Flexible Working:Rethinking the Relationship

Between Work and Place

According to Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service…

Work is what you do, not a place you go. The next generation of workforce will know that and be ready and able to work anywhere. “

So how exactly arebusinesses

addressing this notion?

Through technology.

As the digital landscape broadens

horizons, the government

released new flexible working

laws in 2014.

The divide between work and place has already begun.

The idea being that the traditional office is not the sole

environment to do business anymore.

Why?

?

Productivity increaseswhen working flexibly.

And this is important because:The more productive we are as a nation, the more we can improve household incomes.

This is why businesses need to look beyond their current IT capabilities and focus on what will bring in the most

value.

Workforces empowered with agility have been proven to be more

productive than if they were working in an office.

The problem lies in shifting business’

mindset.

From old To new

We are now liberated with new technology that can inform solid organisational strategies.

Strategies that acknowledge the office is

not centric to the workplace.

By increasing the amount of locations an employee can

effectively work from, presents more opportunities for them to engage

with colleagues and tasks.

Does this mean it’s the end of the

office?

The Office Evolution Model was developed by the Office of

Government Commerce to look into the state of Flexible Working within

the 2003 Government.

And it’s stood the test of time.

Although the office is a necessary environment for social needs, immediate interaction and spontaneous collaboration, the world of business is moving

towards an agile workforce, enabling employees to complete the job wherever is best suited to them and the overall performance.

Source: Gibson / Luck Flexible Working in Central Government: Leveraging the Benefits, 2004

Which stage is your business currently at?

Source: Gibson / Luck Flexible Working in Central Government: Leveraging the Benefits, 2004

To summarise:

Dissociating the place from the actual work in hand is how you’ll move forward and become a business

ready for digital advances.

To find out exactly how to do that and make the first steps towards a more agile future that’s ready for change, download

our guide ‘Enabling Organisational Agility’