How flexible working changes people's lives

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This week, I’ll be highlighting some personal stories from people whose lives have been positively impacted by flexible working. The engagement on yesterday’s post showed me how even the small impacts of flexible working have such a huge impact, so I decided to dive into some stories of people in my network.

It’s easy to think that flexible working is just a “nice to have”, but, in reality, it’s life changing for some people. For me, I wouldn’t have been able to work a full-time job without flexible working because of my autoimmune disease, but there are dozens of reasons that individuals might need or want flexible working. So, let’s hear from five people whose lives have been changed by flexible working.?

Who knows, maybe these stories will help those who are on the fence about offering flexible working to understand why it’s so impactful.?

First up, is Bethany Wroe , Talent Partner at Sweaty Betty :

“Flexibility has been a game changer for me. Not only am I more productive but I’m happier, more fulfilled and most importantly for me I’ve now got the balance right between work and life. Flexibility comes in so many forms. It’s not just allowing someone to start later and finish later to accommodate school runs, It’s creating flexibility for people work in a way that is so different for every single person. I personally like starting early, fitting in mid-day walks, wash loads in between calls, and I have the time and freedom to also do the nursery pick up.?

And the best thing? I don’t feel guilty for ever doing it. Since working at Sweaty Betty, I’ve felt empowered to work in a way that works for me, which all starts with having great leaders and clear policies."

"I haven’t ever had to chose between being a mum and having a career and that for me is where it’s changed my life.”

An obvious benefit of flexible working is that it helps working mothers to also have a career, but the normalisation of flexible working is crucial to levelling the playing field for all, so that flexibility isn’t seen as something that is just for women. By companies offering flexible working to all, without request, men are also more likely to work flexibly and take on a larger share of the childcare and household burden.?

Which Joe Palin , CEO & Co-Founder of Studiotypes , a Flexified company, has been able to do since creating a truly flexible culture:

“We’ve offered various forms of flexible working at Studiotypes since we launched in 2016. I was living in Berlin when the company idea was formed, and then moved back to the UK to launch fully, so we were fully remote from day one.

I never really wanted to change that ethos when we started adding people to the team, primarily because I loved to travel, work in different cities and tend to get itchy feet if I stand still. So the idea of being rooted to the grind of a 5-day commute and committed to an office wasn’t an attractive one for me, personally.

Having my first child, Finn, 4 months before the pandemic just amplified the importance of creating a flexible work environment, but also the rest of it - working hours, time off, the need to create more balance. In the first few months of his life, I was committing to 3 days a week in the co-working space we’d taken on around the same time he was born, and because of being busy at work and commuting in London, I found myself missing important moments like bed/bath time - these are times you just can’t get back, so when the world turned upside down and Covid changed things for everyone, I promised myself and my family that my work would be built around them, not the other way around.

I’ve made a commitment to my colleagues as well. Committed to flexibility, forever. It’s a policy, rather than just a pledge. And we’re all taking advantage. It’s allowed me to focus on my health, getting active and seeing more of some people that really matter - whilst also offering desk/workspace hubs to the team when they need them. It’s the best of both worlds. And the sooner more founders/CEO’s wake up to that fact, the better.”

Focusing on health, whether that’s physical or mental, is another huge upside of flexible working, as Tash Bristowe , Head of Community at Bippit? , a Flexified company, explains:

“For me, flexible working is a non negotiable for multiple reasons, one of which being the complete and utter randomness of my productivity.

Looking back at the days when I had to get into the office at 8.30am, do a 'power hour' of cold calling at 11am (bleak), take lunch at 1pm and then leave at 6pm OR stay late because I had a desktop computer and I'd suddenly had a burst of productivity at the end of the day actually blows my mind.

Not to mention how wild it is to not be treated like an adult that knows themselves better than people they've met for a few rounds of interviews in this day and age.

See that's what flexible working is for me. It's being treated like an adult. It's being trusted. It's working for other human beings that understand that we are all human beings. I mean ... it's not bloody rocket science is it??

