‘Work to adapt around life’: The benefits of flexibility in the modern-day workplace

With rumours of RTO mandates growing in commonality after Amazon’s decision to recall its staff to the office, reaffirming the benefits of flexibility could never come at a better time.

According to digital PR agency Reboot Online, after Amazon announced its return-to-office mandate, Google searches for “legal right to work from home” increased by 3,950 per cent in the seven days after its memo was sent out to employees.

Here is the growth according to the latest UK search data:

• “Legal right to work from home” (past seven days) +3,950 per cent
• “4-day week Labour” (past 30 days) 2,400 per cent
• “Flexible working hours policy” (past seven days) +600 per cent
• “Flexible working arrangements” (past 30 days) +500 per cent
• “Employment Rights Act 1996” (past seven days) +110 per cent

As the anxiety and frustration grow among workers about potentially losing their flexibility, Shai Aharony, chief executive of Reboot Online, shared his experience of implementing flexible policies and the effect that they’ve had on the workforce.

“Our four-day cycle means our team receives 100 per cent of the pay for 80 per cent of the time in exchange for a commitment to achieve at least 100 per cent productivity. In 2021, Reboot became one of the first search-led digital marketing agencies to offer a four-day working week. It’s been a huge success; our employees love it!” said Aharony.

Aharony goes on to explain what he deems as some of the key benefits of having flexibility within an organisation.

“After working in some terrible companies ourselves, we were always very keen to ensure that Reboot is a company we would want to work for ourselves. One that prioritises the wellbeing of our team and allows its employees to have a great work/life balance.

”That’s why we wanted to make Reboot fully remote, embrace a four-day work week, and offer a nomad policy, as well as creating a leading parental leave policy and very competitive pay. We’re not just pushing SEO boundaries; we’re building a company where our employees can thrive, living their best lives, too,” said Aharony.

1. Improved work/life balance

“Traditional workplace schedules have failed to evolve with the diverse needs of employees. A four-day work week gives people the time they need to fully decompress after the working week, manage life admin, work on passion projects, and spend more time with their families. In our experience, this allows employees to show up as their happiest, most productive selves.”

2. Enhanced creativity and productivity

“Not all employees thrive on a traditional 9-5 structure. In our industry, creativity is so important and gives our staff the opportunity to work at times that best suit them. Whether that’s logging on at 7:30 am for the early risers, or logging on later and working until later in the day, flexible working hours gives our employees the autonomy to work when they are the most productive.”

3. Talent attraction and retention

“In today’s job market, providing flexible working policies as standard is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. We’ve found that our agency has become a desirable place to work due to the commitment to honouring employees’ unique needs and preferences, as well as highlighting the forward-thinking workplace culture.”

4. Increases inclusivity

“Return-to-office mandates and strict nine-to-five working policies ultimately exclude entire demographics, whether that’s parents that have young children, those who have long commutes to get to the office, or those that have chronic conditions that mean working in an office five days a week is not feasible. The nomad policy has also been utilised by team members who want to visit their family and home country. At Reboot, we’re striving to build and maintain a workplace culture that is inclusive of everyone, and offering flexible working plays a huge role in that.”

How our employees benefit from flexible working

“Whether our team wants to be there to drop their kids off at school or hit the gym for a morning session without waking up at 5am, Reboot employees have the option of logging on as early as 7.30am and as late as 10am. We’ve created a culture at Reboot that allows work to adapt around life, without compromising on efficiency and productivity,” said Aharony.

“Having Fridays off, every week, also gives our team a three-day weekend to do what they love.”