Author: Laurene Ekladious
Date of Publication: 17/02/2023
Flexible work offers both employers and employees some advantages and drawbacks. Benefits of flexible work arrangements include greater flexibility, lower real estate costs, higher productivity and greater job satisfaction. However, there are some potential drawbacks of telecommuting too. In fact, remote work can lead to issues with team cohesion, communication and data security.
Overview: What Is Flexible Working?
Flexible workingcan be defined as a type of workthat allows employeesto choose where and when to work. Moreover, it can take the form of flexible hours, telecommuting, or a combination of both. This type of workcan have many advantagesand disadvantages, so let’s see which ones there are.
Advantages of Flexible Working
One of the main advantagesof flexible workis that employeescan choose their work schedulebased on their personal and professional needs. This allows employeesto better manage their time and stress. In addition, the benefitsof a flexible scheduleinclude:
a major recruiting asset
reduced fatigue
better work-life balance
The Benefits of Flexible Work for Employees and Employers
Flexible workhas some benefitsfor both employeesand employers.
1. Employees benefit from a better work-life balance
Because employeeshave more flexibility, they have more time to pursue other interests and meet personal obligations. Working from home may also save many employeestime, which would otherwise be spent in traveling to the office.
2. Employers benefit from increased attractiveness
Flexible schedulesand telecommutingare new workingmodels that can benefit employers by increasing their company’s attractiveness. Because of their increased attractiveness, a higher number of potential, talented candidates may apply for job positions. This means that the more job positions are filled with talented employees, the more the company is likely to succeed.
Disadvantages of Flexible Working
Despite the advantages, there are also some drawbacksto having more flexibilityat workor working remotely, including:
1. Decreased sense of belonging
Often due to a lack of contact, team membersmay feel a decreased sense of belonging to the company. This may in turn decrease their workperformance and motivation, and increase isolation and negative mood.
2. Decreased cohesion
Another common disadvantagethat may result from remote workis a decreased cohesion between teams and team members. This lack of cohesion can have negative consequences for the performance of employeesand the company as a whole. Success may be slower when a company lacks team cohesion.
3. Decreased communication
This applies to communicationbetween employeesand/or between employeesand employers. In fact, a lack of communicationmay also result in poor employeesupervision and monitoring. Both performance and workquality may decrease as a consequence of decreased (or poor) communication.
4. Challenges of coordination
Similar to communication, coordination between at home and in-office workers may be harder when it comes to remote work. Hence the importance of ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
5. Increased risk of sensitive data being compromised and employee alienation
Sensitive data is more likely to be compromised if not protected properly when workingfrom a distance. This means that flexible workingbrings along some complex security issues that need to be taken into account.
Another disadvantageis that flexible workcan often lead to a higher risk of employeealienation from decision-making processes. Employeesinput is essential for effective decision-making, so when this is lacking, the company’s success is less likely.
6. The need for training and good planning skills
This point refers to the fact that flexiblescheduling can feel uncomfortable to some employees, especially if they have poor management or planning skills. When there are no management or planning skills, performance will be affected.
In addition, when it comes to remote work, training employeeson how to use technologies is a must. However, such training may be expensive and time consuming.
Takeaways
It is important that companies find the time to carefully evaluate theadvantagesand disadvantagesof flexible workbefore adopting it. Apart from that, it is equally important for employers to consider the aspects that allow for the successful implementation of a flexible workingmodel.
In the end, hybrid workingis probably the best solution. This is because it combines remote workingwith on-site working. That way, some people may work3 days at the office and 2 days from home. During the 2 days at home they may organize other activities and be able to meet personal obligations. Doesn't it sound like the perfect work-life balance?