Flexible working (and working remotely) has allowed me to have choice and given me the freedom of my life not fitting around the career I want. It has allowed me to move to the coast which significantly positively impacts my mental health, to grieve for my og with my brother in Amsterdam because home was too much of a reminder, to go to my parents when I needed to get out of London, to exercise because I always think I don't have enough time to do things, to not see Sundays as stressful if there are rail replacements and to ultimately chose the life I want to have.?

I've learnt so much about how my mind focuses when it comes to work (very erratically it seems) but it has allowed me to accept it if I'm struggling to concentrate, take time out and open up my laptop when I feel ready too. It hasn't affected my output negatively... it's affected positively.

If you're hiring the right people then putting your trust in them and their ability - it will only impact them and your business in a positive way.”

This positive impact also extends to people’s careers. There are millions of women, in particular, who wouldn’t be in senior leadership roles without flexible working. Flexibility is crucial to maintaining diversity in your organisation, as Kathryn Kendall , CPO at Saltus , told me:

It’s impossible for me to describe just how fundamental flexible working has been to my career. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is absolutely no way I would be working in the role I’m now in, had I not been fortunate enough to work for organisations and for leaders who fully understood just how vital flexibility in working patterns is, for pretty much everyone.

The flexibility I’ve needed has varied throughout my career. When my children were very young, I needed flexibility to be able to pick them up from nursery on time, and to move my working days around when they were unwell. As they got older, it was important that I had flexibility to do the school run, and to attend their school assemblies and sports’ days.

Now they’re teenagers, and I need a different kind of flexibility again. These days, it’s about being able to be there when they need me. Which might be to chat through something that’s worrying them when they get in from school; or it might be to sit in my car and take Zoom calls while my daughter’s at her nightly football training!

The flexibility we’ll all need during our careers is as individual as we are. We might need it for caring responsibilities; to support hobbies; to adjust for illnesses or disabilities; or for a million other reasons that means the standard 9-5 doesn’t work for us. With diversity – particularly in senior roles – continuing to be a huge challenge right across industries, it’s more important than ever for organisations to understand and acknowledge that a one size approach will never, ever fit all.?

Flexibility sits at the heart of the modern world of work. It’s not a nice to have, and it’s not an optional extra. It’s an absolute essential, and organisations choosing not to embrace it are sending a very clear message about their working culture and their willingness to support their people.”

Finally, Sarat Pediredla ?? , CEO of Flexified company hedgehog lab , explained how flexible working has benefitted both him as an individual as well as his business:

"Flexible working has been integral to our ability to build a Great Place to Work and scale our business in a fast changing VUCA world where talented people have a wide choice of organisations to work for.

From a personal perspective, flexible working has helped me prioritise my mental fitness and be a present parent & husband. I can go for an afternoon walk if I am having a difficult day at work without feeling guilty about conforming to a rigid structure. I have been able to be more present in important events of my childrens' lives whether they be football games or school plays. It allows me to adapt my work to my personal preferences rather than someone's vision of an in-office 9 to 5 structure.

On an organisational level, it has been transformative in the calibre of talent we have been able to attract. We are also able to build a more diverse workplace by creating space for working partners, young mothers, and people who do not always want to work 5 days a week.?

Flexible working is consistently rated the top benefit in skip-level meetings I have with my team and has reflected in tangible outcomes like an industry record 89% retention rate even at times of turmoil like this year, a Glassdoor rating of 4.9 out of 5, FlexScore of 86%, and consistent eNPS scores of 60+ which are industry leading."

If, after reading these stories, you’re still not convinced of positive impact of flexible working on individuals and businesses, then you’re (sadly) a lost cause.?

If you are convinced, or you’re already a pioneer of flexible working, then start showcasing your flexibility to an audience of over 1 million people searching for companies like yours today. Take the first step of our flexible working accreditation here, for free, here .