Regus urges flexible work times
A projected trend in “flexible working” could contribute as much as US$10.04 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to a study of changing workplace practices commissioned by the virtual office company Regus.
The research analysed the impact of flexible working in 16 countries including China, Singapore and the US. Flexible working entails allowing employees to work from home or have more leeway on start and end times.
“Flexible working is a powerful tool that has the power to benefit not just businesses, but societies and whole economies,” said Ian Hallett, group managing director for Regus. “This is possible because of the accelerating adoption of flexible working as a standard business practice for millions across the globe.”
As a result of increased adoption of flexible working, the US could see a boost in economic output of $4.5 trillion annually and China could see a 193% increase in gross value added, said Regus.
Flexible working will also improve the lives and productivity of individual employees, said the study. By cutting out commutes, employees could collectively save 3.5 billion hours of time by 2030.
Based on an accelerated growth model of flexible working, where countries adopt the practice at higher than the current rate, workers in China could save an average of two hours each.
“As this study shows, flexible working offers significant contributions to society, from giving people more of their personal time back, to boosting the economy via job creation and improved productivity,” said the report’s author Steve Lucas.
“These projections show flexible working is a strong economic force that businesses and people should embrace in the years to come.”
While Thailand is not included in the study, flexible working could still offer huge advantages here, said Noelle Coak, country head of Regus Thailand, Taiwan and Korea.
“There is real demand in Bangkok, as a growing centre of commerce with an expanding startup culture, for flexible office space solutions such as Regus, which act as a springboard to help new enterprises into profitability and success. By controlling costs while enabling growth and increasing productivity, Regus can accommodate flexible working,” she said.