage. Employers now need support to design flexible jobs fairly and consistently across their workforces, and ultimately we need to ensure good flexibility is on offer from the point a job advert is posted.
Published December 2022
The UK is facing a labour market crisis with demand far outstripping the supply of candidates, and a cost of living crisis that is hitting hard, especially for low income households. Against this backdrop, Timewise set out to explore:
The jobs market remains broken for people who need to work flexibly, and a key barrier is employer resistance. This report seeks to improve understanding around the issues, with a view to encouraging more employers to engage with the idea of hiring flexibly, and realise the benefits of changing their hiring practices.
Published November 2022
By Nicola Smith, Director of Development and Innovation
This year’s Flexible Jobs Index is being published at a time of great economic uncertainty. In the seven years since we began our annual tracking of the flexible jobs market, we’ve never seen anything like it.
The cost of living crisis is biting hard, with those not in work the worse hit, and an estimated 3.7 million people struggling in insecure work and low pay. And new figures released today show that there are four people chasing every part-time job. Yet, business leaders across all sectors are finding it hard to recruit the people they need, with vacancies remaining at record highs. Even though the country is now in recession, unemployment is still predicted to remain lower than in other recent downturns, and forecasters expect businesses will continue to struggle to recruit.
Clearly, then, offering more flexible jobs – and specifically, more part-time jobs – would help employers to fill their skills gaps. So are we seeing an increase in the number of employers advertising their roles in this way? Disappointingly, the answer from this year’s Index is ‘not really.’
Looked at as a whole, the picture is of minimal growth. Despite a real shift in attitudes towards flexible working during the pandemic, still only 30% of jobs are advertised with any kind of flexibility (up from 26% last year).
Crucially, we are only talking about secure permanent employment here. Highly insecure roles such as zero hours contracts and gig economy self-employed roles can provide high levels of flexibility for employers but little autonomy or control for workers, so we do not include them in our analysis.
So while 9 in 10 people want to work flexibly, and 5 in 10 currently do, only 3 in 10 permanent jobs are advertised as such.
The Index also demonstrates why the demand for part-time jobs is so high – just 12% of jobs are advertised as less than full-time. And it’s not just employers who are missing out as a result. The lack of part-time jobs means that people who can’t work full-time – including parents, carers and many people with mental and physical health conditions – are locked out of the workplace.
Furthermore, the Index tells a ‘Tale of Two Flexes’, with roles advertised as part-time lurking towards the bottom of the pay scale, and hybrid roles tending to be offered at higher salary levels. This is important. We have a good supply of low-paid part-time work – what we don’t have is decent part-time jobs higher up the pay scale. And in some better paid sectors that are really struggling to fill their vacancies – such as manufacturing and construction – the proportion of jobs advertised as flexible remains particularly low.
So why are employers failing to advertise flexible roles, when doing so would help them overcome their recruitment challenges? Our new report, created in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, with analysis from the Institute of Employment Studies, seeks to answer that question.
We interviewed 1,000 senior decision makers from a mix of SMEs and large firms, and followed up with qualitative interviews. Three core themes emerged – none of which, in our view, should be a barrier:
However, these reasons are no longer good enough. It’s now well accepted that offering flexible working up front can help employers gain an edge in the fight for talent, which is all the more critical given current vacancy rates. And with the cost of living already unmanageably high, helping people who can’t work full-time access paid work is not just a practical solution, but a social imperative.
The medium to long-term outlook remains challenging; our jobs market is facing a triple whammy of higher rates of long-term ill health, falling birth rates and post-Brexit restrictions. It seems there will continue to be fewer candidates than we need for some time to come. This is a problem that isn’t going away any time soon; employers who want to attract talented staff can’t afford to keep recruiting in the way they always have.
That means accepting that the old, less flexible ways of working won’t cut it any longer. Investing time and money in exploring how flexible working could benefit their organisations. And creating cultures where employees are trusted to deliver, part-time and flexible workers are valued and championed, and managers are trained to support them.
It will be time and money well spent, even just in terms of the bottom line; as we’ve shown, there’s a financial return on investment in flexible working. And as Bruce Daisley has noted, “Flex is the new salary”, so offering it will also help employers overcome recruitment challenges, widening the candidate talent pool and helping attract the best candidates. Not sure where to start? We can help.
