Flexible Work Arrangements: Where Are We Headed?

As work-life balance continues to blur into a work-life blend, flexible working has become increasingly more attractive in today’s workforce. While working from home may not be a feasible solution for every employee or every business, many different methods exist for working flexibly, all carrying considerable business benefits. Flexible working does not solely refer to working from home; it means working from wherever you need to be. By making best use of current technology, including instant messenger, mobile internet, and audio or video conferencing, flexible work arrangements can easily be achieved, all while strengthening collaboration and enhancing a sense of community, despite not necessarily being in the same physical place.

Flexible work arrangements are not only valuable to employees; they are also highly beneficial to employers. Potential benefits include a more empowered and motivated workforce, a more efficient and productive organization, increased loyalty and retention, attractiveness to potential candidates, reduced levels of absence, and the opportunity to save overhead costs on office space. If you are considering implementing flexible work arrangements in your small business, give these practical steps a try to get started:

  • Evaluate. Understanding the dynamic of your workplace is the first crucial step. Speak with your employees and conduct simple, anonymous surveys. These are both great methods for accurately gauging how your company is currently functioning as a whole.
  • Make decisions together. Work together as a team to determine plans moving forward. Agree upon goals for workplace productivity, use of space, communications, and general employee satisfaction.
  • Know your workforce.  Get to know how your employees work best. Determining which categories your workforce falls into will build the foundation for change by shifting the traditional fixed profile of an employee to a much more flexible, on-the-go workforce.
  • Plan for change. Use your own research, insights, and appropriate guidelines to transform your workplace. Create a plan of attack to outline changes that would be necessary to implement flexible work arrangements such as office space design, technology use, and process simplification.
  • Transition. The transition to flexible working should be gradual. Success hinges on changes involving employees at each level with management support throughout the entire process.

As technology advances and changes, so does the way we work. With many employees able to work from almost anywhere, it is not far-fetched to say that flexible work arrangements are where our workforce is headed. Springborn Staffing has been staying ahead of the staffing curve for more than 20-years and is ready to help companies and job seekers alike during this period of transition. If you are looking for additional flexible staffing resources in Bangor , Maine, contact the staffing professionals at Springborn Staffing today!

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