VISION & STRATEGY 45 true flexibility, they need to offer interchangeable hours—and the technological resources to facilitate this. Technology to enable workplace automation has developed immensely over the past decade and can now handle multiple day-today tasks, like timesheets, expenses claims and email scheduling. By introducing automation, employers can streamline workflows and remove inefficiencies, freeing employees to take on more fulfilling, impactful work at a time that suits them best. Automation also gives staff extra time to recharge and unwind, without worrying about not completing their daily duties. Since lockdown, fears that workplace technology would solely amount to employer surveillance have largely proved unfounded. In fact, 86% of UK employees want pandemic-era tech to stay due to its transformative flexibility benefits, like being able to access files from anywhere, hold video meetings from multiple locations, and use AI-powered task managers to stay up to date and organised at any time of the day. The growth of digitisation Technology also helps to smooth the transfer of legacy knowledge and processes between outgoing and incoming workers. This is particularly important during the Great Resignation and the rise of homeworking, in which co-workers often no longer meet in person. Virtual calls with managers and colleagues enable successful remote onboarding, while screen-capped tutorials, interactive handbooks and various other digital tools help recruits get started sooner than ever. Workplace technology doesn’t replace humans—it empowers them. Instead of leading to fragmented employer/employee relationships, we often see technology create greater employee engagement and higher levels of satisfaction and productivity than ever. It’s no wonder, then, that the UK’s digital transformation market is set to grow to $146.63 billion (£116.54bn) by 2030. And this proliferation should only lead to even greater freedoms for all. Flexibility beats fixed hours On its surface, a four-day week may seem just as forward-looking as technology. But these set working patterns, even when a fifth shorter than before, still force staff to potentially work outside of their optimal hours of function, impacting their output andwellbeing. Similarly, a shorter workweek could mean that employees are forced to cram five days’ worth of work into four, elevating, rather than soothing, their levels of stress. Not all workers will suit this jampacked, faster-paced ‘100:80:100’ working model. So, if a staff member prefers to work the full five days and take a little longer over their tasks, or blitz through them in three days to an equal standard, it’s often beneficial to give them the liberty to do so. Ultimately, the debate between offering a four-day week and full flexibility can only be resolved by an individual workforce. So, it’s always worth trialling a period of flexibility by allowing employees to manage their own hours and schedules. It may prove unsuccessful—or it may transform a workforce’s output and wellbeing. After all, 43% of workers say that flexibility in their working hours helps them achieve greater productivity than ever before. And as the number of UK employees with flexible working contracts grows to 4.27 million, and polls find that most workers would prefer continued flexibility even over a 10% pay rise, managers who spurn it will increasingly find themselves in an archaic minority. We must all embrace change, not just for the benefit of our employees—but for our businesses, too.
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