Flexible working improves productivity

© byheaven - Fotolia.com

This result confirms that in any economic climate, but particularly in times of high market volatility, businesses continue to review their strategies in order to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.

Experts tend to agree on a group of common initiatives to enhance productivity: flexible working, cloud computing, knowledge management, better communication, training, and health measures such as giving employees the opportunity to cycle or walk to work.

Less office space

This latest survey, which canvassed the opinion of more than 20 000 senior executives and business owners across 95 countries, delved deeper into the subject of flexible working and found that business people believe it not only helps improve employee productivity by reducing unused office space and slashing commutes, but also by helping workers become more efficient.

Other outcomes include:

• 78% think flexible working encourages a greater sense of responsibility and time management
  
• Flexible working also improves the quality (69%) and speed (67%) of decision making
  
• Flexible working fosters creativity (76%)
  
• Profitable business connections are also favoured by flexible working (71%) compared with 75% globally

Mixture of factors

Commenting on the research, Kirsten Morgendaal, area director for Regus says: "Analysts highlight a number of practices that are proven to impact productivity more than others. Flexible working, with its added benefits of improved creativity and networking opportunities enabler, takes pride of place with global businesses staunchly supporting its critical role.

"Businesses know that flexible working enhances productivity, but how this comes about is clearly a mixture of many factors ranging from better time management and responsibility to reduction of stress. Given that flexible working also significantly reduces unused office space it is a win-win solution for businesses hoping to make a cost saving and improve worker productivity and happiness," Morgendaal says.