Flexibility

Being freed from the straitjacket of nine-to-five, five days a week and allowed to adapt one’s working life to other needs used to be a rarity, but is now increasingly commonplace. Flexible working is now often part of the package, and companies that do not offer it may lose out.

The term flexible working relates to an organisation’s working arrangements in terms of working time, working location and the pattern of working (CIPD, 2011).There is not just one definition of workplace flexibility, because it means different things to different people.

Basically, flexibility is about an employee and an employer making changes to when, where and how a person will work to better meet individual and business needs. The following are various arrangements associated with flexible working within an organisation based on when, where or how people work.

When people work:

Flexible working hours – This involves altering the start and finish times of a working day, but maintaining the same number of hours worked per week (CIPD, 2011). An example would be working between 8am to 4pm instead of 9am to 5pm. It can also mean condensing standard hours per week into fewer days (for example, four days per week at ten hours per day).

 

Part-time – This can simply be defined as working less than the normal working week of comparable jobs (Swiftwork Limited, 2005). For example, two days per week, 10 days over four weeks or two days one week and three days every second week. Typically, organisations employ part-time workers to achieve flexibility of cover for, say, peak workloads or when the work needs to be done only at particular times. It is also becoming increasingly common to allow employees to work part-time for a period leading up to retirement. This is beneficial for the individuals but also facilitates a gradual transfer of responsibilities within the organisation (ibid.). 

Variable year employment – It implies changing work hours over the month or through the year, depending on the demands of the job (for example working more hours during busy periods and taking time off in quiet times). Variable time is similar to flexi-time but with no core time and no specified number of hours to be worked over an accounting period. The hours worked are usually in response to the demands of the business so variable time is of particular benefit to the employer while offering a degree of flexibility to the employee (Georgetown University Law Centre, 2010).

Where people work: 

Working from home – This is also called teleworking and means working away from the main office (i.e. at home) either full or part-time, and on a regular or intermittent basis (Belena, 2010). The employer usually supplies the employee with home-office equipment such as telephone, computer and desk and needs to ensure that the home conditions are suitable and meet Health and Safety requirements. There are direct cost savings for employers in savings on office accommodation. Employees save commuting time and costs and have flexibility to fit their work around other domestic responsibilities. This is also a preferable option for some disabled employees (ibid.).

Working remotely - In some industries people may work at a different office or in a client's workplace for some or all of their working hours. Employees work other than from the organisation's main office. This may be from home, from a remote or serviced office or it may be peripatetic (Swiftwork Limited, 2005). Sales teams and computer staff often work in this way. Employers benefit from savings in accommodation costs. The problems of remote working are the management of remote teams and the sense of isolation that may be felt by employees.

How people work: 

Job-sharing – This involves two people sharing one full-time job on an ongoing basis. For example, working two and a half days each, a two/three day split or one week on and one week off (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, 2008).

Annualised hours – It implies working a set number of hours per year instead of a number of hours per week. Annualised hours is a system whereby employees work a specified number of hours, and a pattern of working, over a 12 month period, as determined by the needs of the business. This type of contract enables the employer to vary the number of hours worked in a defined period (daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly) within the context of the agreed working hours for the year. Annualised hours can be particularly beneficial for meeting peaks and troughs in business demand and can reduce overtime costs. Employees can be more focussed when the work demand is high and benefit from greater flexibility in more slack periods. (Swiftwork Limited, 2005).

From the above, it can be inferred that while the basic concept of flexible working stays the same, it is the type of flexibility which makes the difference.

Three companies that are noted for their utmost support for flexible working are Tesco, Marks and Spencer and BP plc. Their flexible working structures are explored below:

TESCO

Tesco was launched as a market stall in the East of London in 1919 and has grown to a business that in the UK alone has over 285,000 employees and over 2,200 stores. Approximately 70% of group sales and profits come from the UK business (Tesco, 2012).

Tesco aims to reflect the people they provide services to, and emulate the skills and needs of the candidates they recruit. As an advocate of flexible working environments they support part-time occupation and job-sharing where possible (ibid.). The company allows IT staff to work part-time, job share and job split, and work flexible hours. The result is the win-win situation of staff enjoying a more balanced lifestyle while fulfilling the company's business objectives. For example, one senior manager cut his working week by two days to study for his PhD. 

