Work Isn’t a Place; It’s Something You Doamruta.hingane@accscient.com2022-06-08T07:58:41+00:00 Work Isn’t a Place; It’s Something You Do Work Isn’t a Place; It’s Something You Do Whether to return to the office or not is the dilemma facing many businesses. When the pandemic first struck in the spring of 2020, there was a general expectation that we’d collectively resume our pre-Covid patterns of office-based working once the pandemic ended. Yet, two years on, that’s not quite how things have turned out. Employees around the world continue to face ongoing uncertainty as to when – and if – they’ll work in an office again. The emergence of Covid-19 variants has only exacerbated matters. Since the lockdown began, people have debated the merits of remote working. Recently cabinet office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg sparked controversy by criticising civil servants working from home, leaving notes on empty desks encouraging them to return to the office. Lord Alan Sugar has also blasted PwC’s decision to give employees Friday afternoons off, branding employees “lazy gits”. But are they simply out of touch? The future of work is flexible Today, the notion that we will all return to the office together again seems highly unlikely. Tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google, have already taken the leap, introducing hybrid work regimes for their employees. They are not alone, however. A recent study by XpertHR revealed that a massive 80% of employers are open to workplace flexibility. Hybrid working is perhaps the most popular option for workplace flexibility. It offers the best of both worlds – employees can alternate between working from the comfort of their own home and the office, where they can enjoy the social aspects of work. But if hybrid working isn’t for you, you could consider other working arrangements that may offer the flexibility your staff are looking for. Options include: Staggered start and finish times, in which staff members can come in later or finish earlier. ‘Flexi-time’, where team members can work less one day and make up for it another day. Offering increased annual leave options to buy or sell leave. Job sharing and part-time working options. A London-based law firm, Stephenson Harwood, has taken a novel approach allowing staff to work remotely for 20% less pay as part of a new agile working policy due to come into effect next month. There is a reason so many companies and organisations are adopting a more flexible approach to work – because it works. Yes, the rush at the start of the pandemic to give employees access to all the necessary tools was hectic, to say the least. But once everyone had adjusted to the new normal, it quickly became apparent to many employers (myself included) that their employees could be just as productive and focused when not in the office – and in many cases, more so. It’s official: flexible working is the future. Xcession’s approach to work We have gone further at Xcession – we don’t have an office at all. We understand that one-desk-doesn’t-fit-all. Some of us work better in an office, while others work more efficiently at home. And many of us find we’re most effective when we have options. There may be some drawbacks to this approach as our business grows, but the goals we are working towards are that we want to do two things: Give our staff the best possible working experience we can within the constraints of a diverse, geographically-spread business. This means we take away defined working hours, commuting, and all those other things and replace them with flexibility and hopefully better work/life balance. For example, we have a ‘bring your own IT’ policy, so you can use your own equipment (if that’s what you prefer). As long as it’s secure, that’s ok with us. Give our customers the best possible service at the best possible rates. As we can employ people anywhere in the world, we have the broadest range of talent to select from. And without traditional fixed costs of an office or other premises, we can afford to pass on these savings to our customers. Like many businesses, if we need access to an office for short periods, we use WeWork or other serviced offices as and when we need them. We are very fortunate that, as a technology business, we can work this way. Much of the work we do for our customers is about enabling them to add greater flexibility to their own provision of IT services to their users and their customers. We need to ‘eat our own dog food’ as the expression goes, and bring our own first-hand experience to the fore. The ‘work from anywhere’ movement is still relatively new, so we are very much learning as we go along. We are actively looking for the benefits that flexible working brings, benefits we can then pass on to our staff and our customers. Xcession is a modern business with forward-thinking, progressive values. We want our employees and customers to be content with their job and efficient in their work, and as the old saying goes, a happy employee is a productive employee. If you’d like to find out more about our approach to flexible working, contact mark.twomey@xcession.co.uk BackWhether to return to the office or not is the dilemma facing many businesses. When the pandemic first struck in the spring of 2020, there was a general expectation that we’d collectively resume our pre-Covid patterns of office-based working once the pandemic ended. Yet, two years on, that’s not quite how things have turned out. Employees around the world continue to face ongoing uncertainty as to when – and if – they’ll work in an office again. The emergence of Covid-19 variants has only exacerbated matters. Since the lockdown began, people have debated the merits of remote working. Recently cabinet office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg sparked controversy by criticising civil servants working from home, leaving notes on empty desks encouraging them to return to the office. Lord Alan Sugar has also blasted PwC’s decision to give employees Friday afternoons off, branding employees “lazy gits”. But are they simply out of touch? The future of work is flexible Today, the notion that we will all return to the office together again seems highly unlikely. Tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Google, have already taken the leap, introducing hybrid work regimes for their employees. They are not alone, however. A recent study by XpertHR revealed that a massive 80% of employers are open to workplace flexibility. Hybrid working is perhaps the most popular option for workplace flexibility. It offers the best of both worlds – employees can alternate between working from the comfort of their own home and the office, where they can enjoy the social aspects of work. But if hybrid working isn’t for you, you could consider other working arrangements that may offer the flexibility your staff are looking for. Options include: Staggered start and finish times, in which staff members can come in later or finish earlier. ‘Flexi-time’, where team members can work less one day and make up for it another day. Offering increased annual leave options to buy or sell leave. Job sharing and part-time working options. A London-based law firm, Stephenson Harwood, has taken a novel approach allowing staff to work remotely for 20% less pay as part of a new agile working policy due to come into effect next month. There is a reason so many companies and organisations are adopting a more flexible approach to work – because it works. Yes, the rush at the start of the pandemic to give employees access to all the necessary tools was hectic, to say the least. But once everyone had adjusted to the new normal, it quickly became apparent to many employers (myself included) that their employees could be just as productive and focused when not in the office – and in many cases, more so. It’s official: flexible working is the future. Xcession’s approach to work We have gone further at Xcession – we don’t have an office at all. We understand that one-desk-doesn’t-fit-all. Some of us work better in an office, while others work more efficiently at home. And many of us find we’re most effective when we have options. There may be some drawbacks to this approach as our business grows, but the goals we are working towards are that we want to do two things: Give our staff the best possible working experience we can within the constraints of a diverse, geographically-spread business. This means we take away defined working hours, commuting, and all those other things and replace them with flexibility and hopefully better work/life balance. For example, we have a ‘bring your own IT’ policy, so you can use your own equipment (if that’s what you prefer). As long as it’s secure, that’s ok with us. Give our customers the best possible service at the best possible rates. As we can employ people anywhere in the world, we have the broadest range of talent to select from. And without traditional fixed costs of an office or other premises, we can afford to pass on these savings to our customers. Like many businesses, if we need access to an office for short periods, we use WeWork or other serviced offices as and when we need them. We are very fortunate that, as a technology business, we can work this way. Much of the work we do for our customers is about enabling them to add greater flexibility to their own provision of IT services to their users and their customers. We need to ‘eat our own dog food’ as the expression goes, and bring our own first-hand experience to the fore. The ‘work from anywhere’ movement is still relatively new, so we are very much learning as we go along. We are actively looking for the benefits that flexible working brings, benefits we can then pass on to our staff and our customers. Xcession is a modern business with forward-thinking, progressive values. We want our employees and customers to be content with their job and efficient in their work, and as the old saying goes, a happy employee is a productive employee. If you’d like to find out more about our approach to flexible working, contact mark.twomey@xcession.co.uk BackGet in touch Contact UsContact Us
