Did you know that sickness absence spiked to its highest rate since 2004?
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics reported that an estimated 148.9 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2024; this is on average 4.4 days lost per worker.
Worryingly, statistics from edays have revealed that 55% of businesses are unaware of the cost of their absence, and a third have expressed frustration at the limitations of the spreadsheet.
It’s no surprise, then, that more organisations are looking for long-term strategies to reduce avoidable absences. Particularly in the wake of the pandemic, one proven approach is embracing smarter scheduling through flexible working arrangements.
Since 2020, options like remote working, adjusted hours, and the ability to work in a virtual space have become widespread, especially in office-based sector
More than a quarter of UK workers (28%) were following hybrid patterns by late 2024, and surveys indicate 91% of organisations now offer some form of flexibility to staff (e.g., remote, part-time, flextime).
So, what makes flexible working so successful? Have absence management systems played a big role in this journey, and, most importantly, how has the worldwide rollout of flexible working affected people positively? Follow along to find out.
What is flexible working?
The term ‘flexible working’ is an umbrella term for any work arrangement that adapts the traditional 9-to-5, office-based model. ACAS defines a range of flexible working types that employers and employees can agree upon:
- Part-time: Working reduced hours compared to a full-time schedule (for example, 3 days a week instead of 5, or shorter daily hours).
- Staggered hours: Having different start and finish times than colleagues (e.g. 7am-4pm instead of 9am-6pm).
- Remote working/work-from-home (WFH): Working from a location other than the central workplace – for instance, from home or a co-working space. Many people now work remotely full-time or several days a week.
- Flexitime: Flexibility in start/finish times, usually with core hours in the middle of the day. For example, an employee can choose their start time, provided they work 10am-4pm each day (core hours) and complete their total hours.
Flexible working is especially prevalent in professional sectors, where many roles can be performed on non-standard schedules. It can take many forms, from adjusting hours or location, to fundamentally rethinking how jobs are structured.
Are there proven benefits to flexible working?
Yes! The benefits of flexible working have been heavily reported worldwide. It’s become a great way for businesses to accommodate employees’ individual differences, particularly in the following two ways:
Neurodiversity
For companies with neurodivergent staff (e.g., autism, ADHD, dyslexia, etc), flexible work environments can be a marked improvement.
The UK government’s 2024 ‘Buckland Review’ (a report on autism employment) found that constant full-time office attendance can be overwhelming for many autistic individuals.
By allowing more freedoms with start and finish times, these reasonable adjustments can make life much easier for neurodivergent staff. From home, these employees can optimise their work conditions to suit their needs without fear of stigma.
Circadian rhythms
Every person has a unique body clock. It’s called the ‘Circadian Rhythm’, and it influences when you feel most alert or need rest. Traditional fixed schedules can force ‘night owls’ to work groggy early mornings, or ‘early birds’ to stay late when their energy dips.
Both of these scenarios can contribute to fatigue and errors. But flexible working allows people to work at the times they naturally perform best.
In fact, research from UK academics (conducted during the pandemic) found that giving employees more control over work times led to improved sleep duration and less ‘social jetlag’ (misalignment between one’s natural sleep cycle and work schedule).
How can businesses keep on top of flexible working policies?
For many businesses, the challenge isn’t whether or not to offer these policies, but how best to implement them. Ultimately, the most successful arrangements come from a combination of thoughtful policies and modern HR software.
For example, edays software for absence management offers features like smart scheduling, real-time monitoring and detailed insight into attendance patterns.
1. Use smart scheduling/absence management tools
Technology will be one of your best assets for coordinating flexible work (and monitoring attendance patterns). Many employers use absence management tools to track leave, sickness, and working hours in real time.
When teams need a clearer view of where hours go across roles and projects, time tracking solutions can complement scheduling and reduce disputes.
The software is designed to analyse absence data and identify patterns (like recurring Monday absences or higher absence in certain teams) so that managers can be proactive in addressing underlying causes.
2. Monitor outcomes
Creating a reliable, flexible work environment requires extensive effort. Unlike one-off projects, it demands ongoing evaluation.
Employers need to monitor key metrics like employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, and performance under the new arrangements. It’s common practice for organisations to conduct regular staff reviews to gauge opinions.
The end goal? To make the policy itself flexible.
3. Create a culture of trust
For some employers, a major barrier to flexible work uptake is lingering distrust that people won’t work if not supervised in person. But evidence shows the opposite: with trust, many employees become more responsible.
Instead of micromanaging, employers should outline clear objectives, then give staff leeway in how and when they meet them.
What does the future hold for flexible working?
As the world moved away from the pandemic, we didn’t leave flexible working behind: the positive impact is now too big to ignore.
From reduced employee absences to greater engagement, UK organisations are increasingly recognising the merits of flexible work and putting policies into place.
Absence management software has become a crucial part of this shift, and we’re excited to see rates of job satisfaction rise in years to come.
