Umbrella company contractors will no doubt be interested to learn that more people in the UK are now working flexibly.
Stephen Overell from the Work Foundation says that adopting more flexible working practices can bring enormous benefits to employers and the practice will continue to grow in popularity as more companies realise its advantages.
There’s still only a small minority of the workforce who work flexibly at the moment but modern technology is changing the way people can work and still be productive, he added.
Work Wise UK recently publicised its findings into the UK’s working habits and it was revealed that we have one of the longest working weeks in Europe. 75% of UK employees regularly work overtime but only a third of them are paid for it or given time off in lieu. And 1 in 6 employees work 60 or more hours per week.
But Work Wise thinks that the traditional working week could become a thing of the past as the demands of the modern business world cannot be met by 9:00 to 5:00 working.
Employees are now being offered a range of flexible working choices so that they can balance their working life with family and other commitments, said the organisation.
Overell disagrees that traditional 9:00 to 5:00 working will disappear altogether any time soon but points out that by adopting a more flexible employment model, employees do not have to be in the same place at the same time.
Telecommunications firm Everything Everywhere surveyed its SMEs and discovered that 82% believe flexible working boosted motivation and productivity. Because small firms are often mobile, they are ideally suited to flexible benefits and many respondents say this flexibility allows them to work six hours or less daily.
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