Newbury: UK bosses usher in end to 9-to-5
70% of UK managers think that the old idea of ’9 to 5′ working is dying out in favour of more flexible working arrangements, according to a new survey commissioned by Newbury-headquartered Vodafone.
Among these forward-looking bosses, nine out of 10 enable their staff to work flexibly to some extent, rather than expect them to stick rigidly to traditional working hours.
Bosses revealed themselves to be relatively open-minded about when and how work is done. Six out of ten managers (63%) said that they did not mind staff doing personal things like calling family members or checking their social networking accounts, as long as they get their work done.
Peter Kelly, enterprise director at Vodafone UK, said: “What this research shows is that a cultural shift has started. For many people in the UK, the way we work is changing. Britain’s bosses are realising that successful businesses must focus on generating results, not on monitoring what employees do at their desks.”
Trade-offs needed as work and personal life blur
The ‘quid pro quo’ is that nearly two-thirds of managers (65%) ask their employees to work outside of traditional office hours, at least occasionally. There is a marked difference between the private sector, where nearly 70% of managers request extra hours from staff, and the public sector, where 58% do so.
Private sector managers were also more likely to say that working outside of normal office hours is now expected (15%) than their counterparts in the public sector (8%).
Differing attitudes towards working outside of the 9 to 5 are also obvious between men and women. More female (38.6%) than male bosses (30.6%) said that they never ask their staff to work outside of normal office hours. Likewise, 15.4% of male managers say it’s expected for staff to work outside of working hours, compared with only 9.6% of women.
Of the bosses who do ask their employees to work outside work hours, the vast majority (93%) think that it is only fair that staff sometimes attend to personal tasks during work time, although mostly (73%) with the caveat that it has to be done in moderation.
Peter Kelly commented: “A new generation of workers is coming through the ranks. They prefer fitting work around their lives rather than the other way around. People don’t mind doing some work in the evening or at the weekend, but in return, they expect bosses to cut them some slack so they can see to personal chores.”
Most UK managers are happy for employees to take personal calls, check social networking sites, book appointments, and send personal emails during work hours, at least in moderation.
However, respondents drew the line at staff doing their weekly shop online from work, which around two-thirds (64%) took exception to.
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