by Gert Nzimiro

NewsOctober 16, 20180 comments

Adapting to a future of remote working

Flexible working has grown at a rapid pace in recent years – largely powered by the significant developments in technology, allowing for collaborative working, regardless of location. 

With 9 to 5 working being almost a thing of the past, the new flexible working setup, has helped businesses to attract more talent from further afield. In fact, surveys have shown that candidates are favouring positions offering working flexibility, over those with higher salaries – showing just how influential this ‘new’ way of working really is.

There have of course been debates and discussions around whether flexible working is affecting employee productivity and engagement levels, however statistics have indicated an improve rather than a decline.

For example, a survey carried out by Vodafone on 8000 global employers showed that a impressive 75% of these businesses had already set in place flexible working policies for their workers. Out of these businesses, 83% confirmed that productivity had significantly improved – with greater employee satisfaction thought to be the influencer. 61% of the businesses involved also said that profits had increased since implementing flexible working patterns.

Of course, for a business to adopt flexible working and to make it a complete success, investments need to be made in adequate technology that facilitates this type of unified communications across the organisation. While the initial investment may be costly, the long-term implications, from both a productivity perspective but also in terms of talent acquisition, could be transformational.

But what is it about flexible working that’s so appealing to workers? Many have said that eliminating the time, hassle and cost of the daily commute has been one of the biggest benefits – giving them more quality down time to spend with family or to pursue hobbies, including exercise. Not only is a better work-life balance appealing to employees, but employers themselves can help to reduce energy consumption, emissions and waste, all through this new way of working.

Mark Greenaway, director of emerging business, EMEA, at Adobe, says: “Remote working is one of the most revolutionary business trends of recent years, and has given rise to a host of technologies that provide a more intuitive working experience, improve employee productivity and unshackle people from the office.”