FLEXIBLE WORKING hours is the new mantra for working people, which seem to be having a positive impact on the productivity front. Employees see it as one of the best perks to come their way. As companies realize the benefits of flexible timings, they are amending their HR policies to offer various options to the employees.
At
SunGard Offshore Services in Bangalore, nearly 90 per cent employees have opted for the flexi-timings. Of these 70 per cent are men. Similarly, Noida-based IT company
InterraIT has seen a large number of men opting for flexi-timings. "Nearly one-fifth of our employees have opted for it. And out of this, about one-fifth are men,” says Asoke Laha, President of the company.
- Flexi-hours policy suits support functions that demand minimal
employee interface. Examples include marketing, knowledge management, legislation, intellectual property, editorial inputs and content creation, data management, financial research, HR and audit.
- Instant messaging and video conferencing drives this change easily.
“With the help of technology, our productivity is not affected, as employees can work from home and yet attend to personal needs, for which they would have earlier taken leave,” says Tanuj Kapilashrami, head of human resources at HSBC, which started this policy in February 2008
- HR managers who favour working out of home say it reduces attrition and attracts quality workers.
“Working-hours flexibility helps employees maintain good work-life balance,” says Toral Patel, senior director with the Accord Group, a talent search agency. “(But) it is the familiarity of physical offices that prevents most companies from accepting the new virtual office format.”
“We want to be the employer of choice and aim at attracting a good talent pool with our flexi-timings and work-from-home programmes,” says Kapilashrami.
- Flexi-work policy helps to convert commute time into productivity output, and to connect with people in areas where companies have no geographical presence. The real issue, some HR managers feel, is about fighting time and distance
- Companies feel virtual offices help in reducing certain fixed costs and office space per employee.
“They also help address business continuity plans as employees are fully equipped to stay connected outside office. Therefore, business is likely to be less affected when an office is disturbed due to natural calamities or other issues.”
Disadvantages
Not everybody agrees that virtual offices are cheaper and more efficient. Investments in IT infrastructure and security, and costs such as phones and broadband connectivity hike budgets even as teamwork is hindered.
Moreover, “No matter how productive virtual work is, it can never replace the power of relationships built through togetherness,” says Milind Sarwate, chief of HR and strategy at Marico Industries. “Further, virtual offices need extra inputs for bonding and ownership.”
“It is important for new employees to understand the ethos of a company, which will help them perform as per the company’s expectations,” says a senior executive of Godrej Consumer Products, which follows the traditional clock-in and clock-out time schedule.
“This can only happen if employees work within the office area.”
Isolation could lead to alienation, which impacts work product negatively.
To conclude
“Organisations have to be mature enough to exercise a judicious work-life balance,” says E. Balaji,
“Also, to implement this (flexi-time work) policy successfully, companies need to provide IT infrastructure that is IP protected, so that corporate information is not leaked out.”
Source-Business World
Regards
Pankhuri