WFH is an acronym we've all become very familiar with over the last year. An awful lot of us had probably never worked from home a day in our lives prior to 2020, but we’ve quickly become used to Zoom calls in our PJs, and flexible working has truly established itself as something that needs to stay for good. 

Working wonders for work-life balance 

It’s amazing the effect that ditching the daily commute and having a little bit more flexibility around the nine-to-five can have on our work-life balance. You might grab an extra bit of shut-eye in the morning or, if you’re that way inclined, replace your commuter trains for home workout gains. 
 
All that extra free time, not to mention being able to sneak a few household chores in on your tea breaks, ensures we have more time for families, hobbies and whatever else makes us happy. Why would we ever want to lose that? 

Fuelling productivity with health and happiness 

When employees are happier, less stressed and able to find more time for exercise, wellbeing and self-care, there are often major increases in productivity. This is bolstered by some of the unique niceties of home working, like the ability to remove distractions in a way you’d never be able to around chatty office colleagues, or by being in total control of your working environment. 
 
Whatever the reasons behind them, countless studies have recorded these productivity increases, so it should come as no surprise that several global giants are adopting remote working permanently, including Facebook, Microsoft and Spotify. The benefits are clear as day for employee and employer alike. 

Flexible working... works 

Now, we don’t want to come across as all sunshine and rainbows here. There are undeniably many who don’t dig working from home, nor see a boost to their productivity, whether that’s because they don’t have great home working conditions or they just prefer a social workplace. 
 
There are certainly elements of work that are more effective in the physical workplace, too. Bouncing ideas off of one another, organising projects and maintaining an inclusive, social working environment is all undeniably easier in person. It’s important we don’t lose those water-cooler friendships. That’s where flexible options and hybrid working arrangements that mix the best of both worlds really come into play. 
 
If employees have the choice of where and when they can work, and if departments can still meet up both physically and virtually to stay on the same page whilst maintaining a cohesive company culture, then everyone wins. Businesses will require smaller, cheaper spaces that act largely as the meeting rooms and team-working spaces of the future. In the process, companies can reduce their carbon footprints and finally achieve those oh-so-difficult green targets. 

WFH is A-OK with us 

If the last year has shown us anything, it’s that bums in workplace seats do not necessarily equal productivity. Oh, and think what a delightful year it’s been for pets! 
 
What are your thoughts regarding flexible working? Let us know in the comments section below. 
 
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