Blurring The Line Between Work And Life!

Technology is a double-edged sword which is blurring the line between home and the office. In some ways, this adds more flexibility in terms of how we can all manage our time but it also means more calls, more email and more meetings.

Work-Life Balance

 Technology also means that we frequently have to switch between work and life. It’s no longer the case that we switch off from work when we leave the office. Rather, we go home and are constantly switching back and forth between family and work roles, dipping into work-related social media even as we are cooking dinner or having a drink with friends.

Smartphones have really impacted our ability to manage our time. As such, it can be helpful to switch your phone off from time to time. You need to allow yourself some time away from the chaos: the calls, texts, emails and social media alerts. Whether you're spending a night out with your partner or grabbing lunch with a friend, you don't need to obsess over work at every moment. If you turn off your device on weekends or the odd evening, you won't feel the constant need to check on business matters.

Working hard is tiring. The demands of the modern working environment can often make you feel that you need to be “always on”.

Time is a limited resource and in order to make the most of your time it is important to manage your energy levels in order to allow your mind and body to perform. No matter how accessible we are to our clients and our work responsibilities, we can't make more time. As such it is necessary to make the most of our time by being more effective when we are in “working mode” but it is essential that we allow time to replenish our energy. Sleep, exercise, eating properly and having a good social life are essential to success in business. Giving yourself time to recharge ensures that you will be more alert and more effective when you are working.

In order to be more efficient and effective in how you use your time, it is imperative that you create a realistic schedule. You can only do one thing at a time. As such, you should create your to do list in your calendar (Outlook, Google, IOS etc.), allowing enough time to get things done.

It’s also important to build in some flexibility so that you can respond to unexpected demands as and when they arise. Your approach to scheduling should also prioritise and allow time for your health, family and hobbies. After all – we work to live, we don’t live to work!

What is Flexible Working? What are the Business Benefits?

The businesses that will thrive today and tomorrow are those that can be truly flexible. Businesses that are embracing flexible working can use it to help cut costs, attract talent and radically improve productivity.

Technology has changed the way we communicate and it is currently changing the way we work. Gone are the days when office workers spent every working moment in a cubicle or at a desk. The rise of digital communication tools, collaboration apps and productivity suites, coupled with the benefits of the 'always on' nature of the web, have set the modern business free.

Flexible working is the natural evolution of work in the brave new digital world. Today, businesses large and small can operate anytime, anywhere.

What do we really mean by Flexible Working?

Essentially, it means freeing up your employees to work in the way that suits them best. That can mean mobile working via a smartphone or laptop, working from different locations thanks to remote access to the business network, holding meetings through video conferencing, home-working and flexi-time, which allows staff to tweak their working hours. Underpinning it all is the technology that helps your team to work in a way that suits them best, from any location.

Benefits for business

By putting the technology and processes in place to facilitate flexible working, rigid and old-fashioned infrastructure can be overhauled, allowing businesses to install more efficient systems. Flexible working can also be invaluable in both staff recruitment and retention, especially for those with family commitments. Beyond parents, flexible working can help keep work/life balance in check for all employees, as they have the right systems and technologies in place to better manage their workload.

By cutting the time your staff spend travelling and by giving them the tools they need to work on the go when they do travel, dead time is converted back into productive time. These hours add up. And it's not just businesses that benefit, people do too. The boost to morale and productivity generated by scrapping an employee's commute or their endless travel to and from meetings cannot be underestimated.

-PJ 
☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

Flexible Working Got More Flexible since June!

New employment rules mean the right to request flexible working extended to all employees with 26 weeks' service since June 30th.

Earlier, only employees with children under 17 (or disabled children under 18) and those with responsibilities as carers have a right to request flexible working.

New Flexible Working Rule

Under new measures, however, any employee with 26 weeks’ continuous service can ask to work flexibly for any reason, whether it’s taking up a further education course, combining work with caring for the grandchildren, or simply wanting to spend less time at work.

Eligible employees will be able to request a change to working hours, working time or work location.

The amended Children and Families Act 2014 removes the prescriptive statutory procedure for dealing with requests, replacing it with a duty on employers to deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’ and to notify employees of their decision within three months, unless an extension is agreed.

More employees will be able to request flexible working but it doesn’t mean they have the right to have that request granted. Similar principles are likely to apply when considering requests received and the grounds for refusing remain the same.

Employers will still be able to reject requests if there are legitimate business reasons for doing so; for example, if it would lead to additional costs for the company, affect its ability to meet customer demand or have a detrimental impact on the company’s performance.

The new flexible working rule is one of several ‘family-friendly’ changes in the pipeline over the next 12 months.

From October 1st 2014 a prospective father or a mother’s partner can take unpaid time off to attend up to two antenatal appointments, while from April 5th 2015 parents of newly born or newly adopted babies, and in some cases a mother and her partner, will be allowed to share a combined total of up to 52 weeks of parental leave and 39 weeks of statutory pay between them.

We have a specialist payroll service that can assist you in the continuing administrative requirements surrounding employment. We would be delighted to discuss these with you.

Contact us for more information at ☎☎ 020 89310165!

We are a team of Chartered Certified Accountant regulated and monitored by The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).