Flexible working existed in the first decades of the 21st century, but now seems to be slowly declining. More and more employers are encountering the disadvantages of flexible working. It turns out that many employees are much less efficient when working from home than at the office. Another disadvantage is accessibility. Employers think that they can also reach their subordinates in the evening and that leads to much more stress. Flexible working was the trend within the labor field in the first decades of the 21st century. After all, employees knew what was best for them and traveling to and from the office only added extra pressure. Fixed places were also no longer necessary. It was much more efficient if employees chose where they went, depending on their state of mind or possibly to sit near colleagues they were in close contact with that day. Employers enthusiastically followed the trend. After all, fewer office spaces and less travel expenses saved costs. Moreover, unemployment was low and there was a shortage on the labor market. Companies and institutions had to do something to attract new talent. No fewer than twenty percent of large institutions and companies (partly) introduced flexible working.
Working from home is not more efficient
Flexible working has not yet reached its peak, but seems to be on the decline again. This is to the great dismay of the various agencies and coaches who have promoted the benefits of flexible working for years. However, little attention appears to have been paid to the disadvantages. After all, people need their own place and will therefore work more efficiently. It is much easier to find someone when he or she is in a fixed location. In addition, the flexible workplace means that there is often too little space on peak days, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays, because a large proportion of employees are present on those days.
Disadvantages of flexible working
There are also several disadvantages to employees working from home. For example, employees at home appear not to be nearly as efficient as assumed. People are more easily distracted or easily postpone work. For a large group of people, this is because they have insufficient self-discipline. They lack the control of an employer. A second disadvantage is that working from home causes much more stress. Because people sometimes work in the evening, their employer assumes that they are also available in the evening. People are therefore constantly under pressure, because they are much more concerned with work. A final disadvantage is that there is often no room for short consultations that are sometimes necessary in the workplace to quickly arrange something. Consultations now take place by email or telephone, but this makes it more inefficient.
Flexible working is on its way out
More and more employers are also returning to flexible working. For example, the CEO of Yahoo stated that employees of the internet company should be present in the office again. This caused a lot of resistance among employees, because in the previous years there had been a lot of focus on flexible working. Due to the economic crisis, employees can also make far fewer demands than before. Usually they are lucky if they have a job. Employers can benefit from this by imposing higher demands on work. If an employer does opt for flexible working, he or she should opt for a personal approach. Some employees may benefit from it, most do not.