How Flexible Work Has Helped With The Cost Of Living

Categorised in: News

The phrase on everybody’s lips now seems to be the same, and it feels as though a conversation can’t occur without these three words escaping from somebody’s mouth: 

The cost of living. 

The rising cost of living isn’t just affecting those in minimum wage roles or those currently not working – this is a situation the whole country is in together.

To help people through the crisis, employers must do what they can to support their employees, with many stating that flexible work has helped to offset the cost of living. Offering employee benefits such as flexible work boosts morale and helps people reduce their spending related to their work-related outgoings.

What Is Flexible Working?

By definition, flexible working is a way of working designed to suit an employee’s needs. This can include having adjustable start and finish times, as well as being able to work from home where possible.

Finding work practices that best suit your employees’ needs, whilst still fulfilling the needs of the business should be considered an essential employee benefit that will help your staff retention, morale, and productivity.

Flexible Working Policies Help With The Cost Of Living

When it comes to going to work, your employees will inevitably incur extra costs. This could include:

• Childcare: Parents who need childcare can often pay large fees
• Commuting: Those travelling will have to pay for public transport or costs associated with having a car
• Food: Employees must eat during the workday, and many will eat out for convenience
• Clothing: Office dress codes mean employees will spend money on clothes that they will only wear for work.

On the surface, it’s easy to overlook these costs, but many employees are realising that by working more flexibly they can create some vital cost savings to help them through the current crisis. 

Recent research from GlassDoor found that 58% of workers said flexible work has helped them reduce their spending.

How Can Flexible Working Policies As Part Of Employee Benefits Help?

By allowing some flexibility on start and finish times or integrating a hybrid working policy between home and the office, employees can:

• Reduce the number of hours their kids spend in childcare
• Save on public transport or petrol and parking costs
• Eat at home, which is cheaper than eating out
• Wear casual, less expensive clothes around the house when working from home to reduce the amount of money spent on office clothes.

Not only is this fantastic for employee wellbeing and engagement, but these are employer benefits, too! Many people will stay in jobs that offer flexibility and a better work-life balance. It could even be just the deal breaker for a new hire who is weighing up the pros and cons of moving jobs.

Can Hive360 Help Implement Flexible Working?

At Hive360, we specialise in working with businesses to create employee benefits that are accessible to everyone. Using our Hive360 Engage app, you can address your employee welfare needs and offer benefits that improve employee wellbeing, mental health and engagement via a mobile app that puts everything in the palm of your hand— book your free demo here.