Flexibilism

With a significant increase in the number of redundancies and the need for a productive workforce, flexible working is the last thing that employers should be thinking about, isn’t it? Well, according to a recent piece in the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/feb/14/work-life-balance-flexible-working, this isn’t the case.

Julia Hobsbawm argues that ‘flexibilism’ is necessary for everyone – the overworked workforce, men, women, parents and those without children too. She says that the economy needs people who are motivated and focussed and that flexible working is the perfect way in which to do that. Despite unemployment levels rising, she points out that almost 94% of the population is still working and that flexible working would actually increase growth and productivity. Her idea is that trust should be at the centre of working practices and employees should deliver but work in a way which suits both them and their employer. It’s an interesting argument but would everyone be accepting of this forward thinking?