Many employers have been moving towards offering flexible working as part of their employee benefits packages, on the understanding that they need to rethink their approach to working hours to attract and retain the best talent.
Right now, these sames employers are hurrying to adopt various ways to cater to the needs of the employees who are in seclusion from the coronvirus. The adoption of secure technology to enable the flexibility of working from multi-locations and online collaboration is suddenly urgent.
With the invention of the Internet, the technology era boomed in the early 1990s. The networks of networks, otherwise called the World Wide Web, was widely available in August 1991 to be precise, and it changed how the workspace operated. The office culture grew diverse as more and more female employees came into the workforce, but the percent remained to under 30 percent. Office spaces were more functional, with open spaces as the preferred form of structure to boost communication and collaboration.
More than one million high-paid workers in the UK are now working on a part-time basis. Flexible working enables all employees, including those with caring responsibilities, mental or physical health issues, and has a proven positive impact on employees’ overall mental health.
A 2019 study by Wildgoose found that 39% currently working flexibly notice an improvement in their mental health; 43% of people whose employers do not offer flexible working feel it would positively impact their mental health if they were able to do so. Millions of people have been working from home across China and further afield, as the government introduces more measures to contain the deadly virus. Many are enjoying the opportunity to spend time with their families or catch up with old friends online, and some are finding it a more productive way of working using remote conferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Meet to collaborate with his colleagues.
Working from home is not anywhere near as cyber secure as being in an office. Preparation is required to ensure company systems are able to support a critical mass of staff suddenly working remotely.
More people now want complete or partial control over their work schedule. A recent survey by FlexJobs of over 7,000 professionals confirms that a flexible schedule is one of the most preferred types of flexible work arrangements, second only to full-time remote work. The survey indicates that the number of people quitting a job because of flexibility issues nearly doubled from 17% in 2014 to 30% in 2019.
The British National Cyber Security Centre has this week issued organisations with advice on how to make sure they are prepared for an increase in home working, along with guidance on spotting coronavirus scam emails:-
Home working: preparing your organisation and staff.
Source: Cyber Security Intelligence
