I’ve come to the conclusion that companies tend to fall into one of three categories when it comes to flexible working (with regards to job roles which can be performed anywhere and equipped with the right IT/ Telco tools of course):
1. All for it, and it has become the culture of the business that as long as people get the work done, it is irrelevant where they get it done from.
2. Dead against it – it’s not the culture of the business and it is easier to manage and control productivity if people are physically in the office.
3. Still unsure and are dabbling with the idea, only letting certain people do it and therefore it becomes a perk rather than a right.
The latest person to question the benefits of the right to request flexible working, Colin Coulson-Thomas, the author of Winning Companies; Winning People, has presented in Westminster to the All Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into flexible working. His stance was one of warning of the dangers of having a ‘right to request flexible working’ which could backfire for companies where some job roles require the presence of someone to fulfill their job, as he said:
“An effective and desired way of working for one role or person might not be appropriate for another. In some cases ‘being there’ might be important, while other work could be ‘location independent’”.
Only a Right to Request Flexible Working
However I think that he is forgetting that there is currently only a right to request flexible working, it is up to the discretion of the company to say whether they agree to flexible working or not and therefore should not be under pressure to allow employees unsuitable for flexible working, to be able to undertake it. He was right in saying that particular individuals are more likely to remain motivated while working away from the office and these people can often produce higher productivity and effectivity levels than if they were in a busy, noisier environment.
But for those people who need social interaction there is a raft of tele, video and web conferencing facilities which enable regular team collaboration and other communication tools which if used appropriately are sufficient to keep people working and motivated.
Experience speaks volumes
Speaking as a former home worker myself, I found that for my particular role as a project manager I had the best of both worlds: regular teleconferences with the project teams and quiet times to complete project documentation and correspondance by email and instant messaging (limited to internal company use only). I was targeted with objectives and measured by output, not presenteeism and this is one of the big reasons that people tend to stay many years with the company I worked for. The trust and value they place on their employees seems to reap massive benefits.
Tags: conferencing, flexible working, objectives
