Flexi-hours and remote working key to SME success

Four in five UK small business owners believe allowing employees to work flexible hours is vital to business success.

In a Citrix Online poll of British SME owners, 84% said offering flexible hours is essential to running a successful business, whilst 46% said flexible hours are key to attracting the best talent.

Nearly two thirds (62%) of small business owners said they’d like the opportunity to work remotely, whilst two in five (39%) said they would let employees work away from the office if it was requested.

Remote working was also popular with employees, with 61% saying they’d like the opportunity to do so in their current or next job.

One in five said they’d take a pay cut in exchange for being able to work remotely.

Benefits of remote working cited by employees included having more control over their day, and spending less time commuting.

Brett Caine, Citrix Online analyst, commented: “Flexible working driven by Web Commuting can give businesses an edge ? especially in this difficult economic environment ? since employees can be productive working from anywhere at any time.

“It also enables [SMEs] to retain the best talent, improve staff morale, and meet work-life balance needs of their workers.”

Over 700 people were questioned for the poll, including 500 UK employees and 230 small business owners.

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