The long and short of flexible working

Do you live to work or work to live? If it’s the former, congratulations! You must have found the perfect role on jobs24.com!

If it’s the latter, congratulations! You’ve realised having control of your operational hours offers the best work-life balance.

Can’t figure out where you fit in? Congratulations! You’re the ideal candidate to search jobs24.com for a position you’ll love that also has flexible working hours and possibly shorter weeks.

Non-conventional working schedules are being championed more frequently as the best way to increase employee productivity and efficiency in the workplace – and, in turn, boost your personal happiness.

So how can it help you, particularly if you’re looking to land a top job in the sales, customer service or call and contact centre sector?

Well, first of all, flexibility allows you to work smarter, not harder.

Why spend five days working your way through tasks if they can be done in just four?

With flexible working, employees can complete their assigned duties within a pre-agreed time frame but with far more control of the scheduling – for example, arrive an hour early each day and build up enough time to enjoy out-of-work social activities on a Friday afternoon.

This kind of flexi-time is particularly relevant to those working in sales. All your top targets met for the week after only three days? Great! Now take the weight off and enjoy some leisure time with a long weekend sailing, skydiving or spelunking.

With the potential rewards of additional ‘me time’, this type of self-controlled working practice is also an incentive for staff to become more self-motivated and organise their individual workloads to be as efficient and effective as possible.

Sometimes working in sales, customer service and contact centres means there are scripts to follow and a protocol to adhere to – on the face of it, this might seem to afford very little independence.

But as well as recognising the persuasive power of ad-libbing when serving customers, this is where flexible working acts as a great way of avoiding daily tasks becoming monotonous by allowing you to gain more autonomy.

Similarly, the rigidity of working in these sectors can, over time, stifle creativity. With adaptable working schedules, you can often work remotely from a place that actually boosts your inventiveness and promotes lateral thinking – thanks to super-fast home broadband and a huge range of online communication platforms, some of your best ideas for hitting sales targets or improving customer service may well come from the comfort of your own sofa.

With the sophisticated technology now available – particularly in call and contact centres – it’s not inconceivable an employee can work remotely from abroad for months at a time without disrupting their daily work productivity.

Have you thought about swapping the harsh Scottish winter to work remotely from a seaside village on the Med? If that doesn’t boost your well being – and top up your tan – nothing will!

As well as being beneficial for you, this can benefit your company too, with the operating and management costs of a centralised office hub slashed by letting staff work off-site.

Of course, working shorter weeks or flexibly will ultimately allow you to dedicate more of your time to leisure and pleasure pursuits and family commitments.

Finland is a world leader when it comes to this. By next year a new Working Hours Act will come into force there that will allow the majority of full-time personnel the right to decide not only when they work but where they work for at least half of their working hours.

Global studies show with more control over hours and shift patterns, workers are less likely to take sick days and generally report greater feelings of happiness and satisfaction in their working lives.

Feeling valued and appreciated in your job is essential for your overall sense of worth and well being. This is especially important for those who work in target-driven or customer-based roles where a positive attitude is crucial for success.

If all of this sounds like an opportunity to love your work and have time to live your life, why not take a look at the growing number of sales, customer service and call & contact centre roles that offer flexible working patterns? You can find all of the latest vacancies in these sectors on jobs24.com.

Posted on September 4, 2019