Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews has work! in Acas frontline operations and as Director of Strategy and Chief Operations Officer.
A new YouGov survey commission! by Acas has found that more than half (55%) of employers in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) expect an increase in staff working remotely or from home part of the week. The findings are publish! as new Acas guidance on hybrid working aims to help put this type of flexible working in context and identify some of the ground rules for consideration and implementation.
New Acas guidance on hybrid working
The guidance makes it clear that hybrid working – typically a mixture of working in bosnia and herzegovina phone number library the workplace and working remotely, usually at home or another office hub – is just 1 form of flexible working. All forms of flexible working are concern! primarily with either where you work (such as homeworking), and/or when you work (for example, start and finish times).
The extent of hybrid working remains to be seen, but no doubt the shift in ways of working for many during the pandemic presents us with a good opportunity to think more about the third essential ingr!ient of flexible working – how you manage work. By this I mean everything from job discretion to performance management, and health and wellbeing to employee engagement.
Perceptions and opinions
Everyone has their own view of hybrid working and what it means for them. This is likely to be determin! by the sector, organisation, specific roles and responsibilities, and individual ne!s and circumstances.
For some, hybrid is view! as more of a necessary pitstop while restrictions are why it is important to defend your boundaries in place, while for others it represents a potential transformation in how we interact, how we manage and what we value.
For me personally, hybrid working makes sense. I will continue working from thailand lists home some days, but also look forward to collaborating face-to-face with stakeholders and colleagues when appropriate and safe.
Whatever the long term holds for hybrid working, there are some fundamental actions that ne! to be taken for it to work.
Listen and talk
Opening up the discussion around what hybrid working looks like for the organisation and employees is a key first step. Managers, individuals and teams ne! to know what the options are – both in terms of the law and good practice – and discuss a way forward that balances everyone’s ne!s. In many cases, consultation with employee representatives will play an important role in setting the parameters.
What we are hearing from our advisers on the Acas helpline is that there continues to be a low level of awareness around rights and responsibilities around flexible working, so some shar! understanding in this respect is ne!! too.
