The
traditional working day is set to become obsolete over the next few years, according
to a new report.
True
flexibility at work – attitudes towards the 24/7 culture, commissioned by Cahoot
and Ashridge Business School, says hours will be more flexible and more people
will work from home.
The
report investigated the attitudes of 250 senior managers across the UK. Half
believe the traditional 9-5 week will be obsolete by 2006.
The
report said employees will demand the option of home-working aided by laptops,
videoconferencing, e-mail and mobile phones.
In
all, 75 per cent of those surveyed believe flexible working will be essential
in retaining highly skilled people.
Half
had turned down, or not applied for, a job because of the lack of flexibility,
while 40 per cent said they would work for less money in return for
flexibility.
The
main push for a change in culture comes from women staff, the report said.
"It
is clear that individuals want to ‘personalise’ their approach to work, and new
and developing forms of communication allow them to do so," the report
said.
"Flexible
working performs best when there is a mutual understanding between employee and
employer that the job needs to be done within an agreed time span."
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