The Right To Flexibility: Making Accountants Flaky Or More Productive

With the introduction of cloud computing, technology has taken the biggest leap. Services like application hosting have made it possible for employees, business owners, and their clients to work collaboratively from every nook and corner of the world. The geographical differences are no longer a barrier and people can work from the comforts of their home or while on a vacation just with a working internet connection. But why is right to flexibility still out of reach for many?

The Primitiveness of Presenteeism

Until a few years ago, offices worshiped the culture of presenteeism. Bosses lived by the belief: if you were not present, you didn’t work. This is no longer true. The modern employee believes in flexibility and employers are friendlier than ever. The accounting firms have undoubtedly undergone a remarkable reform in recent years where employees are free to work from the comforts of their homes. Honest question though: Why was the change needed?

The Struggle For Retention  

Accounting is not just limited to the male population. With almost half the accountants being females, employers often observed them dropping out of work to embrace maternity and raise their kids. In other cases, accountants who lived too far away from work or those who had to move to a better locality for the sake of a good neighborhood or better schools for their kids had to leave their jobs in the process.

This gave birth to the problem of retention.

Accounting firms had to let go of their valued employees just because they could not be present at work. Becoming a mother is a natural process and it is nowhere justified to spend several hours on the road to be able to work at your current office. Flexibility was born out of the dire need of retention.

The Case For Women

Flexibility at work can mean a lot more for women than it does for men. The prominent reason behind this idea is the role women play in their homes. No matter how advanced we are technologically and mentally, biologically a woman’s role cannot be replaced. Motherhood is a reality and multiple research studies have proved it to be the biggest reason why women choose to leave their progressive careers behind and settle as stay-at-home moms.

A more agile workplace can serve as a boon for women who wish to continue working even when they are a full-time nursing mother. With online accounting software that makes it possible to work from anywhere, at any time, women can earn and support their family, without having to sacrifice their time at home.

The Case For Men

It is not just women who advocate the right to flexibility. Men too deserve the flexibility to work so they can pursue things they like. A man, just like a woman, has equal rights to be there for his family. Caregiving should not just be a woman’s responsibility. Three decades ago, a woman’s ideal role would have been staying at home taking care of the kids and their needs. Fast forward to the world today, the role of men is almost the same as a woman’s.

Apart from caregiving, men may need work flexibility for other things. Following a passion, taking a class, spending more time with the kids can be some of the several reasons that support the idea of flexibility for men.

Less Judgement, More Understanding

There is a fair justification for the importance firms are giving to flexibility these days. It is not logical to judge an employee on his life outside of work. Man or woman, every individual has the right to work according to his comforts and be present for the important events in his life. Flexibility at work should not be limited to a single gender.

Time and again, studies have proved that people showed a higher productivity when they were allowed to work in an environment they preferred. Be it the facility to work from home, part-time work or working according to their will: flexibility is all that matters.

What Organizations Can Do?

Organizations can do nothing but be supportive of their employees, after all, productivity is all that matters at the end of the day.  Here’s what firms can do to ensure flexibility for their employees:

• Make sure men and women are equally entitled to flexibility at work.
• Firms should encourage their employees to be flexible by letting them work from home instead of taking a full-day leave from work. It only adds to their overall productivity.
• Ensure that the teams are coordinating well with the employees who work from home. The work culture must not get affected in any case.
• Encourage the employees to make the most out of technology such as application hosting.