By Dr Sarah Dauncey, Head of Partnerships and Practice, Timewise
The pandemic intensified existing labour market inequalities in access to flexible working arrangements. Half of working adults worked from home at times during the pandemic, but this opportunity wasn’t available to frontline workers.
And while 84% of those who had to work from home because of government regulations said they wanted to work in a hybrid way in the future, equivalent flexibility wasn’t available to many of those in location-based roles. The result is a risk of two-tier workforces developing, split into flexible working haves and have nots, amplifying existing inequalities.
It’s for this reason that we have joined with IES and three frontline employers – Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Robert McAlpine and Wickes – in a two-year action research programme designing, testing and embedding flexible working solutions. It’s funded by Impact on Urban Health and Barclays Life Skills, and the findings from the study will be shared widely to drive change among employers.
Even before the pandemic, frontline work was overrepresented by young people, those on lower pay, and people from minoritised ethnic groups. Typically, these roles can be physically challenging with less opportunity for autonomy and control over working patterns, factors that negatively affect health and wellbeing.
As many frontline roles involve delivering care and services to other people, frontline employees were most exposed to Covid-19. In contrast, desk-based and knowledge workers were more shielded from the risk of infection, and had more options about when, where and how they worked.
Additionally, flexible working is heavily concentrated in high-paid roles and, consequently, is more prevalent in London and the South-East than in any other region. Geographical inequality in access to flexible working arrangements is largely a feature of sectoral variation, and local and combined authorities are actively working to ‘level up’ through good work and inclusive economy agendas. But there remains a likelihood that where you live can determine your access to flexible work.
These labour market patterns are often replicated within organisations, with disparities between employees working in frontline and site-based roles and those who are more desk-based. These have become starker with the increased focus on location-based flexibility. Remote and hybrid working have become synonyms for ‘flexible working’, and time-based flexibility, which is more feasible for those unable to change where they work, is being sidelined as a result.
Our new programme of research and action seeks to tackle these inequalities, widening access to flexible working and implementing it fairly across organisations. It has been built in partnership with like-minded organisations, including three employers who are committed to reducing organisational disparities in access to flexible working, and improving the health and wellbeing of their employees.
We began by devising a two-year programme of activity and establishing a steering group comprised of leading practitioners and experts. The group includes members from the three participating employers, British Retail Consortium, Build UK, Business for Health, CBI, Impact on Urban Health, and NHS England. It has informed the direction of the programme and will provide strategic oversight throughout its duration.
The programme falls into four parts:
1. Developing fair flexible principles
The first phase of the programme, which was completed in the summer, involved consultation with the steering group to develop a set of guiding principles for the development of a fairer and more consistent, organisation-wide approach to flexible working. These relate to seven key organisational areas, including: leadership, manager capability, recruitment and communications. They will be used and adapted by our participating employers to support their work to embed flexible working and align it with other priorities, like diversity and inclusion.
2. Designing and testing practical solutions with our partner employers
Next, we’ll collaborate with our employer partners to identify areas for action to widen access to flexible working, particularly among those in frontline or site-based roles who currently have limited access to flexible working arrangements. Timewise consultants will work closely with the employers to build and deliver interventions that will create change. For instance, by coaching managers to help them become more effective in managing individuals and teams working flexibly and building peer support networks.
3. Building the evidence base to better understand the impact of flexible working on individuals and organisations
We’ll then collaborate with IES to gather learnings from the programme. These will inform our future activity and influence participating employers and the wider sectors represented by them: health, construction and retail.
A key piece of evidence we’ll be seeking is the impact of access to good quality flexible working arrangements on employees, in the context of their experience of wellbeing, health and job satisfaction. We’ll also be evaluating its impact on the organisations in terms of their ability to retain employees and reduce sickness and absence, therefore their capacity to increase productivity.
4. Sharing insights to improve job quality for frontline employees across the UK
Having embedded a set of fair flexible principles, and developed solutions with three major frontline employers, we’ll then be in a position to share new models of practice to open access to flexible working arrangements in sectors with substantial operational barriers to implementing them effectively.
Critically, we’ll be able to use the evidence we’ve captured to inform policymakers and employers, and drive action to improve job quality and wellbeing among millions of frontline and site-based workers across the UK.
This programme of work has long been necessary, and the cost of living crisis has given it an added significance. There has never been a more important time to invest in workforce development, and to create a model that can drive wider change. We look forward to sharing our findings with you as they emerge.
