Citrix Study Finds Workforce Flexibility Boosts Productivity, Morale

The days of companies forcing employees to work in the office and use only the hardware and software that can live inside their four walls is dead. That’s the main takeaway from a survey of 1,300 U.S. business employees about workplace flexibility and how that impacts employee engagement and productivity conducted by conducted by Wakefield Research for cloud connectivity company Citrix. The data suggests that companies combining cloud applications, with the ability for employees to work where they want, when they want, can increase morale, boost productivity, and ultimately create a more successful enterprise. But whether companies will actually take up that opportunity remains to be seen, the study shows. Read on to learn more on workforce flexibility and its many advantages:

According to the Citrix study, 20 percent of office professionals are now collaborating virtually with each other. The companies collaborate in that fashion using “Web-based apps and platforms,” Citrix found.

The number of people working remotely is surprisingly high. According to Citrix, 69 percent of employees say that at least some of their colleagues are working outside the office.

In another nod to flexibility, setting a schedule that works for employees is becoming prevalent. Citrix found that 34 percent of employees at companies are now allowed to set their own schedule and work on their own hours.

A surprising number of people are working with colleagues they have never even met. According to the Citrix data, 44 percent of people say they’ve “never met some of their coworkers in person.”

Despite all of those opportunities for flexible work, there’s still a large number of people working in the professional world that don’t have the flexibility some others might. About 50 percent of those who said that they don’t have a flexible work environment believe that the “right technology” would allow them to get the flexibility they desire.

Many office works see flexibility as an importing condition in hiring decisions. Four in 10 people said they’d actually turn down a possible position at a company if it did not offer a “flexible work environment.”

So, what actually happens when companies offer flexible schedules? The survey found that 51 percent of respondents said that their flexible work environments raised morale and half of that number said it increased productivity. Flexible work schedules also caused reduced turnover in 35 percent of cases and helped HR professionals attract talent in 34 percent of cases.

The cloud technology is a big factor in flexible work environments. Citrix discovered that 57 percent of office professionals with flexible work environments are using cloud-based apps to stay productive.

Adding cloud-based apps to an office can have valuable benefits, Citrix data shows. Forty-three percent of respondents said that cloud apps can “increase efficiency” and 17 percent claim they will deliver improved work quality. One in five respondents says cloud apps improve work accuracy and 17 percent say they’ll boost creativity.

There’s a formula for success going forward, Citrix data shows. Three-quarters of office professionals feel that companies that offer a flexible work environment, but don’t use cloud apps won’t be competitive in recruiting and in business.