Companies failing to deliver on flexible working promises

Working is dangerous. A new global study has found office culture is detrimental to the health and home lives of many Irish workers.

The study by workplace provider Regus found that Irish employers are talking big on providing their employers with flexible hours but very few are actually implementing measures to allow people to work when they can.

Regional Vice President for Ireland at Regus, Olivier de Lavalette, said that companies don’t seem to realise that flexible working can benefit both workers and company.

“With all the talk about flexible working, it is surprising that so many company cultures seem out of kilter with the rhetoric. They don’t seem to realise the win-win benefits that flexible working can bring on both the employee and company side.

Over a third of office workers in Ireland (36%) report that they have to sacrifice sleep to fit in personal and work commitments, either by getting up early or by burning the midnight oil. A fifth of working parents say they have missed an important occasion such as their child’s birthday party, school play or parents evening.

Irish workers believe that they would be more productive if they could fit work into their lives rather than building their lives around work.

The study shows that over four-fifths of the nation’s office workers (84%) believe that flexible working makes them more productive. Some 88% believe that giving staff a choice of work location and hours improves loyalty to their employer and, ultimately, staff retention.

Location was a major issue for Irish workers with nearly 20% claiming that a flexible location and a shorter commute would help them spend more time with their families and get enough sleep.

Lack of sleep can have serious health consequences said Mr de Lavalette.

“Lack of sleep is clearly detrimental to worker health and happiness, and it is recognised that long working hours are closely linked to heart disease.”

Despite the benefits of flexible working it seems that managers still rate those who come in early and leave late as the hardest working.

Three quarters of staff (74%) say their manager is likely to view workers arriving early and leaving late as the most hard-working. One in five feels they have to overcompensate for time taken off for personal or family matters. And only one in two managers is currently rewarded for encouraging a flexible work environment (52%).

Mr de Lavalette said that they were beginning to see a growth in flexible work practices with people making use of outside business lounges.

“However, from the changing profile of our customer base, we know that more firms are embracing flexible working and reaping the rewards. Every day we see more and more remote workers drop into our business lounges, for instance, as an alternative to commuting to their main office. The memberships are often purchased by their employers, because they know full well that their staff will be more productive in a professional environment than if they work at home, they will get home quicker to their families and they will appreciate the flexibility and refreshing change of routine.”