Published November 2022
Employee well-being is a workplace issue that desperately needs tackling. In the UK, a huge number of working days are lost to ill health (32.5 million in 2019/20) and stress, depression and anxiety (18 million). We know that flexible working can support employee well-being – but we also know there isn’t a one size fits all solution.
While the pandemic helped focus leaders’ attention on their employees’ well-being, and normalised the concept of working from home, it also had some negative effects, as people struggled to keep their home and working lives separate. And critically, the changes driven by the pandemic have happened in a reactive way, rather than a proactive one.
Additionally, we are now in a new, also difficult era, dominated by the cost of living crisis. Right now, financial issues are affecting the well-being of many employees, and employers are increasingly willing to think creatively about how they can offer support.
The result is a ‘golden window’ in which businesses are considering the health and well-being of their staff more than ever before. So we invited three business leaders to join us to discuss this at our recent roundtable: Richard Martin, Executive Officer of the Mindful Business Charter; Rebecca Ormond, Inclusive Workplace Leader at PWC; and Jordan Cummins, the CBI’s first Director of Health.
So, what should employers do to boost employees’ well-being in the current climate? Here are the key themes that came out of our roundtable discussion.
Review pandemic-driven decisions – and make changes where needed
The new, more flexible ways of working that evolved during the pandemic were often brought in at speed. And while they have been positive in many ways, they can also be a barrier to well-being.
For example, the removal of the boundaries between work and home has led to an expectation of being always on. And while some employees relish skipping the commute and getting more time to spend with family, there are others who feel burnt out by work creep, and miss the connections that being fully office-based brought.
Similarly, while hybrid working is seen by many as the best of both worlds, it is not without its problems. There is a risk of two track workforces developing, in which those who continue to work from home are sidelined, affecting their well-being as well as their careers. Research from the CMI indicate it’s already happening, with 40% of managers saying they have observed opinions or behaviours suggesting inequality between those who work in a hybrid way and those who don’t.
Employers should therefore take a proactive look at how decisions made during the pandemic are affecting employee well-being – and make changes where needed. This includes supporting employees to reinstate the boundaries between home and work, and taking action to ensure that the flexibility on offer is fair and inclusive. The result will be truly flexible working arrangements that benefit both the business and the employee.
Increase your understanding of your employees’ circumstances and needs
A key part of this review – and of creating sustainable well-being strategies going forwards – will be to understand what issues people are dealing with and how the business can help.
Gathering data on well-being can be hard, but people are increasingly willing to disclose details about their circumstances – and will be even more so if they understand that this may lead to greater flexibility. Set out a framework of information you think would be useful to gather, and pulse check regularly.
Shift your approach to well-being and become a prevention workplace
The positioning of well-being within an organisation is central to its success. One positive step to take is to stop treating health and well-being as a cost, and instead consider it as an asset to be invested in, like sustainability.
This will lead to well-being being seen as a competitive advantage, rather than a burden, and help you focus on preventing poor well-being, rather than reacting to it. Ideas for supporting this include:
And of course, proactively offering well-designed flexible roles, which allow employees to better balance their work and home lives, is central to being a prevention workplace.
Encourage a culture of openness and trust between line managers and teams
Building on the above, line managers should be encouraged to have open conversations about well-being with their team members. It’s a big leap for many managers to go from talking about workload to talking about well-being, but it becomes easier once a culture is established in which these conversations are not only acceptable, but preferable. Things to think about:
It’s worth remembering that most employees want to achieve and do their best at work; the business simply needs to trust and support them to do so. And that includes exploring which kinds of flexibility will make that possible.
Explore the impact of the way your organisation works
As well as putting initiatives in place to support well-being, it is also important to look at your structures and processes; in reality, it’s often the way people work that creates stress. This includes the nature of the work itself and organisational expectations, as well as how individuals interact.
A key part of resolving this is to develop a company-wide conversation about how your team members are working with each other. Then act on it in your structures and processes. For example:
Again, little things can make a big difference; thinking about when you schedule meetings, or even send emails, can reduce stress and underpin your commitment to flexible working.
Address the impact of the economic crisis clearly and swiftly
Whilst employers are not responsible for the cost of living crisis, they do have a duty to support their employees to navigate it as best they can. And being clear in communications is absolutely critical. Observations from our panel included:
Of course, this kind of support doesn’t have to be limited to a financial crisis; some companies are already looking at how they can support their employees’ financial wellbeing. Initiatives include offering pension planning to parents and carers who have taken career breaks, or providing a financial well-being expert who can explain what benefits are available and how to access them.
