HR Industry News

The end of nine-to-five working

— 11 May 2007 —

Nearly one in three employees in the UK have given up the nine-to-five routine to work outside traditional working hours, new research has found.

A new survey conducted by banking firm First Direct and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, found that staff working between 5pm and 9am add £180bn to the economy.

This has led to the creation of a five-to-nine culture made up of people who work in shifts, work flexible hours or simply work on into the evening.

This represents a paradigm shift: rather than working to fixed turn-up-and-go times, employees are asking their employers to trust them to get the work done – regardless of time and place. Personally, I have worked from home since 1991; this suits my style and some of the detailed technical work that I have to do. While this may not suit everyone, productivity is the benchmark of success and not presenteeism.Paul Avis, Corporate Development Manager, Ceridian

First Direct believes the amount of money generated by people who work five-to-nine will more than double by 2027 to £450bn, while the proportion of the workforce in non-traditional hours will grow by a third.

Its chief executive Chris Pilling said that British businesses have faced up to the challenge of delivering services around the clock and, as a result, it is no longer just factory workers and bar staff who work unusual hours.

We’ve seen a fundamental change in working patterns, with ever-increasing numbers of workers embracing flexi-time, job shares and other innovative working arrangements, he added.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK - a not-for-profit organisation which encourages firms to embrace flexible working initiatives - said that apart from significantly improving productivity and competitiveness for businesses, adopting new smarter working practices will also help employees achieve a better work-life balance.

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