Why flexible work isn’t just for working mothers

FLEXIBILITY AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

Working mums play an important role in driving change to create a more flexible workforce. There are many talented and committed women all over the world who have fought for the right to work flexibly so they can spend more quality time with their families. They are often held up as the greatest example of why we need a more flexible approach to work. As a mum of two myself, I have been lucky enough to do work I love, around the timetable of my children. But if we really want to change the world of work for the better, we need to look beyond just ‘flexibly working mums’. Here are seven reasons why working flexibly should be an option for all.

1. Flexibility allows diversity. If more people are able to work flexibly, challenging the dogma of nine-to-five office based work, a whole new world of work emerges. If people can work from anywhere — escaping expensive city-life — with schedules that suit their life and rhythms, many of those previously excluded from certain sectors of the workforce, can find a way back to doing work they love.
2. People shouldn’t have to have a family to be afforded the opportunity to work flexibly. While there are inroads being made in flexible working at the moment in many companies, it is often available only to those who choose to have families, particularly women, as this is a socially ‘acceptable’ reason for wanting to flex their time. But there are many people out there with alternate caregiving commitments or other important lifestyle choices making traditional nine-to-five either difficult or unappealing. This is simply unfair. Why should talented people in all walks of business not be afforded the opportunity to work flexibly as well?
3. It makes good business sense. Happy workers are productive workers. A recent study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% rise in productivity, while unhappy workers were 11% less productive. Of course flexible working may not be for everyone, but the evidence suggests that with choice comes happiness. In the case of flexible working, the choice to shape our own workstyle and environment around our individual needs and preferences enables us to be more productive and inspired. And of course more remote workers helps to cut down overheads for businesses of all kinds.
4. Technology has given us the chance to change things. We need to harness it to to understand the opportunities afforded by such advancements. For Huckleberry Partners this means using new digital technology, including the wonderful Slack — a whole new world of not just organisation, but genuine workplace connection. We can channel work streams efficiently as well as allowing for meaningful and fun connection between Associates (the #thewatercooler channel for example is fairly addictive!). To move forward with the goal of creating happier more fulfilled working lives for everyone, engaging with new technology needs to be at the forefront of our thinking.
5. Workforce demographics are changing. Approximately one in three companies expects the number of employees over the age of 60 to increase significantly by 2020, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). It also seems likely that the state pension age will rise to 70, with more people expected to work to a much later age. In order to tap into this enormous talent pool and wealth of experience, we need to afford older workers the opportunity to work in a way that suits their wishes and needs.
6. It’s not just about commitment, it’s about love. We only get one life. There are many of us out there with dreams and goals which are necessarily put on the back burner while we earn a living. Modern life is exhausting but we shouldn’t feel that everything has to be sacrificed to follow through on an idea. If we can create more opportunities for people to do work they excel at on a flexible basis, who knows what they might be able to do with the time left over? Also, working on a diverse range of projects with different people and personalities allows us the opportunity to experience a much wider pool of work and to stretch our skills in a challenging and inspiring way.
7. Working flexibly doesn’t have to mean we give up security. For a long time the idea of working flexibly or for oneself has been a leap of faith. A reflexive community like Huckleberry Partners allows for security to be about more than simply ensuring a regular pay cheque at the end of the month. It can be about supporting one another through tricky situations, helping generate work for other people in the community, mentoring one another as well as sharing experiences to keep us on track, and generating ideas of how to keep learning and improving. Working remotely and for oneself does hold challenges, but being part of a community ensures that we don’t take the leap alone.

So let’s think about this as the beginning of a conversation. Huckleberry Partners is providing  a model of how the working world could change. Now we need to think about how we might use that framework to move forward and to create change in a radical and far-reaching way, whether you’re a mother working around your family or you wish to work flexibly for any of a myriad of other reasons.

Emma Hutchinson is an Associate at The Hoxby Collective and a freelance writer, editor, translator and soon-to-be life coach. She previously worked remotely for ten years as the Senior Commissioning Editor in philosophy at Polity Press, and is mum to two hectic but very lovely boys, ages one and four.