It’s also worth noting that part-time opportunities can support financial well-being. Offering high-level part-time jobs within your organisation could help parents, carers and others who can’t work full-time to progress their careers and increase their incomes. And doing the same when recruiting could open doors to help others back into the workplace (as well as widening your talent pool).
With learnings from the pandemic ripe for analysis, and the cost of living crisis likely to continue, it feels like the right time for employers to develop and embed their commitment to employee well-being. For the best chance of success, flexible working should be at the heart of any approach; if you need support with this, please do get in touch.
Published October 2022
By Dr Sarah Dauncey, Head of Partnerships and Practice, Timewise
The pressure that the cost of living crisis is putting on household incomes is inescapable. In ONS data from early September, 82% of adults reported being very or somewhat worried about rising costs of living. According to the New Economics Foundation, three-quarters of households will see the cost of living outstrip incomes by the autumn budget. And the economic fallout from the Chancellor’s ‘mini-budget’ on 23 September has intensified the problems facing households across the country.
Low-income families, who spend a greater proportion of their income on food and energy, are worst hit. In research from the Living Wage Foundation, 78% of low-paid workers said the cost of living crisis is the worst financial period they have ever faced. And as part-time workers are twice as likely as full-timers to be trapped in low pay, they are likely to be disproportionally affected.
It’s crucial that employers do all they can to support their employees through the cost of living crisis, and raising pay in line with the Living Wage is a good starting point. And another measure that employers should take is to offer good quality flexible working for all employees, at all levels.
The problem, however, is not just that we don’t have enough flexible jobs, but also that we don’t have enough good quality ones. As our 2021 Flexible Jobs Index noted, only 1 in 4 jobs are advertised as flexible in any way. There are even fewer part-time jobs advertised (just 1 in 10), and they are clustered at the lowest-paid end of the scale, with very few higher-paid ones available.
This is a particular problem for parents, carers or those with health issues or other responsibilities, who simply can’t work full-time. Being able to find a quality part-time or flexible role can be a gamechanger, allowing them to get into (or back into, or progress in) the workplace and increase their household income. And the availability of good flexible jobs also has a positive impact on society as a whole. Evidence shows that flexible working can play a part in tackling social inequality, reducing child poverty, supporting social mobility, and increasing workplace diversity. This has long been the case, but is now more critical now than ever – when people are talking about choosing between heating and eating, it’s time to take action.
Just as the impact of a lack of flexible working is a societal issue, the solutions cut across many different parts of society too. For example:
At the time of writing, the Chancellor has stated that he will tighten benefit rules for part-time workers to increase economic productivity, requiring them to work longer hours or take steps to increase their earnings. This is a retrograde step, which will keep people who need flexibility out of the workforce, pushing more into economic hardship.
Instead, we need to use flexible and part-time working to unlock the jobs market, which will support people through the cost of living crisis, as well as contributing to growth. This has long been true, but is now mission critical. Collaborative and coordinated action is urgently required.
Published October 2022
It seems pretty clear that hybrid is the new normal. A June 2022 survey from the CIPD noted that 78% of organisations now offer hybrid working, in a mix of formal and informal arrangements. And spring 2022 ONS data showed that 84% of employees who worked from home during the pandemic plan to continue working in a hybrid way.
Here at Timewise, we see the increase in hybrid working as a hugely positive thing. We, like many organisations, believe that it offers huge benefits for employers and employees alike (as long as it is properly implemented, of course).
But an unexpected side-effect of hybrid’s increasing popularity is that it’s becoming conflated with flexible working in general. In the media, in conversations, in focus groups, people are using the phrase flexible working when what they mean is hybrid working.
To give just one example of many, in a recent discussion we held with a group of frontline workers, a participant stated that “Flexible working won’t work for us – we can’t do our job from home”.
So, what’s the problem here? Well, firstly, it’s just not accurate to conflate the two. Hybrid working is essentially place-based flex – giving people the opportunity to work across different locations. This is a subset of flexible working, which also includes time-based flex – such as part-time, job sharing, compressed hours and flexible start and finish times, as well as more unusual arrangements such as term-time only contracts.
And while place-based flex is liberating and beneficial for many, it doesn’t work for everyone. There are many people for whom being able to work fewer days is the only way they can work at all. Parents, carers, people with physical or mental health issues… for some, working a full week, even if partially from home, just isn’t feasible.
