Attitudes Toward Flexible Working Practices Triumph Despite Recession
57% of UK office managers are more likely to promote flexible working
London – May 18, 2009 –New research from Plantronics (NYSE: PLT), the leading maker of communications headsets, has found that 57% of UK office managers1 would be more likely to allow their employees to work flexibly, despite the recession. The research coincides with Work Wise week 20092, which promotes smarter working practices in the UK.
According to the new study of 1,518 office workers and managers, conducted by Plantronics to understand the impact of the recession on attitudes towards flexible and home working, 59% of UK office workers said that they were still inclined to work from home or ask for flexible working hours despite the current recession.
Just 15% of the office workers surveyed said that they would be significantly less inclined to ask for flexible working hours as a result of the recession, with only 8% of UK office managers saying that they would be a lot less likely to encourage flexible working during the current economic crisis.
Barriers to flexible working
Lack of access to the right technology is seen as a block to home working for workers. 32% of employees feel poorly equipped at home and unsupported by bosses who are reluctant to provide the right technology to facilitate home working. Despite the widespread availability and falling technology prices that could make home working easy, such as high speed broadband, wireless headsets and portable communication devices, people still feel chained to their desks.
Company culture and image also play a crucial part in the attitudes towards flexible working practices. Of those respondents less likely to work from home, 62% said this was because they believed employers looked down on home working and so would worry that their commitment to the job was doubted. Of those sceptical managers, more than a third believe colleagues that work from home are not as productive and don’t have the technology in place to support flexible working practices. In addition, of those managers against flexible working, a third said this was because they want to be able to keep an eye on their staff.
The Generation Gap
Flexible working is thought of as appealing to the younger generation - drawn to the prospect of greater freedom in the workplace. Of all the respondents it was the generation Y group (16-25) however, who said that they were less likely to ask for flexible working hours during the current recession. 18% said they would be much less likely to ask.
By contrast, it was the older generation of 55+ who said that they would not be less inclined to ask for flexible working hours. 69% said that they would still ask. Furthermore, 53% of managers in the 55+ category said that they would also be more inclined to encourage flexible working during the recession.
Regional differences
Attitudes towards flexible working practices differ across the UK. On average approximately two thirds of respondents in the East of England, the Midlands, the North East and all of the South said that they would still be inclined to ask for flexible working hours, with only just over a third feeling the same in London.
Feeling about preparedness for flexible working across the UK is more mixed however. Respondents from London, although less inclined to do so, felt that they were better supported from a technology standpoint with only 14% citing it as a reason against flexible working - compared to 55% in the East of England and 36% in the Midlands.
Dispelling the Workload Myth
Many argue against flexible working because they believe it increases the workloads of those left working from the office. Our research however, shows that 75% of respondents do not have greater workloads due to fewer people being in the office than they did a year ago.
“These results are very surprising and highlight that there is a real appetite for flexible working practices in the UK - among both managers and workers.” Says Paul Clark, General Manager, UK for Plantronics. “Furthermore, I would have thought it would be the younger generation jumping at the chance for flexible working not the older generation who seem to be more inclined to ask for it.”
“We know that attitudes are shifting in favour of flexible working practices and we also know that affordable technology is available for businesses to take advantage of it.” Clark continued, “As a company passionate about developing technology that helps people work smarter and not harder, Plantronics is keen to work with UK businesses to help them take full advantage of the technology, which will enable them to facilitate this shift towards flexible working.”
