Scotland Women’s football head coach Shelley Kerr will be one of the speakers at the nation’s first ‘festival’ of flexible working.
FlexibleWorkFest in January 2020 will aim to show businesses how flexible working can benefit them and ways they can make it possible.
The event is being organised by Family Friendly Working Scotland, whose research found 87% of Scottish business leaders who offer flexibility say it’s good for business. But there are many more employers want to be more flexible but don’t know where to start.
It can explore how flexible working can make employees happier and businesses prosper through TED-style big conversations and panel discussions involving award-winning organisations that already work flexibly.
Sessions with experts from organisations including Barclays, Arnold Clark, City Building and CIPD will include:
- Healthy, happy employees – how to get it right
- The four-day working week and why it works
- Flex in non-office jobs and sectors – it can be done
- What millennials really want from work and how to deliver it
Aviva, Deloitte, Quorum Network Resources and Pursuit Marketing will also be giving examples of best practice that create engagement with employees and drive business growth.
Nikki Slowey, co-director at Family Friendly Working Scotland, said: “The benefits of flexible working in terms of productivity, staff recruitment and retention and reduced sickness absence are well documented. This combined with changes to our workforce with increasing numbers of working parents and those caring for elderly relatives as well as rising mental health and wellbeing issues, means employers are increasingly turning to flexible working to help them face the challenges of a modern responsible businesses.
“We often hear from employers who are interested in becoming more flexible but don’t know practically how to take things forward.
“We hope our inaugural FlexibleWorkFest will give these employers the chance to learn how peer organisations are implementing and normalising flexible working and what kind of impact this is having on their workforce and the business itself.”
Kerr, who led her Scotland team in its recent World Cup campaign, exemplifies how parenthood needn’t be a barrier to professional success.
She said: “Flexible working isn’t just about mothers, it’s about inclusivity and making sure we aren’t letting hard-working, capable employees slip away. I can’t wait for FlexibleWorkFest to hear other real-life success stories of work-life balance.”
The Times, Scotland editor Magnus Llewellin will also share his thoughts on increasing flexible working opportunities, particularly within the media.
He said: “I’m proud to be speaking at FlexibleWorkFest and sharing how flexible working helps us shape the new media landscape. With a previous reputation for long hours within our sector, we have had that lightbulb moment and now embrace work life balance as a real driver of output.”
FlexibleWorkFest will be on Thursday 30 January 2020 at Whitespace in Edinburgh and tickets are available here.
