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Work Wisely this Work Wise Week

Today marks the first working day of Work Wise Week (15 - 21 May 2016); an awareness campaign designed to encourage business leaders to introduce smarter working practices in order to improve the UK’s ranking in the Developed Nations Productivity League.

As per the latest Leesman research, nearly half of the workplaces in the UK are not fit for purpose with only 56% of employees stating that the design of their office allows them to work productively. In line with the poor productivity picture, 360 Workplace, a consultancy specialising in workplace analysis, accommodation strategies and office design, is supporting the Work Wise UK initiative in order to offer senior managers advice when it comes to creating environments where people can flourish.

“In the midst of Britain’s productivity woes, it is essential that organisations empower employees so they can make better decisions about how to plan their day and work smart,” said Leeson Medhurst, Head of Workplace Consultancy at 360 Workplace. “As such, we believe adopting flexible working models is a way to improve UK output and productivity levels, not to mention staff morale.”

British businesses that embrace flexible working can reap various benefits. Companies that currently offer unlimited holiday or flexi-time tend to encourage stronger values and ethics among staff than those that don’t. Giving employees the freedom to decide where and when they work can improve morale, create a twofold sense of trust and encourage further loyalty from a workforce. In many ways, this level of freedom encourages a stronger collaborative culture because, when given an element of flexibility, people are more accountable for their workload.

“If a company offers their staff that little bit extra, people will give something back,” said Medhurst. “If you offer flexibility, you’ll receive flexibility in return. If you trust your staff, you’ll be trusted. If you respect the people you work with, you’ll be respected.

“If organisations want to encourage a collaborative culture, then business leaders must be the ambassadors and lead by example. If employers enforce a structured and regimented routine, employees may not be as receptive when it comes to going above and beyond, or working out-of-hours.

“By adopting a flexible approach, these archaic values – this ‘what’s in it for me?’ mindset – will slowly be driven out; meaning you’ll have a more engaged, respectful and productive workforce.”

360 is also keen to remind businesses of the benefits to be reaped from measuring employees by their success as opposed to their visibility. Although traditionally monitored, measuring output alone does not improve the chances of success. The constant ‘need to be seen to be working’ may hinder productivity because people rarely work to the best of their ability when forced into a regimented regime.

Organisations must also realise that the attitude towards work is changing. Generation Y are aware that they can be more productive in four hours than they can in ten; that they can be more creative if they can pick and choose where they work; that they can be more happy and hard-working if allowed more freedom.

The younger generation now entering the world of work will not thrive in a standard 9 to 5 job. These new work-savvy millennials know that they possess highly transferable skill sets; as such, talented individuals do not want to be bound by employment contracts. In addition, young people are going to be happier and healthier working for a company that gives them the freedom to work flexibly.

“In short, companies that offer more freedom will not only attract and retain the future generation of talent,” argues Medhurst. “They will also prosper and potentially outperform the organisations that don’t embrace flexible working.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jo Sutherland .