Caring for caregivers: why offering flexible working is good for business

Last month I shared a post about how important flexible working is for parents, and why creating workplace environments where parents feel comfortable talking about flexibility is good for business.

Having more agile working options ranks as the top workplace policy for parents, however according to our findings, a significant number of professionals still don’t feel comfortable discussing flexible working. 38% of women feeling uncomfortable discussing the issue with their boss, worrying that their employer will see it as an inconvenience. *

But as many of you rightfully pointed out in the comments of my previous post, flexible working isn’t just an important issue for parents. It’s crucial for all sorts of groups in our society, from people with health issues to part-time students, but for caregivers it is absolutely essential. We know that one in eight (6.5 million) Britons are responsible for caring for either elderly/sick relatives or disabled children, with many juggling work on top of this**.

Areas of the workforce like caregivers need and want to work more flexibly for many different reasons, and businesses not offering it, could be missing out on a diverse range of candidates. Carers UK found that as much as ￡4.8 billion could be saved by businesses in unplanned absences and ￡3.4 billion in retaining employees who struggle to balance work and caring for a loved one**.

Our LinkedIn data shows how important flexible working is for workers too - between 2016 and 2017, flexible working jumped from being the 13th most important factor for LinkedIn members to the top six. And with a 78% global increase in job posts mentioning flexible working since 2016 - there is clearly demand for alternative working options.

The good news for businesses is that there are as many benefits for them as there are for their employees. Flexible working doesn’t need to be a trade off with business performance, it can be good for business - 62% see it as a factor in boosting financial performance***. In my personal experience, companies that embrace it are likely to be more attractive to in-demand candidates, and also see stronger retention and productivity.

There’s no doubt that there are challenges - our Global Talent Trends report data showed that nearly half of British companies identified problems with collaboration in the workplace (46%), team bonding (36%) and overseeing employees’ work (29%)***.  

But it’s really encouraging to see that businesses are already putting it at the heart of their hiring strategies with 57% of UK business currently offering some form of flexibility and of those that don’t currently offer it, 75% say it is likely they will over the next five years***.

There is no one size fits all, but based on what we’ve seen work, here are six guiding principles for establishing flexible working:

1. Know what types of flexibility would work in your business

There are different types of flexible working. Some employees will want to take certain regular days off, whereas others may want to step away from the office for a few hours with short notice. The first step is to find out what kind of flexibility they need so businesses can shape what they offer.

2. Partner with teams outside of HR

Flexible working works best if it is backed up by a company’s infrastructure, in particular IT systems. Making sure offices are set up to accommodate an agile workforce, and that employees have the right technology to work away from the office is key.

3. Help employees connect through technology

Remote workers can often feel isolated or left out. Video conferencing and instant messaging can make people feel much more part of the team than restricting them solely to email. 69% of UK business say using instant messaging platforms is a top way to boost remote communication, and 36% say video conference calls help too.

4. Talk up your flex policies

Our research shows that employees can feel uncomfortable talking to their bosses about flexible working. It’s important to make sure everyone in the workplace knows their rights and responsibilities when it comes to agile working. At the same time, ensuring that policies sit at the heart of a business’s employer brand from the outset - in job descriptions and during candidate interviews - will give employees clarity from the start.

5. Train leaders to manage flexible workers

Changing the rules and adapting workplace technology are the (relatively) easy bits; the bigger challenge will be establishing a culture of flexible working within businesses. This can be helped by ensuring your company supervisors and managers are trained to handle requests and keep employees engaged with any new processes.

6. Be flexible about flexibility

The point of flexibility is that there is not just one way to do it. Businesses will most likely need to tailor arrangements according to local cultural contexts and depending on company goals. But it’s important to regularly review policies and assess how they are working and how they can be improved.

We can only learn from each other, so I’d love to hear how you’ve incorporated or approached flexible working in your business, particularly for caregivers - how you overcame any barriers and the positive impact you’ve seen on business?

#CaregiversAtWork #ParentsAtWork #Flexibleworking #FlexWork #Recruitment

*Survey of 4,000 UK adults in full or part-time employment conducted by Censuswide in March 2019 - learn more about the findings here

** Carers UK: https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/press-releases/facts-and-figures

***2019 LinkedIn Global Talent Trends report