In 2010, Britain's biggest private-sector employer, Tesco, was among the first to offer the option of working "slivers of time" to its employees. Tesco's "slivers of time" is a system of four-hour shifts which allows employees to find periods of time when they are free to do extra work (Wood, 2010). Signing up for slivers-of-time working has no impact on employees’ regular hours but offers them the chance to perform extra hours of work that will fit around their family commitments, studying or other activities.

MARKS AND SPENCER

Marks & Spencer recognises the importance of the family and the need to support working parents in ways that help them balance their work and family lives (Marks and Spencer plc, 2012a).

Marks & Spencer offers a variety of different working options, including part-time jobs, job sharing and term-time working, as well as support to staff wishing to study. Staffs wanting to work flexi-hours are given a booklet which covers subjects like making career decisions’ and having a family. 

Marks & Spencer sees flexible hours as an important aspect for all employees and also offers extended flexible working. Amanda Glover, a spokesman for Marks & Spencer commented that:

We also offer up to nine months unpaid special leave to employees with two years of continuous service. This can be used for travelling, long term career needs, voluntary work or undertaking education or training (Marks and Spencer plc, 2012a).  

The retailer has developed an extensive range of work-life balance initiatives that make a major contribution to the morale and loyalty of its 75,000 staff across 294 stores. These include benefits such as flexible working, home and part-time working, job share, educational sponsorship, secondments, career leave and flexible retirement options (DTI, 2003).

BP plc

Helping employees to balance their career and home life responsibilities is a top priority for BP. The oil company aims to create an environment that values its staff, who number more than 18,000 in the UK and 100,000 worldwide (DTI, 2003).

BP offers a wide range of flexible practices to allow staffs balance their career and home life and to help them manage personal commitments. These differ according to location, the business in which they work and role, but can include the following:

    * Home working: doing a proportion of work from home subject to business needs

    * Holidays and leave

BP’s  IT infrastructure helps support flexible working and there are a variety of flexible working arrangements such as part-time and flexible hours that may be available to employees, depending on their role, for instance home-based working or teleconferencing may in some circumstances replace the need for travel (BP plc, 2012). Employees also have the option to work from home or work a compressed week.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF FLEXIBILITY 

There are basically five forms namely numerical, functional, financial, locational and temporal flexibility (Simpson, 2012).

Numerical flexibility: This addresses the variation of the quantity of labour input. This variation can take place within the firm (overtime, flexible monthly hours) or by use of the (external) labour market (fixed-term contracts, lay-offs/dismissals, subcontracting) and aims at reducing firm costs (Arvanitis, 2003). It also refers to matching employee numbers to fluctuating production levels or service requirements (Price, 2012). Numerical flexibility, also referred to as 'quantitative flexibility', refers to the ability of a company to modify the quantity of labour inputs in response to changes in demand or technology. The quantity of labour inputs can be varied either by changing the number of those employed or by changing the working time of those employed (overtime, flexitime). Methods to adapt staffing levels include contracting temporary employees, hiring personnel from temporary work agencies, or using sub-contracting manufacturers and entrepreneurs (ibid.).

Functional flexibility: This term is related to the multiple competencies of workers in general, the parallel work in different functions (multi-tasking), and the sequential work in different functions (job rotation) as well as participation in decision-making.  Functional flexibility is the extent employees can be transferred to different activities and tasks within the firm. It has to do with organisation of operation or management and training workers. This can also be achieved by outsourcing activities (Atkinson, 1984). It is also referred to as organisational flexibility.

Financial or wage flexibility: Financial flexibility refers to a firm's ability to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities or their ability to deal with unexpected events depending on the firm's financial policies and financial structure (Reilly, 2001). For example, a firm with high debt obligations and weak solvency (ability to pay obligations as they come due) and liquidity (ability to turn assets into cash quickly) is not very financially flexible.

Locational flexibility: A general term for flexible working based on changing the location of work. This entails employees working outside of the normal work place such as home based work, outworkers or teleworkers. This can also cover workers who are relocated to other offices within the establishment (Wallace, 2003).

Temporal flexibility: This relates to variations in the number of hours worked (Deery and Mahony, 1994). Relevant flexible work arrangements include less than full-time working (including job-sharing and other forms of part-time working), flexitime, career breaks and term time working.

