Employees allowed to
work flexibly thanks to unified communications (UC) solutions
are more likely to be healthier and more productive according to a
survey from research consultancy Dynamic Markets, commissioned by
UC supplier Avaya.
The study, ‘Flexible Working 2009’ , obtained the views of more
than 3,500 workers across France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the UK
and found that
flexible working could save almost an hour and a quarter every
day lost in a daily commute to work.
Flexible working was defined as a situation in which employees
are not expected to work during set hours or from their desks but
are instead able to set their own flexible working hours and to
work from the location they choose.
The report says that businesses are losing out not only on
competitive advantage through higher productivity, but also on
creating a more fulfilled workforce, better able to balance the
demands of personal and professional lives.
Of those who do work flexibly, the survey found that almost a
fifth (19%) work this way five days a week, with another 16%
working flexibly ‘as and when’. More part-time employees work
flexibly than those in full-time jobs: 75% compared with 64%.
Currently, only 9% of workers currently did not have to commute and
just over a quarter (27%) said they were happy to work whilst
commuting, if they had the capability.
Raising the fears of management suspicious of what flexible
working could entail, 56% of the survey said the time reed up
through not commuting this way would largely be spent with the
family (56%) or to relax (45%).
However, just over two-fifths said that they would use the time
to attend appointments and complete tasks that they would usually
do in work time and just more than one fifth would use e the
additional time to do more work.
Commenting
on
the role UC could play in delivering a more productive
workforce, Michael Bayer, president of field operations, Avaya
EMEA, said, “Unified communications solutions can help companies to
make flexible working easy for employees. This report shows that it
not only supports green initiatives but provides employees with
greater control over their working lives. The reduction in
commuting that results has a huge positive impact for the
individual and the environment – but it’s the financial
consequences that are most interesting.
“The effect of increased productivity and the extra time spent
working by a dedicated one fifth of employees could have a profound
impact on European businesses. Extrapolate this up to the level of
the economy and you can imagine flexible working as a turbo-charge
for productivity across the region.”