Flexi work more important than ever, but SA bosses want their teams in the office - survey

Flexible working conditions are increasingly becoming a necessity, but there must be a cultural mind shift in order to create an enabling environment, a survey has shown.

Research by US-based software company Citrix, released on Thursday, shows that while over 90% of respondents believe technology can increase employee productivity, only 59% of employers are looking to use it to offer a flexible working environment for their employees.

And while 58% of managers believe they themselves are more productive when they can work flexibly, 80% believe employees are more productive in a central office environment than working remotely.

Citrix commissioned the survey, conducted by research firm OnePoll, to investigate the relationship between employee productivity, flexible working opportunities and the use of technology. A total of 250 IT department heads across SA organisations in multiple sectors were surveyed.

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According to the research findings, SA businesses have preferred employees working from offices, mainly due to a "lack of trust" between management and their employees.

There was a disconnect between respondents' views on their own productivity in a flexible environment versus employees' productivity in a flexible environment, the research noted.

"Nearly a third (32%) say that they work at the same level of productivity whether working flexibly or within an office during normal office hours, and only 7% say they are less productive when they work flexibly," the report read.

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Less than half (48%) of respondents said that employees are given the option to work flexibly, but the ultimate decision for allowing this is that of team managers. Of the respondents, 15% said only certain departments can work flexibly, and 12% said that only senior staff can work flexibly.

The research also indicated some of the other obstacles to a flexible working culture. This includes a lack of technological infrastructure, hardware and software, cyber security threats due to human error, as well as organisations not being able to comprehend "business benefits" of a flexible workspace.

Flexibility a necessity

Respondents however are recognising the importance of offering a flexible working environment. Rising urbanisation and traffic congestion are viewed by 61% of respondents as the main driving force for a flexible working environment.

Aspects such as diversity and inclusion are making flexible working a necessity to increase workforce access to everyone, according to 51% of respondents. Flexible working has also become an essential part of attracting "the bests global talent", according to 50% of respondents.

Brendan McAravey, country manager for Citrix South Africa, said technology is recognised as a contributing factor to creating a flexible working environment. The majority of respondents agreed that cloud-based tools help employees collaborate better any time and anywhere, and that instant messaging tools helped them stay connected. But what is lacking is a cultural mindshift towards creating a flexible work environment, he argued.

"South African businesses still need to break the mental barriers around productivity being greater when working from a central office location," he said.

"This is essential to competing for talent on a global scale… while South Africa is taking some preliminary steps towards progressive change, we still need to bring about a cultural mind shift to ensure that we have a strong flexible work culture," he added.