Flexible working is a cornerstone of equality, diversity and inclusivity. It is the door that allows many people to work. It is good for business, and it’s good for employees too.
Plus, thanks to the Employee Rights Act 2025, employees can request flexible working from day one of their employment. And from 2027, employers will only be able to refuse a flexible working request if it is reasonable for them to do so and they are able to explain the specific ground(s) for their refusal in writing.
Remote, hybrid or in-office
When it comes to creating a good work-life balance for your employees, you must think about designing a complete remote, hybrid, or full time on-site office policy.
Whichever one you decide upon, it must be well-crafted and align with the broader operational and productivity goals of the organisation. In addition, it must also look to maximise the advantages of both home and physical workspaces whilst also mitigating risks like burnout, unequal flexibility, and employee isolation. In short it will help you to:
- Attract and retain top talent
- Save costs – office overheads etc.
- Increase your environmental sustainability
- Boost productivity and wellbeing
- Offer a better work-life balance
Trust and productivity
At its very core, your remote, hybrid or in-office policy will require a mindset shift from presence-based control to results-driven accountability. Together with the acceptance of a new balance between trust and productivity.
Your new policy will also need to clearly define role eligibility, set core collaboration/ mentoring/innovation/ culture-building days, allow autonomy over remote days and measure performance by outcomes rather than times/hours. In addition, flexible working must be aligned with your wider equality and retention strategy to avoid discrimination, as many requests are linked to childcare, caring responsibilities, disability or health conditions.
We know that there are advantages and disadvantages of having a complete remote, or full-time on-site office policy, but a mixed work policy, also known as a hybrid model – in which individuals spend a mix of days at home and at work each week, can bring significant benefits to both employers and employees. But once again employers must establish clear communication channels, and integrate flexible arrangements without any disruption to workflows. Finally listening to, and gathering regular employee feedback, will be essential for refining your policy and making sure that it works for everyone.
Importance of employee feedback
One of our clients has recently undertaken an employee survey having introduced a comprehensive hybrid working policy a few years ago – and the results were fascinating. They found that remote days boosted focus and output, whilst on-site office days enhanced collaboration levels and helped with relationship building. Other benefits included increased job satisfaction and engagement levels and a reduction of churn (staff leaving) by up to a third.
In conclusion, it’s worth emphasising that employees increasingly view workplace flexibility as a standard, not an exception. By having a policy in place that feels fair and supportive for everyone can help you to embed flexibility into your culture, so you can reduce burnout, improve engagement, and strengthen loyalty. For advice, help and support, please email Debby today – debby@total-spectrum.com
