Offering flexible working arrangements for staff can also be hugely motivating by enabling them to achieve a better work-life balance.
This can be as simple as allowing employees to start and finish an hour earlier or later, or include options such as part-time work, job shares, compressed hours, career breaks and sabbaticals.
The Work and Families Bill which came into effect in April 2007 has extended the right to request flexible working to carers of adults. This right was previously limited to parents of children aged under six or disabled children under 18 years. The employer is obliged to consider the request seriously.
There have also been recent calls from high profile people such as politicians to extend flexible working beyond women with young children and carers.
Flexible working can be used as a tool for staff retention and recruitment and for reducing employee absence. As an employee incentive, flexible working can help drive high productivity.
homeworking is also an increasingly viable option for employers to consider, in this instance, employee performance evaluation is important and specifically a way for the employee to evaluate their own performance.