By the time you read this, your New Year's resolutions may no longer be foremost in your mind.  Perhaps they've quietly fallen by the wayside - or perhaps they imploded in a puff of wheatgrass-smoothie-fuelled smoke at some point last week.  You may have spent the first week of January declaring that this year you'd practise the saxophone for three hours every day, only eat hand-stroked vegetables grown in the Outer Hebrides, or never argue with your teenage offspring ever again about the levels of hygiene observed in their bedrooms…

It was, as always, wonderful to see so many of the fantastic companies we work with or know at our "Flex: A Whole New World" event.  As well as listening to some truly inspirational speakers, we had the chance to talk to many of you about the future of your businesses and how you see the world of flex moving forwards. 

Whatever your working pattern of choice – part time work, remote work, compressed hours – there’s no question that flexible working has made a huge difference to our lives. Forget Biff, Chip and Kipper - for millions of us, flexibility has been the magic key to unlocking a better work-life balance. It’s enabled us to cheer on our kids at sports days. To provide a listening ear for elderly relatives. To volunteer in our communities. For some of us, flexible working is what makes our worlds go around.

As the New Year dawns, with the added joys of lockdown #3, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s a rather grey and uninspiring dawn. However, here at 9-2-3, we’ve been thinking about the months and years to come and we’re feeling hopeful about the post-pandemic landscape for businesses; there are definitely signs of a brighter future shining through the clouds.

If we let one person work flexibly, then everyone will want to!” is often the argument we hear when speaking to companies who are resistant to introducing flexible working arrangements.

And at 9-2-3, our response is: “That’s a good thing!”

Now, I know that a blog about the logistical challenges of implementing flex in the workplace is not the most inspiring topic in the world.  As a passionate advocate of flexible working, it is all too easy for me to reel off reasons why it is so powerful.  The benefits to business are not in dispute - proven advantages include a happier, more productive workforce, less sick days taken by staff, increased profits, I could (and on many occasions, do) go on …………… But what people don’t hear about quite so often is exactly HOW businesses make flexible working work within their organisation.