Flexible working: the new 9-5

Client: Commercial

The 9-5 working day was once so popular, Dolly Parton wrote a song about it. Everyone had to be in the office during set hours. Everyone had their own desk. Their own workstation. Their own office phone. But things have changed. A recent YouGov survey found that only 6% of working Britons now work 9-5. The rest have flexible working arrangements, such as remote working, compressed hours and job sharing. Flexible working is on the rise, but what’s driving the change?

Technology

Advances in technology have changed the game. We can now access our work whenever and wherever we want. We can collaborate with colleagues across the globe by email, social media, or instant messenger. Face-to-face meetings are being replaced with video conferences. LinkedIn invitations are the new business handshake.

Because so much of our work can be done online, there's less need for physical offices and rigid working hours.

Work/life balance

Striking a balance between a 40+ hour working week and your personal life can be tough. The long hours and constant juggling can lead to stress and burnout. Flexible working offers a better work-life balance. It gives staff more time with their families, and more time to relax. With 70% of employees passing on jobs that don’t offer flexible working, its high on the well-being agenda.

What does this mean for today's office spaces? The key to a happy, healthy workforce is a flexible working environment. It can reduce workplace stress, boost mental well-being and encourage productivity. It can also save you money. The average office cost per employee in the UK is £6k per year. That’s a fair amount considering the average UK office is only at 45% occupancy during the working day. By adopting flexible working policies like hoteling or hot-desking, you may find you can downsize your office space. If not, it will ensure your current office is running efficiently.

How to make your office space flexible Flexible working makes sound financial sense. But your office needs to be setup for it. You need to have the right technology and infrastructure in place so employees can work effectively both inside and outside of the office.

For most companies this means issuing employees with appropriate hardware such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets, and switching to cloud computing, hosted phone systems.

Your office space also needs to be flexible. This is where we come in. We’ve helped many businesses create flexible workspaces to cut costs, drive efficiency and spark innovation.

There are various ways to do this:

Hot desks

Some staff spend a lot of time on the road. They only come into the office for the odd meeting, to check their emails, or charge their phones. To maximise your office space, do away with bulky workstations and replace with a bank of height adjustable workstations, a counter and bar stools, or a comfy sofa. Collaborative areas

There will be times when staff need to collaborate on projects face-to-face. A large folding table or an L-shape seating configuration with extra mobile seating options will ensure the space can cater for large and small groups.

Meeting areas for 1:1 catch ups Rather than space guzzling conference rooms, 1:1 meetings can take place in pods, high tables in the kitchen area, or sofas in a breakout area. They’re great space saving alternatives.

Quiet zones

People sometimes need peace and quiet. Isolate an area of the office with dividers for staff to use when they need to concentrate. Establish some ground rules for using the space considerately, such as not listening to music within the zone. The challenges of flexible working Flexible working isn’t for everyone. Some people are creatures of habit. Adapting to new ways of working can be stressful and disruptive. But there are ways to overcome it. Change Management courses can give you the tools to transition smoothly from the old to the new, while helping your colleagues adapt to the changes. Lack of storage

The lack of desk space to store work-related and personal items can also be a challenge. Switching to a paper-free office can cut down on unnecessary paperwork, while providing staff with lockers will give them a safe place to store their valuables. Different needs

Different teams have different requirements. For example, your accounts and admin teams need large work areas with storage space for confidential paperwork. While your sales reps just need somewhere to perch to check their emails. You can have the best of both worlds with a flexible office space.

How to get started A flexible working environment is the perfect fusion of modern technology and good design. It gives employees more control over how, where and when they work, and it could save you money. It’s a win-win.

To discuss how a flexible workspace can benefit your organisation, get in touch today.