Beyond the 9 to 5: How remote work and flexible hours are changing the game

One of the most sought after employee benefits today is a flexible work schedule and environment. That includes all the old and new buzzwords like home office, flextime, telecommuting, digital nomad, and remote working. Apart from compensation, a flexible work setup is among the first things a job seeker looks for in the market today, and this comes as no surprise. Technological advances have long been paving the way for the remote worker to accomplish everything at a distance with cloud based tools, real-time collaboration platforms, team messaging applications, and advanced video conferencing.

The natural progression to digitalize the workplace has led to as many as 43 percent of Americans working remotely at least some of the time in 2016. Overall, most of the advantages to the employee are easily recognizable, and they include:

• More comfortable work & life balance.
• No lost time in traffic during peak hours commuting to and from work.
• Savings on childcare for working households.
• Reducing the need to take leave when unable to be in the office.
• The ability to plan conveniently with more control over a schedule.
• Overall satisfaction of not juggling all of the above.

While the benefits on the individual are strongly pronounced, the impact on the company is not always so clear. Significant brushback arguments often accuse remote working allowances to cause unreliable results, inconsistency from too much rescheduling, slower outputs, stifled teamwork due to less physical presence, and sacrifices to company culture. Nevertheless, many employers that embrace flexible working environments (software development companies in particular) are finding that the positives far outweigh the negatives. Here’s what many of Digital Knights approved teams are saying they gain from it:

Increased employee retention

Arguably the biggest driver for companies to offer flexible working options is the impact on employee retention rates. A report from the New York Times stated that “flexible scheduling and work-from-home opportunities play a major role in an employee’s decision to take or leave a job,” and Thrive Global says according to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, “89 percent of companies report better retention simply by offering flexible work options.” In an industry like software development where experienced developers are hot commodities, flexibility has become an integral part of the employment package.

Increased productivity

Giving employees the freedom to make their own hours has lead to an increase in productivity for many teams. When it comes to agile development, it’s not a necessity for everyone to be working on the same thing at the same time. Employees can decide when to work based on what best suits them – some people are morning people while others are night owls. Digital Knights teams have expressed that employees who feel free to control their own schedule produce higher quality work more regularly.

More engaged team members

If employees are happier in their work environment then they are likely to be more engaged. Sara Sutton Fell, founder of Flexjobs, said, “Employees who feel empowered to structure their work and personal lives according to their needs are more satisfied. In fact, when asked whether they’d rather have a flexible work environment or a salary increase, professionals overwhelming choose flexible work” (Source). Teams within the Digital Knights network have backed up this sentiment, noting that if people feel trusted with more freedom, they also feel more respected and in turn become more engaged and willing to help with things outside of their direct remit.

Access to a wider pool of a talent in a broader geographical area

Companies that embrace the offering of flexible work and utilize the tools to their advantage have fewer reasons to limit their recruiting geographically. This can provide massive benefits on the whole as it opens the door to more talented individuals and can turn into a strong culture that attracts other great people. Given this flexibility, it also grants companies the opportunity to work with talented individuals who can’t support traditional 9-5 roles because of disabilities, family responsibilities, or other reasons.

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Making remote work, work

Taking everything into consideration, it’s important that flexible working is not only offered as an employment perk but that it also works well for both parties. Individuals need to be ready for the added accountability when nobody is watching, and the company needs to update its processes to handle a more dynamic environment. Everyone should have an understanding of what kind of jobs or tasks make remote work a better option, and the company needs to take the necessary measures to ensure that communication, company culture, and responsibilities are upheld. Moving forward, all signs point to flexibility becoming an even bigger mainstay in the the workplace.

For more tips on workplace transformation, read How to get the most out of remote teams in an agile environment.