{"id":1581,"date":"2021-06-01T07:24:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T06:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1581"},"modified":"2021-06-15T10:49:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T09:49:11","slug":"getting-benefit-flexible-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The benefits of flexible working are well documented\u00a0– not least in these pages – it gives employees more control over their working lives, allowing for a better work\/life balance, something that is becoming increasingly important in the UK where almost two thirds of families rely on dual incomes.<\/p>\n

It also helps to engender a reciprocated sense of trust between\u00a0employers and\u00a0employees and there’s also the beneficial effect on the working environment that shouldn’t be overlooked –\u00a0a culture of\u00a0flexible working culture is gaining traction\u00a0with many UK employers.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0makes the decisions companies such as Yahoo and HP have made to restrict or even cut out flexible working completely seem regressive a possibly detrimental to staff morale and productivity.<\/p>\n

So if the benefits are well documented, why is it that some\u00a0companies – including\u00a0big ones such as Yahoo and HP – don’t offer employees the option to\u00a0work from home?<\/p>\n

Why the case against doesn’t add up<\/h2>\n

Some employers feel flexible working undermines team building and inhibits collaboration \u2013 in short, for a team to work effectively, that team must all be in the same place at the same time.<\/p>\n

However, the rapid improvements in video and conference calling technology have rendered this argument all but redundant.<\/p>\n

To counter this, some employers have said, to coin a terrible Americanism, the \u2018water-cooler moment\u2019 is vital to idea generation \u2013 but how many great innovations have been borne out of a conversation on last night\u2019s telly?<\/p>\n

Then there are those employees that just come out and say what they\u2019re really thinking \u2013 employees who work from home abuse the privilege, managing them is more time consuming and when they\u2019re away from the office they\u2019re not best placed to deal with urgent or complicated work matters.<\/p>\n

All of which is hard to argue with as it is probably the case with some employees \u2013 but the science of organisational psychology thinks otherwise\u2026<\/p>\n

Research has shown that, on balance, those who are offered flexible working hours and patterns are happier and more productive<\/a>\u00a0in their work, so much so they\u00a0even have fewer days off sick.<\/p>\n

So why don\u2019t more employers offer flexible working?<\/p>\n

The trouble with the\u00a0middle man(agement)<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome is that of middle management \u2013 although it may be company policy to offer flexible working, the managers on the floor may be reluctant to implement it as they like to keep their staff close so they know what they\u2019re up to at all times \u2013 the sad fact is a lot of managers simply don\u2019t trust their staff.<\/p>\n

However, this then breeds resentment from staff who find it difficult to work when management are watching their every move \u2013 it can even have the effect of making some employees working less hard than they would normally as they don\u2019t want their manager to bask in the glory of their efforts.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s going to take a pretty big culture shift to sort this problem out \u2013 managers need to understand the value of flexible working extends beyond offering employees a better work\/life balance, and more often than not produces a more engaged and more productive workforce.<\/p>\n

Does flexible working increase your productivity? Have you not been offered the benefit? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter<\/a>…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The benefits of flexible working are well documented\u00a0– not least in these pages – it gives employees more control over their working lives, allowing for a better work\/life balance, something<\/p>\n

Read MoreAre you getting the benefit of flexible working?<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[15,25],"yoast_head":"\nAre you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most companies now offer some form of flexible working - so why isn't everyone getting the benefits?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ConferenceCall.co.uk blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Conference-Call-UK\/178511498997826\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-01T06:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-15T09:49:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/flexible-working-yoga.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"559\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Les Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ConfCallUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ConfCallUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Les Roberts\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/\",\"name\":\"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-01T06:24:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-15T09:49:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7c9b498e80a769b5ec7361479fa9e4a1\"},\"description\":\"Most companies now offer some form of flexible working - so why isn't everyone getting the benefits?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"ConferenceCall.co.uk blog\",\"description\":\"Conference calling made easy\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7c9b498e80a769b5ec7361479fa9e4a1\",\"name\":\"Les Roberts\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35588a095c072ad9300c7b3253934113?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35588a095c072ad9300c7b3253934113?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Les Roberts\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog","description":"Most companies now offer some form of flexible working - so why isn't everyone getting the benefits?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog","og_url":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/","og_site_name":"ConferenceCall.co.uk blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Conference-Call-UK\/178511498997826","article_published_time":"2021-06-01T06:24:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-15T09:49:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":559,"url":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/flexible-working-yoga.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Les Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ConfCallUK","twitter_site":"@ConfCallUK","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Les Roberts","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/","url":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/","name":"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working? - ConferenceCall.co.uk blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-06-01T06:24:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-15T09:49:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7c9b498e80a769b5ec7361479fa9e4a1"},"description":"Most companies now offer some form of flexible working - so why isn't everyone getting the benefits?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/getting-benefit-flexible-working\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are you getting the benefit of flexible working?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"ConferenceCall.co.uk blog","description":"Conference calling made easy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7c9b498e80a769b5ec7361479fa9e4a1","name":"Les Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35588a095c072ad9300c7b3253934113?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/35588a095c072ad9300c7b3253934113?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Les Roberts"},"url":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1581"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6217,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581\/revisions\/6217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}