While the concept of working nine to five has long been ingrained in the workplace, this traditional working practice is increasingly being considered an expired approach to the flexible working day. In particular, the millennial generation considers this regimented structure as constricting and unnecessary in a world that encourages and embraces collaborative technology outside of the workplace.
Millennials are a vital demographic for organizations – now making up the most significant generation of the workforce – so it’s crucial for organizations to understand what motivates this generation not just to retain the staff they have, but to attract talent in the future.
With rapid technological advancements positively impacting our personal lives over recent years, employee expectations have changed with the mindset that technology has already improved our lives at home, so those advancements should also be introduced to the workplace. As digital natives living in a land of digital immigrants, it makes sense for Millennials to lead the way in encouraging employers to embrace a modern and productive digital work environment.
A happy and productive workforce
It’s well documented that a happier workforce leads to higher productivity levels, so with a stronger focus on staff well being, businesses realize that flexible working can be the key to unlocking a positive and productive workplace. Those organisations that are yet to embrace this modern workplace culture are missing a trick, when research consistently shows that agile working practices can play a huge part in attracting and retaining talent, with 70% of people stating that flexible working would make a job listing more attractive and 65% of employees who benefit from flexible working report being more satisfied with their jobs and achieve a better work-life balance.
As the adoption of cloud technology continues to increase amongst organizations of all sizes, there’s no doubt that the rate of mobile working will increase as the cloud offers opportunities for greater collaboration. So how can an employer establish flexible working policies that can balance and respect the needs of the organization with the needs of the employee? Read more...