In the words of Dolly Parton, the 9-5 is ‘enough to drive you crazy, if you let it’, which is probably why 67% of employees wish they were offered flexible working. Point of Difference are supporters of all businesses and understand that flexible working is growing in popularity. This can be a tough adjustment to make to your business plan; that’s why our venues are available 24/7 to their members. With people’s lives getting busier, it’s not surprising that the average worker would prefer to work flexibly. So why is the 9-5 dying and the flexible worker on the rise?

Work – Life balance

People are beginning to understand that work and earning money isn’t everything in life and want to have a better work-life balance. With mental health becoming less stigmatised, many people are aware of the effects stress and anxiety has on the body. By being able to decide when you are going to work and where it is best for you to work, your stress levels will go down and anxiety will naturally follow suit. The same can also be said for family life. The traditional family roles have practically disappeared and with many parents now sharing things like parental leave and responsibilities, there has been a greater increase in the need for flexible working for both parents.



Technology

Technological advances have helped improve productivity tenfold. Now the majority of us at least have a smartphone, things like meetings and conference calls can be held over a video conversation; removing the need to all be in the same place at the same time.



We can also thank the cloud for the promotion of flexible working; iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox and the like have all allowed for us to be better connected and allowed employees to have better access to their files and collaborate with their teams away from the office. This allows for flexibility for time and location and does not require staff to be in the office in order to access their files. So flexible working has become even easier allowing staff to be on the other side of the world, accessing files out of usual business hours and being able to work at a time that suits them.

Motivation

According to PowWowNow’s 2017 survey – 58% of people feel they would be more motivated to complete their work while out of the office. That’s not surprising, especially when in the same survey 45% of people stated they commute over an hour to work daily. So, if working out of the office will save employee’s personal time, naturally they will be more motivated to work and complete their tasks on time. After all, a motivated and content work force is going to bring you the best results possible.


Point of Difference have two venues that are perfect for the flexible worker. Both Market House in Aylesbury and Perch Co-working Community in Bicester have hot desks, meeting rooms and the technology required for your team to work in a professional, yet relaxed space when out of the office. For more information about how we can help you and your team, contact hello@pointofdifference.co.uk.

 

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