The best of both worlds
Fewer days commuting brings double bubble of benefits to employers and staff alike
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 31st July 2012 – Over half of Middle Eastern workers (53%) are now free from the shackles of their desks reveals the latest survey commissioned by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspaces, which canvassed over 16,000 professionals in more than 80 countries. These professionals are free to work from locations other than their company’s main offices for half a week or more helping them reduce the overall time spent commuting and giving them the freedom to choose work locations closer to home.
Businesses have increasingly been offering flexible working practices to workers as morale and health benefits become common knowledge, but this research confirms that 56% of employees would also work harder, benefiting the company, if they could reduce their commute.
The Regus research asked Middle Eastern professionals how they would use the time gained through cutting their commute. Top activities selected were:
· Spending more time with partner and family (87%)
· Spending time extending educational qualifications (69%)
· Spending more time exercising and getting fitter (64%)
This research also importantly reveals that if businesses were to extend flexible working practices for their staff, not only would employee health, morale and loyalty improve, but also overall productivity as staff would work more, confirming earlier Regus research revealing that globally 72% of companies had experienced increased productivity directly as a result of flexible working practices.[1]
Joanne Bushell, VP for Middle East and Africa, Regus comments: “Although the number of professionals that are able to choose between different work locations is substantial, there is still significant progress to be made to help all workers benefit from more flexible conditions. This is especially true when the win-win benefits of slashing commutes are analysed.
“Importantly, workers reveal that the time saved on commuting would be spent on health and wellbeing activities such as getting fitter at the gym and spending time with family as well as self-improvement. Confirming previous Regus research linking happier and healthier workers to greater productivity, more than half of professionals say they would devote at least some of the time saved on gruelling commutes to working more. So the benefits of flexible working are twofold, on the one hand workers are more relaxed and healthy and on the other they are also more productive benefitting the business too. ”
[1] Regus, Flexibility drives productivity, February 2012
Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world’s largest network of video communication studios. Regus enables people to work their way, whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.
Over a million customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,200 locations in 550 cities and 97 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information please visit: www.regus.com