Flexible working for parents is great. But child-free people need it, too



thought that was the way it was though, cane it while single. build your nest egg then ease back to "normal" working patterns once kids came
 
Not at my place.

To an extent the hours I can do are dictated by the clients needs but by and large I can choose to start early and leave early, take time in the middle of the day to go to the gym etc’. As long as I deliver my work it’s no problem.
 
Always open to abuse. Lass at our place first asked for maternity to look after her puppy. She then asked to work from home 2/3 afternoons a week for the same reason.
Bit of a pisstake imo...

Why is working from home, provided her role allows it, for any reason a pisstake?

Do we all need to be in an office to be productive?

I get stuff done in half the time if I’m at home because people can’t ask me things as easily.
 
Why is working from home, provided her role allows it, for any reason a pisstake?

Do we all need to be in an office to be productive?

I get stuff done in half the time if I’m at home because people can’t ask me things as easily.

What?
Get a dog and ask for a couple of paid weeks off to look after it....aye no bother.:lol:
 
...

I've worked in places where you have to be in for core hours but the rest of the time, so long as you do your hours somewhere you can either start early/late, finish early/late, have a short or long lunch, or build up some extra time and have a half day off.
I've worked in places where you do a nine day fortnight.
Both the above were abroad.

Here parents nipping off because of their kids is often at the expense of others having to cover their work. Flexible hours likely means companies need to employ another member of staff and they don't like that, but really flexible working should apply to all or none, not some, unless the less favourable working conditions are rewarded with an enhanced pay deal.
 
That's not always a good thing. Loads of time is wasted when people don't make themselves accessible.

I’m accessible via Skype or email still.

Its just not as easy for people to be lazy and ask me something because I’m a few desks away.

But quite honestly - once your concentration is broken it can take quite a while for it to get back to the state it was before. It’s not trivial.
 
My job is mostly working from home with occasional visits to customer sites. It can be lonely and I’m prone to distractions so discipline is needed. I regularly find I do more at home in terms of hours and tasks completed than if I was in the office. Also you don’t lose the travelling time. I love the flexibility and being able to work from my garden with a cold beer in the sunshine when appropriate. I always get the work done. It can get lonely though.

Regarding the O/P and flexibility. Employers I believe have an obligation to be flexible if possible for parents with children. A good employer will want to keep a good employee regardless of that so if flexible working is going to achieve that and get the job done too then there is rarely an issue in my experience.
 
I’m accessible via Skype or email still.

Its just not as easy for people to be lazy and ask me something because I’m a few desks away.

But quite honestly - once your concentration is broken it can take quite a while for it to get back to the state it was before. It’s not trivial.
Think there's two sides to this. There are lazy people who will just ask because someone is there but a large part of my last job was people being able to grab me for a quick chat or vice versa and that wouldn't have worked if those people were working remotely.
Depends on what your job is I suppose. I can see how working from home would be better for you, but it's not always best for the business. I always got more 'work' done when WFH but whether I was giving the best value to the business by being at home is debatable.
 

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