As you struggled in to work this morning, perhaps you wished that you could work more flexible hours? Perhaps you longed for empty trains, or open roads, instead of cattle-class, over-priced transport or traffic jams. A government suggestion to enable greater flexible working – in this instance, to avoid the rush hour, has been met with ridicule by the Forum of Private Business (FPB).
Jo Swinson, Minister for Employment Relations & Consumer Affairs, suggested that employees should be allowed to ask for flexible working to avoid rush hour congestion. Her suggestion implies that there are a range of reasons for wanting to work flexibly – more than just childcare arrangements. Avoiding rush hour traffic is just one – volunteering or sports could be others.
Jane Spink, Head of HR for HR outsourcer Ceridian, praised the suggestion, saying that “a flexible employee will be happier and more productive, and businesses should always seek arrangements that will improve engagement and productivity. If that involves working around rush hours, which can be incredibly frustrating, then it’s a good idea. Both employer and employee, however, must realise that it can only be achieved if it meets with business needs. If the role calls for an office presence between certain hours, then both parties need to work together to achieve this.”
It’s that reduced productivity that the government is trying to tackle. With employees stuck for up to two hours (or more) in rush hour traffic, or stuck on trains that are held up at signalling problems, it’s businesses that are suffering. The extra hour traveling is an extra hour that could have been spent working, and the knock-on effects of tiredness and dissatisfaction could result in the employee looking for work closer to home.
Indeed, recent figures claim that staff lateness costs the UK economy £9bn a year.
The FPB’s head of policy, Alex Jackman, questioned whether this would be of any value to businesses at all, saying “Just imagine what this would mean on the ground for most businesses – longer opening hours would mean higher office running costs. Will the Government pay for the increase in energy bills?”
“Then there’s key holder responsibility issues”, he continued. “Monitoring timekeeping would be a job in itself, and crucial to any business is the ability of employees to communicate with ease and consistency.”
What Alex Jackman fails to understand here is that the cost of reduced productivity, reduced engagement and potentially, the loss of employees, is a cost that far outweighs a few extra hours’ electricity. Yes, there are infrastructure problems that make the UK a more difficult place to work, but that doesn’t mean that UK employers can’t work around these restrictions which won’t fix themselves overnight.
Our challenge is not to ensure that employees are at their desks on time every day, but to ensure that we get the most out of them – and help them get the most out of their careers. By offering flexible working, where appropriate, we can increase our chances of retaining our best people. That right shouldn’t just be extended to parents, but to anyone in the business.
