Flexible working holds the key to productivity and wellbeing

A survey of over 100 freelancers, small business and corporate employees has found that flexible working could provide the key for delivering growth and productivity for businesses and improving people’s wellbeing in the future.

In the survey which asked people about how their working patterns, to try and throw some light on what the future of work could look like, almost 95% of respondents believed or strongly believed that if people have control over how and when they do their work they are generally able to perform more effectively. Over 76% of respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that working from different environments such as home, coworking spaces or a change in office location enables them to be more productive.

More than 75% of respondents believed that businesses could operate more effectively by using more agile, self-employed temporary resource and 87% felt that business could lower costs by employing more flexible models of working and distributed teams.

With support and education, flexible working offers cost savings and performance improvements 

While 95% of respondents felt that people could be trusted to work without supervision if the right support is available and, overall, responses show a positive shift in attitudes and perceptions towards flexible working, there is still some education to be done on exactly what it means

Han van Oudheusden, co-founder of collaborative coworking space Works Social, added:

“The data we’ve had back has been fascinating. We wanted to challenge the notion that ‘Flexible Working doesn’t work’ and we have done just that. There is undoubtedly an appetite for greater flexibility in the workplace, while flexible working and coworking are fast emerging concepts, they are not yet fully understood and there is some education to be done, but it’s coming.”

Although people reported increased productivity and wellbeing, 46% of people did still feel guilty for taking time out of ‘normal working hours’ and 51% felt stressed in trying to catch up on work they’d missed. There was a fairly even divide in people that felt flexible working undermined other people’s attitudes to how they worked and those that didn’t. Positively though, 84% of people felt more relaxed If they were able to work in a way that suited them.

The future of work

In terms of getting the most from a talented UK labour market, Ross Cox, CEO at Dispace commented on what this means for the future of work, saying:

“I agree with the 95% of our respondents who felt we should be focusing our attention on delivery and effective communication without the need for set hours, days and locations for getting work done. To improve productivity and create a positive sense of wellbeing among employees, we should make it easier for people to be employed by increasing our use of teams that work remotely and on flexible hours.

“For businesses to be successful in the future they should be providing access to a range of workspace solutions that suit the current and future needs of an individual on a day to day basis. That might be reliable technology, coworking, remote teams, virtual meetings or sharing time between home and office working.”

The survey was curated by a collaboration of flexible workspace, coworking and digital nomad ambassadors Dispace,Works Social, and Big Old House, with support from Digital Risks and D2N2. It explored people’s attitudes to the changing world of work from freelancers to full-time employees. Everyone was invited to share what their version of work looks like.

Get your own copy

For more information about the survey data and to register to receive a copy of the full report when published, contact us at hello@bigoldhouse.com.

#workspacerevolution #futureofwork #Coworking #Nottingham #dispacelife #futureofwork #agileeconomy

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According to some, flexible working doesn’t work and isn’t a sustainable model for the future. However, the existing research tells us a different story with the number of coworking spaces rising by 16% in the U.S. and 36% outside the U.S in 2018.

A survey…

As a collective, that got Big Old House and a few like-minded pals thinking, what does a ‘normal’ day at work look like to people? Is there a ‘typical’ daily routine anymore? How can work become truly flexible to accommodate the demands of daily life?

That’s why we’re working together to conduct a nationwide temperature check of people’s attitudes to the changing world of work – from freelancers to full-time employees. Everyone who goes to work, in whatever form that takes, is invited to share their views and tell us what their version of work looks like.

Do you go to work? We want your views…

The survey shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes and all responses will be anonymous. The aim of this survey is to look at people’s different working models and how this affects their productivity, work-life balance and overall happiness.

From the results, we’ll produce a report that challenges the notion that “Flexible Working Doesn’t Work”, try to look at what the future holds for work and find truly flexible solutions to accommodate what people need to be productive, achieve work life balance and be happy.

Who is doing the research?

This is a collaborative survey curated for you by flexible workspace, coworking and digital nomad ambassadors Dispace, Works Social, and Big Old House.

How can you get involved?

To take part in our short and topical survey to share YOUR experience visit: https://tinyurl.com/2019FlexibleWorking

Please share your thoughts by Friday 27th September 2019.

Share the love…

By all means share with your friends colleagues and co-workers too.

Thank you, we really appreciate your time and contribution. If you have any questions, drop us a line at Big Old House. 

#workspacerevolution #futureofwork #Coworking #dispacelife #futureofwork #agileeconomy

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