As we say goodbye to the year the world stood still for Covid, we ponder the question – is this the beginning of the end for the 9-5 workday?
The last twelve months have made us reassess and adapt. Offices, schools, institutions, entertainment venues, sports centres and restaurants temporarily closed their doors. This forced us to work, study, exercise and entertain ourselves under one roof rather than many, and at all times of the day. Zoom became society’s new face-to-face as we adjusted our lives to suit an unfamiliar insular setting.
But there is a brighter side to these otherwise dark times.
People have been crying out to work flexibly for years
No one prepared for the possibility that a pandemic would force the majority of the workforce to stay home. But according to CircleIn, many have been crying out to work flexibly for years. CircleIn is a Melbourne-based organisation offering a personalised portal and program for global businesses to support working parents.
CircleIn’s recent “Future of Work Research” survey, conducted in partnership with Beam Australia, found that 97% of people want to retain their freedom to work and that Covid-19 has taken flexibility mainstream.
“If the last few months have proved anything, it’s that flexible working is not a mere policy-enabled, box-ticking exercise. COVID-19 has changed people’s demands and expectations on flexibility from their employer. The opportunity right now for businesses is to create a culture that truly embraces flexibility and hardwire it into their business strategy and values,” Jodi Geddes, co-founder of CircleIn.
While Covid presented us with a myriad of challenges, it did prove that working from an office is not always the best option. If a job can be undertaken using a computer, a phone and a Wi-Fi connection, surely it makes sense for people to work remotely and in the hours that suit?
Flexible working models widen a company’s recruitment reach and attract a greater pool of talent
Jane* works for a mental health support operation in Melbourne. She works full time from home, managing a team of seven who support clients via a phone-based service. Before Covid, her role was office based.
“I really do think that working from home is a bit of a silver lining to come out of Covid, especially for working parents. The flexibility has made it possible for me to juggle parenting and working full time. I’m here when the kids get home from school and I have greater flexibility to work around things that come up. I think it could be a game changer for parents to return to their careers in a full time capacity, when before this may not have been possible,” she said.
Furthermore, Jane’s* entire team work remotely too, with some of her staff working regionally and interstate.
“I have a team member based in Brisbane and two in regional Victoria. They work remotely with our metro team members to support clients across the state through a phone-based service. Where they are located doesn’t really matter at all to their clients.”
There are no plans for Jane or her team to move back to the office, which suggests that for some industries, flexible work will continue beyond the pandemic.
The 9-5 office workday model is not conducive for workers affected by chronic illness
For some, flexible work is an absolute necessity. A 9-5 workday is simply not conducive for people living with a chronic condition. Unfortunately, not all workplaces see the value in flexible work models, meaning those who do live with a chronic illness can be forced out of the workforce.
Our very own Chrissy Symeonakis, the founder and director of Creative Little Soul, is an advocate for supporting workers with chronic illnesses. Chrissy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis herself. Shortly after her diagnosis with MS, she launched her digital marketing business so that she could service her wonderful clients whilst working on her terms around her health appointments and necessary rest times.
“It was important for me to have the flexibility and freedom to work from home or even from bed if I had days where my health and mobility were not up to scratch. It also didn’t make sense to me to commute sometimes hours for a 20 minute meeting. Phone calls, video and working in the tech realm always were going to be the way I ran my life and business,” said Chrissy.
“The heat particularity effects my MS so when summer rolls in, I’m on lock down. It does mean though I get a lot done and quicker and I can be online to assist our clients who are night owls or in the USA or with staff in the UK”
Why flexible work benefits businesses and workers alike
Less commute time means workers have access to more precious hours in the day. Flexible work grants employees with extra time to focus on their physical and mental health. Having extra hours in the day to spend exercising, to connect with loved ones and partake in hobbies and passions therefore accounts for a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.
Flexible work means more time to spend with loved ones (including furry friends)
Will the pros of working remotely overweigh the cons?
“As a result of the Covid-19 shutdown, we embraced remote work and learned to use new communication tools to ensure our productivity and customer management was not negatively impacted,” said Andy Marcus, Operations Manager of MyGuestlist and Sprout.
Andy’s team adapted to the change quickly, and note the many positives have come to light by working around the traditional 9-5 model.
“Working from home means you can take breaks, run errands and complete non-work necessities in the middle of the work day. While you will still be working a normal 8 hour day, it is no longer in a linear block of time. This has allowed us to better respond to customer needs at all hours. The majority of our customers operate within the hospitality space; having staff online outside 9-5 has meant that our response time to customer queries is much quicker.”
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows however, as working from home comes with its own set of challenges. The lines between work and life become blurred and the social aspect can be difficult to replicate when working remotely.
“It does mean that you don’t stop at 5pm and of course there are still many benefits to working in the office. Being around colleagues allows for knowledge transfer, shorter meetings and also affords the ease of asking the person sitting next to you a quick question. These little things coupled with the social interaction do help with staff productivity and morale.”
To maintain productivity across the company, Andy’s team rely less on voice and in-person meetings and have embraced technology such as Google Hangouts, Slack, CRM and an internal forum for communication.
Is flexible work here to stay beyond Covid?
While a secured vaccination suggests that the Covid’s finale is in sight, the virus will not end overnight. As global restrictions lift, tighten and lift again, moving with the waves of the pandemic, should businesses be in a rush to move back to the traditional 9-5 office workday model? 2020 taught us the importance of health and human connection and maybe, just maybe, flexible work is here to stay.
*Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.