We’re reviving our digest of news about Flexible Working, Smart Working and all things connected. And we add in a little opinion here and there too. If you have news to share, please do let us know.
July 2024
South Cambridgeshire Council proclaims success of 4-day week trials
“In the largest public sector trial of the four-day week in Britain, fewer refuse collectors quit and there were faster planning decisions, more rapid benefits processing and quicker call answering, independent research has found.”
Last year, the Conservative government (now gone) ordered the council to end the trials as part of a misplaced anti-flexibility campaign. The Council did not comply, and these are the results as reported by The Guardian:
Do as I say, not as I do – Chief People Officer at Zoom
Zoom’s mixed hybrid working approach of two days per week onsite for those living within 50 miles of an office has been around for a few months now. But Chief People Officer Matthew Saxon’s recent justification for the policy in an interview has been attracting some adverse comment.
After setting out the intended benefits of the policy, he commented: “I think I can manage people at Zoom effectively while working fully remotely. I go into the office from time to time, obviously, for my role, but the majority of the time, I’m home.”
More at Fortune: https://fortune.com/2024/07/09/remote-work-outlook-zoom-return-to-office-chief-people-officer/
Earlier 2024
What happens when you incentivise remote workers to relocate to your city?
Tulsa offered remote workers $10,000 to move there. With some 2,00 workers relocating there, a study shows how the program impacted the local economy. The results include over 700 new jobs created and almost $40 million added to locals’ incomes.
Read more here on Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-work-work-from-home-tulsa-local-economy-jobs-pay-2024-2
And check here for the study The Welfare Consequencesof Incoming RemoteWorkers on Local Residents
The aspiration to be Flexible After Fifty
Business leaders and the government are being urged to prioritise work flexibility in a bid to help over-50s to be more active in the workforce. The 50+ Choices Roundtable has published its Flexible After Fifty report, which suggests measures including all job adverts promoting flexible working and enhanced training for HR to support those wanting the hybrid approach.
The report comes as many organisations are facing skills and labour shortages – driven in part by fewer older people being available to work. In 2023, there were 300,000 more economically inactive over-50s in the UK than in 2020.
There are good summaries from the People Management and from IFA magazine, and the full report can be accessed here: https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/media/ch0eta1h/flexible-after-fifty-report.pdf
UK 4-Day Week Pilot results are in
One year on from the results of the world’s biggest ever four-day working week pilot which took place in the UK in 2022, companies that took part have reported significant and lasting success.
Of the 61 organisations that took part in the 2022 UK four-day week pilot, at least 54 have confirmed that they are still operating the policy one year later (89%). In addition, at least 31 have made the four-day week permanent – 51% of all participating companies.
Benefits cited in the evaluation include 82% of surveyed companies reporting positive impacts on staff well-being. 50% seeing positive effects on reducing staff turnover and 32% said the policy had noticeably improved their recruitment.
You can access the full report here: https://autonomy.work/portfolio/making-it-stick/
Study shows correlation between WFH and productivity
An analysis of surveys of the Bank of England’s Decision-Maker Panel (CEOs and CFOs) has found a correlation between productivity and working (hybrid) from home.
The analysis also concludes that working from home is here to stay.
Read more here: https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/managers-say-working-home-here-stay
And here for further commentary: https://www.ft.com/content/b8ac6288-6b63-4d1b-bc9b-d8e81c45a098
Flexible work denied to a third of female public sector employees
New research by trade union Unison has found that 30% of women working across the public sector in the UK have had their requests to work flexibly denied. In addition, 25% of these workers have had their requests rejected more than once.
Read more at: https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2024/02/women-in-the-uks-public-services-repeatedly-denied-flexible-work-requests/
