Dr Ken Beaumont from Workforce Logistics has confirmed what umbrella company contractors have long known; flexible working lowers stress levels!
He claims that people are much happier if they have a good work – personal life balance that lets them fit work around outside interests. He pointed out that government legislation has rightly focused on people with small children but everybody is entitled to outside interests.
Even small changes, such as flexible starting times, can have a beneficial effect on employees and this in turn can lead to increased productivity.
Beaumont believes that requests for flexible working should be an employee right rather than a privilege that has to be justified.
Another person who advocates flexible working, Shirley Borrett from the Telework Association, points out that remote working enables employees to carry out some tasks even if they are absent from the office because of illness.
The REC is keen to encourage public sector bodies to adopt the flexible working model. The organisation says the government’s austerity measures mean the public sector will have to embrace flexible working to adapt to the new stringencies.
Knee-jerk cuts are not the answer as these could severely affect public services as well as placing undue pressure on the remaining workforce. By using temporary or locum workers, peaks in demand will continue to be met and a reasonable standard of service should be able to be maintained.
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