Additionally, there are many roles for which working from home isn’t an option at all. Most frontline workers, such as nurses, teachers, retail assistants and on-site construction workers, generally have to be at their workplace to work. But they may still need flexibility, and if they don’t get it, they may leave; in secondary schools, for example, 1 in 5 teachers who leave the profession do so to take up a part-time role elsewhere.
For these groups, offering time-based flexibility is key. School timetables can be tweaked to accommodate part-time employees or staggered start and finish times; rotas and shift patterns can be designed to accommodate reduced hours. It requires leadership, job design skills and a team-based approach, but it can be done successfully.
However, the confusion between flex and hybrid means that companies which are allowing a blend of in office and WFH can assume they’ve ‘got flex done’. They therefore may not invest enough time in exploring and facilitating time-based flexible working options.
That’s a bad business decision, particularly in a skills crisis, because offering time-based flex as well as place-based flex allows companies to widen their recruitment talent pool and keep hold of employees for longer. It helps them boost employee wellbeing, and develop a more diverse workforce, which reflects wider society and avoids issues around groupthink. It also, all the evidence suggests, helps close the gender pay gap.
And in organisations with both frontline and office-based staff, it also counters the development of a two-tier workforce, in which only those in office-based roles have access to flexible working.
The other thing to note is that time-based flex and place-based flex aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s possible to have a part-time role that is executed in a hybrid way; for example, working four days per week, of which one is from home. For many people, that’s the best of both worlds; for companies who offer it, it’s a powerful lever.
So, our advice is simple. Get clear on the difference between hybrid working and flexible working, and avoid conflating the two. Explore all the different time-based and place-based options, and offer those which are suitable for your organisation. And if you spot someone talking about flex when they really just mean hybrid, it probably wouldn’t hurt to call it out.
Published July 2022
By Muriel Tersago, Principal Consultant, Timewise
Here at Timewise, we have a long-held interest in supporting schools to become more flexible. In 2019, we produced a report on building flexible working into schools, in association with Now Teach. More recently, we have produced a set of flexible working resources for school leaders and staff. And we are mid-way through a project with three multi-academy trusts to determine what a proactive and whole-school approach to flexible working looks like for leaders and classroom teachers.
So we are delighted to have been appointed by the Department for Education to use our experience and expertise to support their approach to teacher recruitment, retention and wellbeing. We are offering free, national training on flexible working for school leaders, through a series of live and recorded events.
Our webinar series, “Implementing Effective Flexible Working Practices for School Leaders” took place throughout October 2021. Please view the webinar that is relevant for you:
Of course, there’s no question that making teaching roles more flexible is more complex than in some other sectors. Complications around timetabling, budget constraints and the student-facing nature of the role all play their part.
But there is evidence that some teachers leave the profession because they can’t access flexible working, and that many secondary school teachers who do leave reduce their hours when they do so. Whereas, when teachers are able to work flexibly, the benefits are clear. In research carried out for DfE in 2019, 89% of teachers working flexibly stated that they were able to maintain a good work-life balance and manage their workload more effectively. Additionally, 85% felt their wellbeing had improved by working flexibly.
And with the pandemic having shifted the dial on flexible working, it’s important that schools do what they can to incorporate it into their roles. They are, after all, competing with other sectors, not just other schools, for the best talent.
Our hope is that, by supporting and encouraging more schools to implement more flexible working, we will boost the profession’s ability to attract and keep the teachers on whom its success rests. We’ll keep you posted.
Published July 2021
By Amy Butterworth, Principal Consultant, Timewise
It’s fair to say that hybrid working is a bit of a Marmite issue. For every organisation which seems set to embrace it (including Google and Nationwide) there are others who don’t see it as viable, such as Goldman Sachs, whose CEO described working from home as ‘an aberration that we’re going to correct as quickly as possible’.
Of course it’s not unusual to find divisions between different organisations on how to approach change. But what happens if the spectrum of opinion within your leadership team includes those who love it and those who hate it? How can a compromise be achieved?
The fact is, with the majority of employees saying they would prefer a more flexible working model, and the younger age group overwhelmingly saying it’s their preference, going back to the’ old normal’ is no longer viable. (Just take a look at what happened when Apple suggested that staff needed to start heading back into the office.) So any organisation which wants to remain competitive, and avoid getting left behind in the battle for talent, will need to try and develop a workable solution.
