The importance of highlighting flexible working

Flexible working policies are core to making workplaces more inclusive, so much so, the UK government recently put new measures in place to provide employees with the right to request enhanced flexible working options from their employers. This has been done with the goal of enabling people to balance their working lives and their home lives more effectively.

To understand  how impactful flexible working policies can be for all aspects of employee engagement and productivity, WiHTL & Diversity in Retail have recently published a Flexible Working Toolkit packed with practical advice and case studies from within our Collaboration Community to encourage organisations to review and enhance their own flexible working practices. This article gives an overview of the range of flexible working options available and how organisations are implementing flexible options within their policies and processes to the benefit of  both employer and employee. 

Flexible working options

The Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail sectors have working patterns which offer  a level of flexibility by default due to the nature of the businesses. Therefore there is a huge opportunity to attract employees for whom flexibility is vitality important, for example parents and caregivers, most of whom are still likely to be women. By providing employees a broad range of flexible options, organisations can create a working environment that is more inclusive where more people can contribute and often have more opportunity to build a future career if they wish to. 

Types of flexible working arrangements

Flexible working options are now much wider and offer their own set of benefits, the suitability of each being  dependent on factors such as the nature of the job, organisational culture, and individual preferences. Options can be based upon working times such as compressed/annualised hours or job-sharing, and working location such as hybrid (remote/office) and telecommuting. Prior to the implementation of new flexible working options, they should be reviewed as part of the full operational picture and the impact on the team as a whole. 

Benefits for employees

Flexible working policies can provide a range of positive outcomes:

• Greater reconciliation of family and professional life

• Higher job satisfaction and better engagement

• Supporting employees to work during the hours when they are most productive and energised

• Reduces burn-out and stress and supports well-being

• Reduces travel time to and from work

• Increases sense of feeling included at work

• Increases promotion opportunities

• Broadens scope in the recruitment process

Benefits for employers

Flexible working can help with:

• Talent attraction

• Talent retention

• Creating a more inclusive environment that will attract great diversity 

• Increased productivity, commitment and performance

• Greater customer satisfaction 

• Empowering organisations to be more agile and responsive to change

What are our Member organisations doing? 

• ODEON have recognised the impact of low flexibility on their gender pay gap and have therefore taken action to mitigate this by enhancing their policies and processes around flexible working

• The Gym Group have linked flexible working to their recruitment practices and continue to promote flexible working in their job adverts and in their hiring discussions. 

• Asda have amended their shift patterns including shorter shifts, flexible working arrangements, and a four-day week

• Wickes initiated a successful trial on flexible working hours which allows for a better work-life balance

• Further highlighting the positive impact of flexible working on work-life balance, retailer Monica Vinader shared: “We've had an individual recently who has gone on to a nine-day week fortnight as a dad and he very much looks forward to every other Friday with his son”

For more examples of good practice, see our Toolkit which includes several case studies with other member organisations which outlines their different approaches.

Feeling inspired? Read more of our blogs