How to . . .

Incorporate flexibility into your workplace

IT seems that companies have begun listening to their employees’ demands for greater flexibility at work, says Richard Andrews, the MD of Inspiration Office, an office space and furniture consultancy.

“Many more people have higher expectations for their working lives now and want to be able to work in a more flexible way.”

He says companies should consider “shared spaces . . . where staff can work in a group or on their own in a more informal setting”.

There are material rewards for adopting a more flexible approach, such as reducing staff turnover. “As technology develops to enable access to corporate systems, services and applications from any location at any time, employees are increasingly questioning the need to sit at a particular desk in a specific office at set times each day,” he says

When considering flexible working conditions, look at space, location and time;

Flexible work spaces mean that people become less territorial about a particular place. But a shared-desk policy requires a clear-desk policy, too, “ensuring that staff don’t reserve a certain seat or desk even when they’re away from an office”;

Many businesses are allowing workers to work off site: “Employees are increasingly demanding these opportunities,” Andrews says; and

Fewer companies are keen to take on flexible time, expecting staff to work set days and hours even if they happen to be operating from home. However, as offices decrease in both size and number of people on the premises at any time, as more of us choose to work remotely, so the need for staff to all be working the same days and times decreases. —