Happy to talk flexible working?

In my last article I raised the topic of presenteeism in the workplace around the festive period, however, like a puppy, flexible working is not just for Christmas.

The CIPD, HR’s professional body, are working with the Government, and the combined Flexible Working Task Force have launched a new campaign to encourage thousands of employers to use the strapline “Happy to talk flexible working” in their job adverts.

The CIPD’s CEO, Peter Cheese quotes that only around one in 10 jobs in the UK is advertised as being open to flexible working. He believes “providing more flexible opportunities for how, when and where people work should be part of every organisation’s strategy to attract and retain the talent and skills they need.”

Now of course, there are some roles where either remote working or part time hours is not practical, but nine out of every 10? So we need to understand what is stopping employers embracing a culture that encourages and supports employees working flexibly, that is possible in some of those other nine jobs? There are two linked challenges for employers. They are trust and change. The trust and confidence between the two parties is established at the outset of the new working relationship. The employer should trust that the applicant, has the skills, knowledge and experience to competently deliver the job that they could be employed for, and the applicant should trust that the organisation will provide the tools and support needed for them to competently deliver the job. However, there is the change in what “trust” means in an employment relationship and the trust has expanded to incorporate the irrelevancy of where or when the employee performs their job, as long as they perform. This trust expansion is from the viewpoint of the employee and their increased expectations of what an employer should provide with regards to tools and support. If employers are not embracing applicants trust needs, then potential employees will look elsewhere to other employers who will. The impact of this, means the selection pool for the employer is diminishing. Also, those who are already employed, are wishing to incorporate the extended definition of trust and if this is not met, they too will begin to look elsewhere. Employers who are not acknowledging and responding to the changing “trust” needs of their current and potential employees are running the risk of exacerbating any recruitment and retaining issues they are experiencing.