Business leaders under pressure to offer greater work flexibility, finds LinkedIn study

LinkedIn's Future of Work study found that 80 per cent of business leaders in India feel pressured to offer greater flexibility since COVID-19, with employees (58 per cent), managers (41 per cent), and the government (37 per cent) contributing to this pressure.

LinkedIn launched the Future of Work B2B perception study that surveyed 736 business leaders in India and their perceptions on the future of work, flexibility, the challenges they foresee, and their plans to solve them.

"Flexible working has emerged as a top priority in the new world of work, and business leaders see this as an opportunity to hire more diverse talent and improve business performance. Nearly nine in ten leaders have hired specialists to design stronger workplace policies, to re-evaluate everything from L&D opportunities to performance reviews and career progression through a new lens — one that puts people first and not location," says Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn.

The study shows India is leading in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in offering flexibility; in comparison, only 68 per cent of APAC leaders offer job shares, and 58 per cent allow the staff to work from a different country.

The study says that business leaders create new workplace policies that give employees more agency over how they work and where they work from today. The study shows 88 per cent of business leaders have hired specialists, consultants, and additional personnel to help design their workplace policies for the future.
While nine in ten business leaders in India have already offered or are planning to offer job sharing possibilities, 78 per cent are planning to allow employees to work from a different country.

Business leaders said some of the foreseeable concerns with offering greater flexibility are substandard quality work (39 per cent), a lesser collaboration between employees (37 per cent), and dented customer experience (36 per cent).

The study reveals that 'digital transformation', 'rethinking marketing strategy', and 'establishing new ways of working' are the top three business priorities for business leaders. Further, 93 per cent of India's leaders also believe that having younger employees on the team gives them fresh insights into new marketing trends, especially as they continue to adapt their marketing strategies.

The study shows that 3 in 5 leaders believe having 'happy and fulfilled employees' (62 per cent) is as important as 'excellent customer service' (63 per cent).  Moreover, 9 in 10 (89 per cent) business leaders invest in training courses that facilitate employee collaboration and productivity in a flexible working environment.

It further adds that one in two leaders in India encourage small talk at the start of meetings, and empathetic conversations led by managers (46 per cent) can foster inclusion among employees, regardless of their locations.