Working nine to five is now, of course, only one of many ways to make a living. Research carried out in the UK by the Institute of Management and Office Angels recruitment consultants, shows that flexible working is used by eight in ten employers. Indeed, half the managers surveyed say they would like to change their own working patterns to work more flexibly. Representation throughout the organization Flexible employees are found at all levels of organizations, delivering areas of the business which demand specialist skills and are central to company success.
Most organizations make use of a mix of flexible practices.
Employees' experiences of flexible working differ depending on the type of organization in which they work. Some 68 percent of these firms say that flexible workers contribute significantly to organizational performance and 66 percent say that they help the organization to respond rapidly to change. These organizations are less likely to deploy flexible workers in front-line positions, with 27 percent using them in customer services and one in five in project management. If organizations want to make the most of flexibility and improve their competitiveness, they can learn by following the flexi-leaders in valuing these employees and adopt their winning strategies for managing them and making them feel part of their organizations in every sense. Organizations have become far more customer-focussed over recent years, culminating in a need for a workforce that can be adjusted in terms of numbers and skills base.