Flexible working: the business case

Flexible working is defined as working arrangements which allow employees to vary the

amount, timing, or location of their work,

usually to the mutual benefit of the individual

and organisation.

Flexibility helps more people access the labour market and stay in work, manage caring

responsibilities and work-life balance, and supports enhanced employee engagement and

wellbeing.

However in too many workplaces, obstacles such as a lack of understanding and even

negative attitudes of leaders and line managers towards ﬂexible working can prevent its

beneﬁts being realised either for individuals or the business. It is important therefore to

make the case for employers to invest in creating more ﬂexible working opportunities

across their workforce, and to help in attracting people from dierent backgrounds and

experiences.

Attraction of talent

There is a strong, unmet demand for more ﬂexible jobs; 87% of people want to work

ﬂexibly, but only 11% of jobs are advertised as being ﬂexible!

• Advertising jobs as flexible can help organisations access a wider and more diverse

talent pool – so you can get the best person for the job.

• By not advertising jobs as flexible, you’re cutting yourself off from potential applicants.

This is especially true for roles with skill shortages and hard-to-fill vacancies.

• Build your future talent pipeline as 92% of young people want to work flexibly

and

flexible working is central to understanding why many talented workers choose

temporary work.

Improved engagement, job satisfaction and loyalty

Staff are more likely to recommend their employer, stay loyal to their organisation, and go

the extra mile if their employer offers flexible working.

• Flexible workers have a higher level of job satisfaction, commitment, and are more likely

to increase discretionary effort compared to those who do not work flexibly.

• Flexible workers are also more likely to be engaged

which yield significant advantages

for employers – potentially generating 43% more revenue and improving performance

by 20%, compared to disengaged employees.

Reduced absenteeism and improved well-being

• Flexible working can reduce absence rates

as it allows employees to manage disability

and long-term health conditions,

and caring responsibilities,

as well as supporting

their mental health and stress.

• Parents and carers (especially those on low incomes) benefit the most – they tend to have

increased wellbeing and are less troubled by stress when given access to flexible work.

Employee retention and progression

Flexible working practices are a key reason for staff at all career stages being satisfied with

their work and staying with their employer: flexibility can reduce staff turnover.

Flexible working: the business case

• For senior and managerial staff, flexible working arrangements are pivotal for being able

to continue to work and develop as professionals,

particularly if they become parents.

• For entry-level employees, flexible working reduces job-life spillover which in turn

improves retention and commitment.

• Higher levels of engagement, experienced by working flexibly, can reduce staff turnover

by 87%.

Productivity

Employees and managers agree that flexible working increases individual performance,

and is more motivating than a bonus!

• 9 in 10 employees consider flexible working to be a key motivator to their productivity

at work (89% – even more than financial incentives (77%).

• 81% of those who have access to remote working believes it increases their

productivity.

• Managers and co-workers also report a positive or neutral impact on individual

performance in terms of quality and quantity of work when flexible working practices

are adopted.

• When it comes to working with others, flexible work schedules help employees,

including parents and carers,

balance their work and life responsibilities and boost

performance,

increasing average labour productivity for large and small businesses.

Improving business outcomes

• The normalisation and support of flexible working arrangements can help businesses to

reduce their gender pay gap.

• Flexible working supports more diverse talent pipelines within organisations and help

improve board level diversity. As some global analysis shows, companies with diverse

boards outperform their rivals and have an opportunity cost equivalent to around 3% of

UK GDP.

• Gender diverse leadership teams also deliver an 18% return on equity premium, and

McKinsey have calculated that improving diversity could add £150 billion a year to the

UK economy by 2025.

Agility and responsiveness to market change

Flexible working allows companies to adapt to fluctuating market demand to boost

responsiveness and competitiveness. The CBI Employment Trends survey

found that

99% of all businesses surveyed believes that a flexible workforce is vital or important to

competitiveness and the prospects for business investment and job creation.

Tesco’s, Lloyds Banking Group and Ford Motor Company are three examples of a number

of organisations using flexible working to increase responsiveness to customer demand:

• A Tesco superstore uses part-time working and multi-skilling practices to meet customer

demandmore effectively, generating value equivalent to approx. 13% of total workforce

costs.

• A head office function of Lloyds Banking Group generates value equivalent to 7% of

total workforce costs through using freelancers to meet seasonal demand and locating

staff across multiple sites to lower premise costs.

• A Ford Motor Company Ltd manufacturing plant saves the equivalent of about 3%

of total plant costs by using outsourcing, flexible absence cover and alternative

maintenance shifts to achieve cover in line with plant needs.

Quality flexible working could also help the NHS deliver a 24/7 environment which work

for all staff and enhances overall attraction, development and retention of employees.

Flexible working: the business case

1 De Menezes and Keliher (2011) Flexible Working and Performance: A systematic review of the evidence for a

business case, International Journal of Management Reviews, 13:4

2 Timewise Flexible Jobs Index (2018): https://timewise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Timewise_

Flexible_Jobs_-Index_2018.pdf quality jobs defined a £20k +FTE

3 JRF & Timewise (2016) How flexible hiring could improve business performance and living standards

4 UKCES (2014) The future of work: jobs and skills in 2030: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/

jobs-and-skills-in-2030 as cited on https://timewise.co.uk/article/its-true-gen-y-like-to-flex/. Also shown in

studies by Harker & MacDonnell (2012) Is telework effective for organisations?: https://www.emeraldinsight.

com/doi/abs/10.1108/01409171211238820; Rudolph & Baltes (2017) Age and health jointly moderate the

influence of flexible work arrangements on work engagement: Evidence from two empirical studies: https://

