Carol Savage, MD of The Resource Connection, a consultancy specialising in flexible working makes the case for a new way of working

None of us will go to our grave regretting that we didn’t spend enough time in the office. Our epitaph is much more likely to be: we failed to improve the quality of our lives.

Perhaps now is the time to rethink the work-life balance issue, and really put it into practice.

Flexibility is the new buzzword in the 21st century workplace. And it’s not just for women with children. Flexibility is fast becoming the ‘in’ way of working for people of all ages, regardless of their life stage and gender.

What is flexibility?
There is a common misconception that flexibility is just about ‘part time’. But there are many other forms of flexibility too.

• Full-time flexibility – this is where you perform a full-time role but you spread the hours across the week to suit your needs, dividing your time, if required, between the office and home.
• Job-share – where you dovetail your work role with a partner or colleague.
• Short-term or interim roles – working full-time but a month here and a month there, depending on the individual contract.

What’s in it for you?
Controlling your working hours allows you time to develop other areas of your life outside of the work place.

If you have kids, you may choose to work around their routine. Going full time flexibly could allow you hours say 9am to 3pm and then from 6 to 8pm, leaving you plenty of time in the afternoon to pick up the children and give them their supper before resuming work in the evening to make up a full day.

It may be that you can negotiate spending part of your week working from home. The time you would normally spend battling through the commuter crowds could be invested in something more beneficial to you, like going to the gym or catching up with a friend or even learning a new skill.

Next page: convert the sceptics

Getting started
So you want to get flexible in your current job. How do you go about convincing your boss?

There is a lot of press at the moment about the benefits of flexibility in the workplace, not only for the individual employee, but also for business.

This press is based on hard evidence from research commissioned by leading lights in the employment industry including The Resource Connection in conjunction with the Industrial Society – so it simply can’t be ignored.

Some persuasive statistics you might use in discussion with your line manager are as follows:

• Absenteeism costs British industry £5 billion per annum
• The current NHS bill for stress-related illness is £2 billion

A recent study revealed that:

• 70% of senior executives in job-share were found to generate 30% more output than one person performing the same role

Another study amongst HR Managers reveals that:

• 85% believe that flexible work generates improved morale and motivation amongst staff
• 66% of HR Managers agreed that the introduction of flexible work practice reduces absenteeism due to lower stress levels and appointments made out of office time

Finding yourself a flexible role
With the huge increase in flexible work in the UK, there are a number of companies providing flexible employment opportunities.

The Resource Connection specialises in the provision of flexible employment and has developed the first professional job-share register supported by a psychometric test to help you find your most suitable jobshare partner. You can contact them on 020 7636 6744 or alternatively, visit the the website to find out who is the best match for you.

Will I be taken seriously?
The more flexibility becomes the norm, the more your new role will be accepted by your colleagues. If you do it, you may be surprised how many of your friends will follow suit.

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