We fully understand how difficult this can be, as it’s something we often come across when we’re supporting companies to develop a hybrid model. So here’s our advice on how to develop a fair, inclusive approach, which bridges the gap between your hybrid fans and foes
This kind of topic can create a heated response, so it’s worth framing the discussion carefully and creating space for everyone to contribute. Make it clear from the start that there are no right or wrong answers, and all opinions are welcome. It can be helpful to share a range of approaches from different organisations to highlight that it’s a subjective issue, and that what works for one organisation may not work for another.
By allowing everyone to be heard, you’ll make it more likely that they will embrace whatever new ways of working are agreed
So often, negative attitudes are based on individual preferences. For example, someone who doesn’t like working from home is likely to want the rest of their team in the office with them, and to focus on the negative aspects of remote working. Whereas someone who has a long commute might be very keen on a model that allows them to spend more of the week at home.
Another frequent barrier is a simple fear of change; people who are used to being able to physically see their colleagues, and lead them face to face, may struggle with having to develop a more remote leadership style. There may also be a concern that a move towards a hybrid model may take the culture too far from where it is now, and morph the company into something different.
Understanding the root of people’s objections can help you find a way forward that will bring everyone with you
It’s worth remembering that hybrid working is not a goal in itself, it’s a way of achieving your goals. So work out what priorities it will help you tackle, what good hybrid working will look like, and how you will know whether you have succeeded. This could include meeting employee demand for flexibility, boosting your ability to attract new talent, reducing your office space, or cutting down on employee commutes.
By identifying common organisational goals for hybrid working, you’ll find it easier to bring people with different starting points together
Finally, once you have identified the change you want to see within your organisation, it’s sound practice to create a framework for how it will unfold. This will help you provide solid guidelines and parameters for your employees to work within, which in turn will support employee engagement and productivity, as well as an inclusive culture based on trust.
These are the key steps to take:
Hybrid working, in some form or another, is very likely here to stay, and failing to move with the times could be damaging for your company. But there’s a difference between implementing short-term changes at speed and building a sustainable approach that brings everyone with you; and the latter is much more likely to win over those who are instinctively against it, and set you up for success in the future of work.
If you need any help with facilitating discussion among your leadership team, creating a framework for change or training leaders and managers, we can help; feel free to get in touch.
Published June 2021
By Melissa Jamieson, CEO, Timewise
Back when flexible working was less widespread, one of the most common objections was that it wasn’t compatible with client facing roles. There was a sense that anyone who had direct dealings with a client had to be ready and available at all times to respond to their every wish. Part-time, in particular, was seen as a no-no; how on earth could you tell a client that they had to wait a day?
And while I’d like to think that things, and minds, have changed (not least as a result of the shift in attitudes towards flex as a result of the pandemic), there is a lingering sense that making client-facing roles work on a part-time basis is more trouble than it’s worth.
It’s only fair to recognise that part-time can appear more challenging to implement than other forms of flexible working across all sectors. And having spent a number of years in advertising, I’m only too aware of the balancing act service companies have to play between clients’ and employees’ needs. But as we come out of the pandemic into an economic recovery, and we start developing and refining hybrid ways of working, it’s vital that part-time doesn’t get forgotten.
As I’ve explained elsewhere, offering part-time roles can support a range of business imperatives, from diversity and the gender pay gap to talent attraction and retention. It can boost your employer brand and show you are in tune with the growing number of people who are re-evaluating their priorities and seeking to work less. There’s a societal angle too, as it widens access for key groups who are unable to work full-time.
And, specifically for client-facing companies, where your product is a service, your people are your business. So looking after them, and giving them what they need to succeed, is nothing short of critical, not to mention a pivotal part of your ESG strategy.
I’d like to help reset the narrative on part-time for client-facing companies. So let’s explore some of the specific challenges – and some insights into how to overcome them.
The barriers to part-time which are particularly relevant to client-facing companies include:
But the good news is, none of these issues are insurmountable. Leaders of client-facing companies who want to open up access to part-time can do so. Here’s how.
Clearly, making a client-facing company part-time friendly won’t happen overnight; but for all the reasons noted above, it’s well worth the investment of your time. If you need any support, we’d be happy to provide it, whether through workshops and training or a more bespoke solution. To find out more or discuss your needs, please contact info@timewise.co.uk.
Published May 2021
