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Coronavirus has brought us flexible working – and a chance to make a real change in workplace diversity

posted on September 19, 2020

September 14, 2020

By Colette Mckune

COVID-19 is changing the way we work in ways we’ve never experienced before. The outbreak has had a terrible effect on all our lives.

But there are positives. It has accelerated change programmes across all industries.

And as we’ve all started to become more accustomed to working in flexible and agile ways, it is important that we take advantage of the opportunities that this presents.

Encouraging diversity

I’m an advocate for diversity. Throughout my career, I’ve faced and witnessed discrimination, and it is important to me to ensure that ForHousing welcomes everybody.

Across the housing sector, we’ve been looking at ways to attract new talent and retain current staff. But ingrained processes have prevented us from moving forward as quickly as we would have liked.

More agile, flexible ways of working provide us with an opportunity to accelerate change.

According to the International Workplace Group, three-quarters (77%) of businesses are improving talent retention by introducing flexible working and a third (32%) of employees say that flexible working is so important, they would prioritise it over having a more prestigious role.

Perhaps this is due to an increasing focus on work/life balance, as flexible working is seen to improve this by 78%.

To read the full article, click here.