Altum HR says recent research shows that workers who are offered the option of flexible working benefit UK business by taking less leave and working more productively

Cheshire based human resource consultancy Altum HR is on a mission to champion and increase the number of businesses offering of flexible working.

A recent poll commissioned by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) found that workers who are offered the option of flexible working benefit UK business by taking less leave and working more productively.

The AAT findings echo those of another recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development -the UK’s authoritative HR voice – in their January Megatrends report which looked at flexible working and the trends shaping work and working life in 2019.

The AAT poll, compared the productivity of 1,500 workers who set their own hours or working location against 500 who did not. The 1500 who worked flexibly said they felt they worked more effectively for more of a typical working day than those working a traditional nine-to-five job.

Significantly 75% of those workers said they’d be reluctant to leave their current place of work if a new one didn’t allow the same flexibility.

Tara Phillips of Altum HR, said: “The way that we work and want to work has undergone massive change over the last couple of decades but employers have been slow to respond.

“The advantages in offering flexible working are huge and, frankly, businesses not offering flexible working are losing out. Statistics show that 87% of people want to work flexibly, but only 11% of jobs are advertised as being flexible. If businesses are seeking to attract and retain the best staff, flexible working is the only way to go.

“Flexible working doesn’t only benefit your employees, there are huge benefits to the business as well. Many employers are fearful of embracing flexibility, perhaps worrying that this will lead to staff being less productive or unable to meet their targets – in fact, the result is quite the opposite.”