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Four fifths of companies in Hong Kong are now offering their staff some form of flexible working, with a majority reporting that the strategy is bringing them major benefits, such as improved staff productivity, reduced overheads, and an improved work-life balance for staff. Fifty-one percent of firms in Hong Kong believe that flexible working, giving employees the flexibility to choose when and where they complete their work, costs less than fixed office working. These are the key findings of a new global research report from Regus based on responses from 17,000 businesses across 80 countries and over 200 in Hong Kong.

“That flexible work is becoming the norm is good news all round: from employer to employee, from families to wider society and even the environment, everyone can benefit. Hong Kong companies are clearly taking small steps to give employees more control over their working schedules and those that are beginning to fully embrace flexible working are experiencing the benefits. This has become an unstoppable trend,” says Hans Leijten, Regus' regional vice president for East Asia.

However, the survey also finds that flexible work is in many cases confined to only senior staff members in many companies, showing that trust remains a major hurdle for many organisations. ”By basing the right to flexible working on seniority, some firms are missing huge opportunities and may even alienate new talent that they may have gone to a great effort to attract,” comments Leijten. Research shows that 54 percent of Hong Kong businesses only offer this privilege to senior staff, compared to 40 percent globally.

Three quarters of businesses offering flexible working report that their staff have a significantly better work-life balance, improving satisfaction and motivation; two fifths also believe that it improves staff productivity; and a fifth say that it helps them scale rapidly to cope with rapid growth. Almost a fifth of flexible working businesses also feel that their policy gives them access to a wider talent pool and enable them to deploy people in more remote locations.

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