Too Few Will Benefit from Fridays National Work from Home Day

As few as one third of the Nationís employees will be given the opportunity to benefit from this Fridayís íNational Work From Home Dayí, the campaign backed by Work Wise UK, according to research by UK experts in workplace issues, Croner.

Two thirds of the 124 employers polled do not actively encourage their employees to work flexibly, a term that includes homeworking, among other options such as part-time, flexitime and job sharing. Nearly one in six (59%) said they do not have a formal policy on flexible working in place.

Croner says that employers are missing out on the opportunity to show staff they care by accommodating flexible working needs. And evidence suggests that offering such benefits can lead to commercial gains due to improved employee relations, staff morale and retention, and can even help to attract the best new recruits.

Croner is supporting Work Wise UK in promoting homeworking, to which employees currently have no legal entitlement, unless they have young or dependent children or adopted children.

Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, says: Employers who support Fridayís National Work from Home Day have the opportunity to set themselves apart from competitors and attract and retain the best talent. Todayís employees arenít solely motivated by money and are looking for other perks to help them balance their work and home life. Homeworking can therefore be a powerful benefit to employees, who are likely to feel more loyal to an employer who gives them greater control over their time.

Indeed, recent research1 even suggests that a third of British employees would be prepared to take a pay cut for the ability to work from home - in some cases valuing the opportunity at up to 10,000 a year.

While our research indicates that two thirds of employers donít actively support flexible working, this may be due in part to them not being fully aware of the benefits it can bring to their business. While there are situations where homeworking may not be appropriate, National Work from Home Day is just what the Nation needs to raise awareness of how employees and employers can mutually benefit from flexible working.

Croner is offering the following advice to employers on getting the most out of flexible working:

- Lead from the top. Senior management should work flexibly themselves, as well as encouraging the rest of the workforce to do so.

- Manage the line. Explain the benefits of flexible working to line managers and ensure that they implement the policy fairly.

- Involve staff. Involve staff in agreeing working patterns in line with the ebb and flow of business.

- Set expectations. Homeworking isnít a licence not to work or to undertake private activity, so it helps everyone to agree on working hours and availability at the outset.

- Allow for change. Ensure provisions for future change are made, such as the ability to require the employee to attend work premises when required.

- Integrate remote workers. Consider communication processes and support for individuals. Working remotely can be lonely and leave the employee isolated. Consideration needs to be given to ensure the employee feels part of the business.

- Measure results. Establish benchmarks for recruitment, retention and absence, and measure these regularly to establish the effect flexible working has had.

- Count the cost. Estimate the cost of implementing flexible working. Although this is unlikely to be substantial, it is important to recover the investment.

- Improve recruitment processes. Ensure that recruiters emphasise the opportunities for flexible working.

- Retain more staff. Retain staff by offering them more convenient working patterns.

- Be open-minded. Be open-minded about adopting any flexible working arrangement.

- Review. Review how flexible working operates to ensure that operations are not compromised, all staff have an equal opportunity to work flexibly, and that expected business improvements have materialised.