Did you know that the Nordic nation Finland has been offering flexible working for a decade and schedules the most flexible work timings in the world? Well, it’s no surprise that Finns are ahead of their time!
Flexibility in the workplace is an umbrella term that denotes any strategy to break the legacy system of 9-5 jobs. At the core of this concept lies a greater potentiality for employees looking for freedom to work at their pace in a personalized environment.
It’s a win-win situation for the employers as there is more productivity, an expanded pool of talent, and cost reduction on real estate and utilities. Hence over the years, several organizations are assimilating towards this make-shift cultural change of work ethos!
Agile working—the new future of workplaces
Are you wondering what prognosis flexible working brings forth for organizational growth? Here are a few leading enterprises that have bolstered the concept of implementing flexible working, and what they achieved is a commendable success!
Dell
Shaping the digital future, transforming IT, and safeguarding the valuable asset for its customers, it is no wonder that Dell switched to wholeheartedly embracing technology when it began a flexible working environment in 2009. This was a strategic move that the organization made to ensure that its employees have flexibility and comfort so they can focus more on receiving productive benefits.
As a part of the Dell team, employees have the privilege to partially or fully work from remote locations at flexible timings. Besides, it has helped curb the unnecessary expense of a huge office setup, thus offering nearly a savings of $12 million annually.
Humana
Technology has played a pivotal role in helping Humana adopt a flexible working culture. The U.S based healthcare organization, Humana, envisions a flexible work-life approach towards its employees, and hence in 2016, the firm started to reap the benefits of flexible working. They faced the only challenge with the call center team, who received calls only at their desk. But with an intervention of technology in 2018, Humana achieved quantum success with its new at-home call receiving technology. By making this paradigm shift, the firm has expanded its pool of talents to work remotely from various demographics.
Sodexo
Armed with 54 years of expertise and operation in 67 countries, Sodexo is a global leader offering a gamut of services to improve life quality to boost organizational performance. While enhancing qualitative changes for its clientele, Sodexo optimized a flexible work culture that most employees envisage. The firm has leveraged its new working initiative called FLOW (Flexibility Optimizes Work). Under this working environment, employees at Sodexo have the liberty to work remotely or switch to flexible working shifts. With FLOW, the firm has successfully broadened its regional base for employees and has personalized company policies to adhere to its local requirements.
Aspen
With Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at its core, Aspen has a diverse team of 350 employees working across seven countries. Furthermore, the firm has more than a million global contractors that work fully from a remote location. In order to corroborate the bond between its employees, Aspen has built an internal community forum wherein employees can connect with other co-workers on a personal level or connect to resolve professional queries. The result?—increased job satisfaction amongst the employees with a shared culture and consistent business growth.
Automattic
Did you know the brain behind WordPress.com, Automattic was one of the first organizations to pave its way for a flexible work culture by implementing remote working? The veteran organization has its wings spread across 77 countries with 1243 Automatticians speaking 93 languages! With such a diverse team, Automattic has been successfully attracting and retaining a vast pool of talents across the globe through streamlining open communication platform. Although they function remotely, the benefits package Automattic offers includes the best equipment and stipend to improve their home-office setup, annual gala meets at an exotic destination and allows employees to plan their schedules.
HelpScout
One of the global leaders in offering customer support HelpScout implements a time-agonistic approach in building its remote team. As a new onboarded member on HelpScout, the team believes in corroborating with other teammates, making them comfortable even while working remotely. With a flexible working culture, the team has expanded its global base, which helped build a group of proactive professionals; in turn, it was a boon for the service the business renders to its clientele. This is because employees from versatile demographies were able to cater to customer demands at any hour.
Etsy
Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, Etsy has a global presence in Germany, Japan, Australis, Ireland, and far beyond. Etsy is a global marketplace offering creative and luxurious lifestyle goods. But did you know it has a partially remote team? Bolstering on the power of having an inclusive work culture, the team members here have the privilege to work on-the-go with an internet connection from any demography. Even within its office premise, Etsy has adopted remote work culture allowing employees for flexing work shifts, job sharing, compressed workweek, or work-from-home facilities.
Mozilla
A large international organization, Mozilla, is one of those organizations that believe in macro-management, thus allowing their employees to work from any place. A collaborative and open work culture drives this non-profit organization. With its widespread office base in 13 countries, the company successfully implements remote working, thus embracing transparency and developing trust as its core values.
American Express
American Express, a big shot name in the global finance market, is increasingly embracing the concept of flexible working from a remote location to attract some of the best talents and expand its global customer base. With a remote work culture, the company has successfully achieved to cast a wider net and reach out to prospective employees, eliminating the geological barriers. The firm offers part-time work shifts and split-shift facilities to help employees enjoy the benefit of flexible working.
Bottom-line
Flexible working is the buzzing trend amongst the organizations. Several employees find comfort in working at their pace from remote destinations or with flexible time shifts. While employees reap the benefits of flexible work-life balance, employers can attract and retain employees and escalate business growth. As your organization approaches for flexible work culture, you must remember that there is no one-size-fits-all for implementing this concept. Organizations must select a
flexible working option based on their business requirements and build a productive team of happy employees.