National Rail has announced plans for new season tickets designed specifically for part-time commuters.
This change in the private sector for the masses of commuters in London comes at the same time as MP considerations for legislative changes in rights to work from home making hybrid structures the ‘default norm’. Given this, flexible structures and hybrid working are objectively here to stay in the long term and employers must adapt accordingly if they are to survive and thrive.
While some employers may be concerned about this normalisation of working from home and flexible structures, employees have shown that this approach has been effective and their calls for these structures to be maintained explain National Rail’s new season tickets. Testament to this is the 51% of Brits that have seen the quality of their work and their productivity increase with hybrid working structures.
Commenting on the news, Chris Biggs, partner at Theta Global Advisors, said:” National Rail’s announcement for season tickets designed for part-time commuters comes after legislative considerations making working from home rights the default norm. We are thus seeing both in the private and public sector a shift after more than a year seeing just how effectively we can work with more flexible approaches.
“Attitudes to the future of work have affirmatively shifted, and to ensure people are at their happiest and most productive, flexibility is needed in both where and when they work. Freedom from the office must also mean freedom to go to the office to account for different experiences, priorities, and conditions. New policies will account for substantial differentiations in employees’ experience of working during Covid-19. However, greater flexibility is still needed to account for different experiences and resources on a case-by-case basis. Working environments are looking like they will never return to what they were in 2019, changing very much for the better.
“As such, while employers may instinctively want to see their staff back in the office and for work to go ‘back to normal’ as soon as possible, this is not necessarily the strongest or most sensible approach. Working culture and expectations have changed, and if approached with empathy and flexibility, will result in a far happier, more productive workforce delivering work of a higher standard than before Covid-19. Employees have proven they can be effective when given flexible options or working from home, and employers need to respond to this with trust and structured flexibility approaches allowing employees to alter as necessary.”