Your entire staff doesn’t live in the same building, have the same commute, or the same personal life. Offering flexible work hours lets your employees know that you care about their time in and out office. Why does this matter so much? Well, employees are starting to speak out and stand up for the type of companies they want to work for.
In fact, 11% of millennials consider flexible hours to be the most important factor in a job, according to a Deloitte study. The study also found that 61% of Gen Z is likely to leave a job in just 2 years if they don’t feel like the company culture offers enough flexibility. It’s not just them! Around 30% of both millennials and Gen Zers want to work at companies that will help them develop important interpersonal skills in the office, according to the 2018 Deloitte study.
These stats show us is that a good work-life balance is on the list of requirements for a majority of the working world, and providing flexible work hours can help you meet this demand. When you offer your staff flexible work hours, you create a trusting relationship with them. Employees know trust is a two-way street in the modern office — they want to trust that you’ll give them the skills and space to grow, and you trust that they’re going to do their work responsibly and efficiently.
This level of trust also contributes your staff’s loyalty toward the company. The higher one’s loyalty is, the stronger their work ethic will be. And that’s the goal, right? You want dedicated employees who you can count on, so it shouldn’t matter where or entirely when they’re doing their work, as long as it’s being completed by the deadlines in place.
Plugging in
Technology allows us to be more connected now compared to when traditional offices were first coming into their own. These technologies are still relatively new so it can be hard to encourage remote working, but it’s what your talent expects and we’ve got more tech than ever to support it.
You don’t have to waste time emailing your coworkers (and waiting for them to email you back) when you have instant messaging softwares like Slack, Skype, and Troop Messenger. These systems help you have more efficient conversations and are becoming more customizable, too — and not just for your company, but also for each employee. You and your staff can create specific channels for projects, team outings, products, really whatever you like.
Need to share documents, marketing collateral, or general work materials? Not only is your team able to do that via the messaging systems, but you can also use cloud storage services so that you can free up space on your computer. Get going on organizing with Box, iCould Storage, or Google Drive. Now your staff can send and share anything with ease and you can declutter the office! Oh, and this helps you create a greener office .
SAVING TIME & PEACE OF MIND
Let’s not forget about one of the most important problems for your workforce: the commute. You want your workforce to have control of their rides to and from the office, but traffic, congestion, and just general chaos of the city can hinder that. Offering flexible work hours gives your staff peace of mind, because they don’t have to leave at rush hour or leave at all!
Flexible hours will shorten your staff’s commutes, which means that they’ll be ready to work either at home or in the office. Giving people control of their commutes increases productivity because they’ll spend less time stressing about when to leave and more time focused about what’s on their work schedule.
Being part of a collaborative, creative, and understanding office births a dedicated and enthusiastic worker. When people feel supported by their place of work, they feel excited to show up and give .
