New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows that small firms can implement flexible working arrangements better and with less bureaucracy than large firms - contrary to the perception that only large firms can manage flexible working successfully.
The Flexible working: Good Business report, based on interviews with managers and staff at five small firms across the country, reinforces findings from earlier research, which show a clear business case for flexible working in small and large organisations.
The research finds that, in addition to the impact on firms' bottom line, flexibility can help reduce the stress that many employees feel when they try to balance the demands of home and working life. And firms can also benefit from the positive impact of flexible working on their reputation as a responsible employer.
CIPD Director General, Geoff Armstrong, says:
Despite misplaced talk of a long hours culture, the UK has a flexible pattern of working time that is the envy of most of our continental cousins. Our tight labour market has created intense competition for talented and motivated people, and this has been helped by the informal nature of flexible working arrangements that meet the needs of both
employers and employees. Employees who feel able to balance their lives in and outside work are much more likely to go that extra mile as their part of the bargain. Employers benefit from high levels of employee engagement and a wider talent pool. Enlightened management of people, and particularly flexible working, can make a huge contribution to business performance.
David Frost, BCC Director General, says:
More and more employers are offering flexible working, not because they are required to do so by legislation: survey evidence suggests that two in five employers offer the chance to work flexibly to employees who have no statutory right to ask for it - in many cases, to all employees.
In April 2007 the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) published survey research - Work and Life: How business is striking the right balance - which paints a vivid picture of the extent of flexibility being offered by employers. The findings indicate that businesses in many instances are working flexibly, not just offering part-time working (72% of respondents) or variable working hours (69%) but also the opportunity to work from home (38%).
George Osborne MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, says:
Britain's small businesses are making flexible working a reality for millions of people across the country. Not only are they meeting their legal obligations to allow parents to request flexible working hours, but over a quarter of all small companies have chosen to go even further. These farsighted businesses are offering the right to request flexible working hours to any worker with care responsibilities, and in many instances, opening it up to all of their employees. This is social responsibility in action, both employees and employers can really benefit from flexible working.
Other findings from the survey include:
* Cost is not an issue in relation to flexibility for any of the small firms examined. IT, including emails and mobile phones, can be important in providing mechanisms to keep people in touch with the office while working from home.
* Companies are clear that the positive business benefits are substantial and that flexibility pays off.
* Flexible working practices are easier to introduce as part of a common culture with shared values.
* Flexibility is a business issue: there is no need to have an HR department or bureaucratic procedures to make it work effectively.
* Flexible working in small companies is visible primarily in the way in which people are managed, rather than in formal employment contracts or company policies.
Case studies
The case studies show small firms adopting a range of flexible working practices. For example:
* Twice a year, at the beginning of the summer and winter seasons, City Sightseeing Glasgow writes to its employees to ask how many hours they would like to work in the coming season. This typically produces answers ranging from two to six days per week. Bus drivers share jobs: one driver might do four days a week and the other three, for example, or one might do five days and the other two.
* Technology makes homeworking a realistic possibility for professional workers at PI Costing in Doncaster. The company encourages its employees to be creative in extending the list of flexible working options available to them.
* Passionate Media in Wolverhampton highlights the benefits of flexibility for working mothers in reducing the stress of managing a career alongside their family responsibilities. The company was set up essentially to provide an alternative, more family-friendly working culture to other, larger companies in the publishing sector and there is a high degree of mutual support between management and staff in arranging cover.
Shadow Chancellor launches new flexible working guide for small firms
.
