“Having the freedom to work flexibly and being able to dictate your own hours creates a two-way relationship of trust. Personally, for me it creates a greater sense of company loyalty as it demonstrates a high level of trust from your employer, helping make myself as a recent graduate feel valued.”
My name is Melanie and I recently graduated from Sheffield Hallam University. After 4 years of study, I finished with a degree in Business and Human Resource Management and now have a lovely job working in HR for a large company in Sheffield!
Finishing university can feel like being plunged head first into the vast unknown. Most graduates will joke about being released into the ‘real world’ once finishing university, and can be easily spotted roaming around with a vague confused look on their face wondering what to do next. Usually the answer is to join the dreaded rat race.
But what if it doesn’t have to be so dreaded after all?
I had worked in two previous jobs more or less at different ends of the spectrum. One was totally fixed in terms of start and end time with absolutely no choice. However, my second job during my university placement year embraced flexible working, allowing staff to come in anytime between 7-10am and then work their 8 hours. It was fabulous!
I found that the flexible working approach worked around my routine instead of the other way round, so it was easy to continue doing the things I love: I was able to schedule in the gym and keep up with my hobbies. Aka, maintaining a healthy work-life balance!
Having the luxury of flexibility was really useful in that transition from university to the working life. Universities offer a very flexible lifestyle, having classes a few times a week and 24/7 libraries to work when and as you please – yes really, you can go to the library at 3am to work if you wanted! That freedom enabled me to manage my own time and as a result get used to working when it suits me. Having the option of flexible working in the workplace avoided the strict 9 - 5 life in employment, and I found it helped hugely when adjusting to a full time role.
Now as a recent graduate, being short of cash and lacking a super fancy car, I commute to work each day by bus. I’ve found that flexible working offered by my new employer compliments the not-so-reliable public transport system, and allows for the more ‘frequent than not’ delays and unforeseen circumstances. So if the bus performs its usual trick of being 20 minutes late, there's no need to worry, so less morning stress – fab!
Having the freedom to work flexibly and being able to dictate your own hours creates a two-way relationship of trust. Personally, for me it creates a greater sense of company loyalty as it demonstrates a high level of trust from your employer, helping make myself as a recent graduate feel valued.
If I was to let my mind run free and imagine the ideal working pattern for me, I’d envisage something with maximum flexibility - something similar to my placement year: having a time frame in the morning within which to start your day, work your hours accordingly and then clock off. If the need to work at home arises, then having the flexibility to do this would be incredibly useful.
When I was on the hunt for my new role, I looked at job location: is it close to where I live? Is there flexible working, or an option for home working? I also looked for a strong employee benefits scheme, plus any other perks that demonstrate the company valued their employees. However, despite the benefits flexible working can offer, as a recent graduate it’s slightly less important than my salary expectations. As I don’t have any major responsibilities (a pet, a child etc. - the most I have to look after at the moment is a few rather low maintenance plants) having to work rigid hours in return for a better salary seems worth it. The phrase ‘needs must’ comes to mind.
In fact, I’ve found that flexible working isn’t that readily available for new graduates. Graduates typically come in at junior levels, and therefore it’s understandable they may need to be in an office for training, or on fixed hours whilst on probation. I’ve also come to the conclusion that roles that are flexible aren’t always advertised as such, so it’s more of a case of applying in hope and then it’s up to pot luck whether a company offers flexible working - or you can negotiate some!
When discussing the idea of flexible working with my friends, we found most of us felt the same way. Most agreed flexible working is the way forward, but it’s understandably more useful in some industries than others, and at different ages depending on your life needs at the time. One of my friends already works flexibly from home and has explained the wonders of flexible working thoroughly, but there are times when she can feel isolated from her colleagues.
I can’t speak for all my friends, nor can I speak for a whole cohort of people, but I think we can all appreciate the benefits flexible working has and the potential it can offer to the working world.
Recent graduates have the skills and knowledge so why not create a work schedule that enables that talent to flourish?