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26913612

5 REC (2014) Flex Appeal: Why Freelancers, Contractors and Agency Workers Choose to Work this Way:

https://www.rec.uk.com/news-and-policy/policy-and-campaigns/ongoing-campaigns/example-news-item3/

flex-appeal-report

6 Working Families & Bright Horizons (2018) Modern Families Index

7 Working Families & Bright Horizons (2018) Modern Families Index https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/

publications/mfindex2018/; also shown in Kelliher & Anderson (2009) Doing More With Less? Human

Relations, 63:1

8 Institute for Employment Studies & The Work Foundation (2018) People and the bottom line: https://www.

employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/448.pdf

9 Giardini & Kabst (2008) Effects of work-family human resource practices: https://www.researchgate.net/

publication/233121173

10 CIPD (2018) Health and well-being at work survey: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/

health-well-being-work

11 Age UK and Carers UK (2016) Walking the tightrope: The challenges of combining work and care in later life:

Walking_the_tightrope_report_2016.pdf

12 CIPD (2018) Health and well-being at work survey: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/

health-well-being-work

13 Family Friendly Working Scotland (2016) Family Friendly Working and Low Income Families: https://www.

familyfriendlyworkingscotland.org.uk/resources/Family-Friendly-Working-and-Low-Income-Families-

Research-Report-20161.pdf; Working Families & Lancaster University Management School (2011) Working

and Fathers: combining family life and work: https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/publications/working-and-

fathers-combining-family-life-and-work/

14 For example, In the USA, work redesign initiatives in retail have shown a positive link between working

time flexibility and reduced voluntary turnover. The US technology products retailer Best Buy trialed giving

employees’ flexibility over working time and measured productivity in the trial teams. Voluntary turnover

rates reduced by 90% and productivity increased by 41%. People were happier and healthier too and more

motivated to stay. Timewise (2018) Moving Up in Retail: https://timewise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/

Moving_Up_In_Retail_Pilot.pdf

15 Working Families (2007) Hours to suit: https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/publications/hours-to-suit-

working-flexibly-at-senior-and-managerial-levels-in-the-public-and-voluntary-sector/; also shown in REC

(2014) Room at the Top: Women Leaders and the Role of Executive Search: https://www.rec.uk.com/__data/

assets/pdf_file/0009/135936/Room-at-the-top-REPORT.pdf

16 Bond & Galinsky (2006) How can employers increase the productivity and retention of entry-level, hourly

employees?: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267224121_HOW_CAN_EMPLOYERS_INCREASE_

THE_PRODUCTIVITY_AND_RETENTION_OF_ENTRY-LEVEL_HOURLY_EMPLOYEES

17 Institute for Employment Studies & The Work Foundation (2018) People and the bottom line: https://www.

employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/448.pdf

Endnotes

Flexible working: the business case

The Flexible Working Task Force, which is co-chaired by the CIPD

and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, was

set up to help increase the availability and uptake of flexible working

across the economy. Its members include:

Acas • Age UK • Carers UK • CIPD • Confederation of British Industry •

Chartered Management Institute • Department of Health and Social

Care • Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy •

Department for Work and Pensions • Equality and Human Rights

Commission • Federation of Small Businesses • Government

Equalities Office • HM Treasury • Timewise Foundation • Trades

Union Congress • Working Families

18 HSBC (2017) accessed at: https://www.about.hsbc.co.uk/-/media/uk/en/news.../171108-flexible-working.pdf

19 HSBC (2017) accessed at: https://www.about.hsbc.co.uk/-/media/uk/en/news.../171108-flexible-working.pdf

20 Working Families & Cranfield Management School (2008) Flexible Working and Performance: https://www.

workingfamilies.org.uk/publications/flexible-working-and-performance/ ; CMI (2018) A Blueprint for Balance:

https://www.managers.org.uk/cmi-women/blueprint-for-balance

21 Employers for Carers, Carers UK (2017) The business case for supporting working carers: EFC_Business_

Case_April_2017.pdf

22 White et al (2003) ‘High‐performance’ Management Practices, Working Hours and Work–Life Balance

https://www.managers.org.uk/cmi-women/blueprint-for-balance; Berg et al., (2004); MacDermid & Tang,

(2009)

23 Golden (2011) The effects of working time on productivity and firm performance: a research synthesis paper

24 Chung (2017) Work autonomy, flexibility and work-life balance: http://wafproject.org/wordpress/wp-content/

uploads/BT_125709_WAF_report_v3.pdf; Chung (2018) for World Economic Forum, All jobs should be

advertised as flexible. Here’s why: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/why-flexible-working-is-key-if-

shared-parental-leave-is-to-have-a-lasting-impact-on-the-gender-pay-gap

25 Grant Thornton (2015) Women in business: The value of diversity: https://www.grantthornton.global/

globalassets/wib_value_of_diversity.pdf

26 Credit Suisse and McKinsey research, cited in CMI (2017) Leadership for change, p.10: https://www.managers.

org.uk/~/media/Files/PDF/CMI-Management-Manifesto.pdf

27 CBI & Pertemps (2017) Employment Trends Survey: http://www.cbi.org.uk/index.cfm/_api/render/file/?metho

d=inline&fileID=57DEC8F4-AF4B-4101-82B2406D3BE1CBCA

28 Agile Future Forum (2013) Understanding the economic benefits of workforce agility: http://www.

agilefutureforum.co.uk/AFFReport/mobile/index.html#p=1

29 Timewise (2018) Flexible Working in the NHS: the Case for Action: https://timewise.co.uk/wp-content/

uploads/2018/07/Flexible-working-in-the-NHS-the-case-for-action.pdf