Accolades abound about flex arrangement merits for both employer and employee. Below are some of the advantages presented to employers and employees.

ADVANTAGES OF FLEXIBLE WORKING TO EMPLOYERS

Recruitment and retention: All companies believe that by offering flexible working they attract and keep people who would not otherwise be working for them. For example, Tesco in 2004 slightly exceeded its target of retaining 80% of staff with more than a year’s experience due to the flexibility available to employees (Tesco, 2005).

Flexible and home working, and giving workers the technology to make these practices possible, can also be a cost-effective way for companies to keep people on side during economically difficult times. For example, companies under financial pressure can find it difficult to keep their staff motivated and loyal, especially if wages and bonuses are frozen, but taking action to help them strike a better work-life balance can help remedy this (Tech Target, 2012).

Engagement: Employees are grateful for the chance to achieve a better balance between home and work, and as a result show greater loyalty and commitment. And this is reflected in their performance which can increase productivity.

Reduced absence and employee turnover: Flexible working means that staffs are off work less frequently and are less likely to leave, with a corresponding reduction in recruitment, induction and training costs (ACAS, 2007).

Reputation: Flexible working helps build a positive image of the employer among customers and in the wider community. This was stressed by Paul Hayden, Marketing and Commercial Manager of Automated Packaging Systems (APS) when he said that:

Recruitment is becoming easier and costing us less. We now have the employment agencies calling us because they have people asking if we have vacancies (DTI, 2003, p.10).

ADVANTAGES OF FLEXIBLE WORKING TO EMPLOYEES

Improved balance of work and family life: A system of flexible working hours gives employees some choice over the actual times they work their contracted hours. Such a system can be a good way of recruiting and retaining staff - since it provides an opportunity for employees to work hours consistent with their other commitments (e.g. child care).

Reduced stress: Many of today’s jobs are potentially stressful, but working flexibly makes it easier for many employees – particularly those with small children – to cope (Schaefer, 2005).

 CHALLENGES

As with any other endeavour, businesses, including line managers, encounter challenges in relation to flexible working. Outlined below are some of these challenges.

1) A common situation faced by line managers is that individual members of staff put in a request for more flexible working arrangements, usually in response to changed personal circumstances.  Managers have a duty, not to practice policies that discriminate against particular groups of worker: those with disabilities or degenerative illnesses, parents of young children, carers of elderly relatives.  Other requests from staff may result from relocation because of a partner's job or a desire for a lifestyle change.

These requests often present a dilemma for line managers for two main reasons: business impact and precedent.  For example a request to work part-time may necessitate the recruitment of another part-time worker or substantial re-allocation of work to other staff members.  Also, many employment-related costs are fixed, for example premises and IT, whether someone is working full- or part-time.  Finally, line managers are often fearful of raising expectations amongst staff in general, and then being unable to deliver (CIPD, 2007).

2) Balancing customer and employee demands:  Employees will not be in work at certain times and therefore flexible working arrangements may not be suitable for organisations where continuous cover is necessary.

3) Team communication or face to face meetings might be difficult because staffs work with different patterns of shift.

 

4) Line managers might have issues to deal with in relation to treating all employees fairly, for example where some are doing jobs that can be done from home but others are not.

 

5) Ensuring employees are aware of the company’s policy on flexible working, and are willing to accommodate the needs of customers or colleagues.

6) Cost of administering flexible working schemes, for example by ensuring remote or home workers receive all communications and feel like – and are seen by other employees as – part of the team.

CONCLUSION

Flexible working provides an opportunity to dramatically change the culture of an organisation. When embedded as part of the culture, flexible working is no longer an issue but simply 'the way things are done around here' (Swiftwork Limited, 2011). 

Flexible working is increasingly an imperative part of creating an effective organisation. Essentially, flexibility enables both individual and business needs to be met through making changes to the time (when), location (where) and manner (how) in which an employee works. Flexibility should be mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee and result in superior outcomes. The management of flexible working requires trust and collaboration and management by outputs rather than presenteeism (DTI, 2003).

The challenges posed by administering flexible working schemes can be too difficult to manage. However, I believe the answer in general lies in good communication: listening to people’s concerns and explaining the situation. Where issues arise, they should be treated promptly or referred to employers to resolve within the team.

REFERENCES

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