ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Watch our webinar where we share the findings from the impact evaluation of our two-year long programme of work in partnership with the Institute of Employment Studies, and supported by Impact on Urban Health, with trailblazing employers to introduce flexibility into ‘hard to flex’ frontline and site-based roles.
Speakers
Claire Campbell, CEO, Timewise (Chair)
Astrid Allen, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Employment Studies
Dr Sarah Dauncey, Head of Partnerships and Insight, Timewise
Ben Franklin, Interim CEO, Centre for Progressive Policy
Louise Tait, Director of People and Inclusion, Wickes
Andrea Williams-McKenzie, Deputy Chief People Officer, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Background
The pandemic amplified existing labour market inequalities in access to flexible working and we’re still reeling from the effects of this. Most notably, in the context of health, with high levels of sickness absence and rising economic inactivity largely attributed to poor health. While half of working adults were able to work from home at times during the pandemic, others were unable to due to the location-based nature of their work. It’s for this reason that Timewise and the Institute for Employment Studies partnered with three trailblazing employers - Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Sir Robert McAlpine and Wickes - in a two-year long action research programme to introduce flexibility into frontline roles and evaluate its impact, on both the individual and the organisation.
We identified a range of positive impacts on both individuals and organisations as a result of widening access to flexible working:
● For employees in frontline and site-based roles: Increased flexibility resulted in improved health and wellbeing and increased job satisfaction.
● For organisations: Increased flexibility resulted in reduced sickness-absence, higher levels of employee engagement and improved performance.
● Notably, all the employers who participated in the programme are moving forward with plans to scale up activity to reduce organisational disparities in access to flexible working.
Key themes
● The value of flexible working for individuals and organisations
● Flexible working to enhance employee health and wellbeing
● Flexibility and the future of work
● The role of employers as innovators to overcome barriers to flexibility in frontline roles
● The societal and economic importance of flexible working
