In 2025, in the post-covid era, flexible working has become an essential HR mechanism in companies, offering a new way of thinking about work. These arrangements – flexible working hours, teleworking, autonomy, part-time contracts, etc. – are designed to adapt the organisation of work to the needs of each employee, enabling them to combine their professional and personal lives as effectively as possible.
Would you like to know how to implement an effective flexibilisation policy in your company? Intuition software explains everything you need to know about flexibility in the workplace:
Flexibility at work in a nutshell
- Flexibility in the workplace means adapting the organisation (hours, location, pace, tasks) to the needs of employees, without undermining the company’ s performance.
- Flexible working has become an essential criterion for attracting, motivating and retaining talent, particularly the younger generation.
- There are 5 main forms of labour flexibility: external quantitative, internal quantitative, external qualitative, internal qualitative and wage flexibility.
- Best practices in flexibility include teleworking, flexible working hours, a 4-day week , unlimited holiday and chosen part-time work.
- The benefits of flexibility in the workplace are numerous: a better work-life balance, greater commitment, increased productivity and greater attractiveness.
- However, there arelimits: isolation, overload, inequalities.
- To be successful, a flexible HR strategy must be based on 6 pillars: diagnosis, co-construction, written framework, managerial training, digital tools and regular monitoring.
What is flexible working?
Workplace flexibility refers to a company’ sability to adapt its organisation to the needs of its employees while remaining efficient. This means rethinking ways of working to achieve a better work-life balance, responding to changing market demands and constraints, and introducing a more flexible and supportive organisation, without losing efficiency.
Today, flexible working is an essentialfeature when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent. According to a study by Morning Consult for Zoom, 43% of respondents to the survey believe that flexible working is no longer an advantage, buta classic expectation. This development reflectsa profound change: what used to bea privilege is now seen as a standard, or even a prerequisite.
In this context, companies that do not integrate flexible forms of working into their organisation run the risk of missing out on qualified profiles or seeing their employer brand affected. Conversely, companies that do offer flexible working enhance their attractiveness, as well as employee motivation and loyalty.
What are the different forms of flexible working?
Flexible working can take 5 main forms that human resources can use to make a company more agile: external or internal quantitative flexibility, external or internal qualitative flexibility, and salary flexibility. Implementing a flexible working policy means striking a balance betweenbusiness performance and employees ‘ well-being at work.
- External quantitative flexibility: this form of labour flexibility involves adjusting the number of employees according to the company’ s level of activity. During a production peak, for example, teams can be strengthened temporarily by hiring people on short-term contracts (fixed-term, temporary or seasonal contracts ).
- Internal quantitative flexibility: this involves adapting employees ‘ working hours to the real needs of the company: variable working hours, chosen part-time working, adapted holidays, etc. This type of flexibility mainly concerns working hours, with the possibility of varying the duration or organisation of work over time, depending on the workload, while maintaining the existing workforce.
- Qualitative external flexibility: here, it is not a question of adjusting the volume of staff, but rather of delegating certain activities to external partners. This may involve support functions (payroll, IT, communication) or specific one-off expertise (consultants, freelancers, service providers). In this way, the company gains in efficiency, while lightening its internal workload with specialised skills, without having to hire directly.
- Internal qualitative flexibility: often referred to as functional flexibility, this is based on versatility and the development of skills. An employee may be required to occupy different positions depending on requirements, or to undergo training to take on new tasks. This approach encourages internalmobility and team autonomy.
- Flexible pay: this form of flexibility involves varying pay according to performance, company results or targets achieved. This can take the form of bonuses, collective profit-sharing or a variable part of salary. The idea here is to motivate teams and reward concrete results, while adjusting wage costs to economic realities.
These forms of flexible working can be combined depending on the sector of activity, the size of the company and its managerial culture.
What are the best practices for flexibility in the workplace?
Some of the best practices in workplace flexibility include:
- Teleworking: the most widespread form of flexible working today. It allows employees to work from home, either part-time or full-time. This gives them greater autonomy, reduces commuting times and helps them to concentrate on certain tasks. According to the Morning Consult study, the employees surveyed believe that teleworking helps to reduce expenses (72%), spend more time with their family (71%), achieve a better work/life balance (61%) and maintain mental health (48%).
- The 4-day week: this is a fairly recent model, but one that is being tried out more and more in companies, consisting of condensing working time into 4 days while maintaining the salary and weekly workload. The result: an extra day ‘ s rest, productivity that is often equivalent or even higher, and a strong positive impact on the employer brand.
- Flexible working hours: rather than imposing fixed working hours, some companies let their employees choose their starting and finishing times, within a defined range. This allows everyone to adapt to their own biological rhythm, family life or transport constraints.
- Unlimited leave: still not very widespread in France, this practice is developing in companies that are committed to empowerment. It is based on trusting employees to manage their own time off, with no defined limits.
- Part-time work: offering the possibility of working part-time, with no impact on status or career development, makes it possible to meet specific needs: looking after children, training, maintaining personal balance or easing the end of a career.
What are the benefits of flexibility in the workplace?
Flexible working has many advantages, both for companies and for employees. In particular, according to the Morning Consult study for Zoom, 86% of respondents strongly or somewhat agree that flexible working makes them happier as employees.
Among the main advantages of flexibility at work, we can mention:
- Improved work-life balance: this is the most sought-after benefit. By enabling employees to adapt their working hours or location , flexible working makes it easier to manage personal constraints: children, health, transport, extra-curricular activities. According to the Employee Preferences 2022 barometer published by JLL, 66% of employees consider quality of life at work and the balance between work and personal time to be their priority, even before the content of their work.
- Increased employee commitment: employees who feel listened to and respected in the way their work is organised are more inclined to stay with the company for the long term. Flexible working reinforces the feeling of recognition and trust and, in the long term, significantly reduces staff turnover .
- Improved productivity: contrary to popular belief , properly managed flexibility can lead to better concentration and more efficient organisation of working time. Employees are more autonomous, more focused and more results-oriented.
- Improved attractiveness of the company: today, talented people – particularly the younger generations – are making flexibility a priority in their job search . In fact , according to the Morning Consult study for Zoom, 79% of respondents aged under 30 said they preferred flexible working hours to any other professional advantage. Companies that offer flexible working conditions stand out, enhance their employer brand and attract more qualified profiles.
For employees , flexible working has become a major criterion of choice. For employers , putting these models in place gives them strategic leverage to attract skilled talent, and above all to keep them with thecompany. According to a study by OpinionWay for Slack, 46% of employees are considering changing jobs because ofa lack of flexibility in their current company. In other words: if you don’t offer flexible working, you run the risk of losing your talent.
What are the limits of flexible working?
Flexibility in the workplace brings many benefits, but it can also pose problems if it is not properly managed. The balance between individual autonomy and collective cohesion is quite subtle and can sometimes be difficult to achieve. Thus, if its framework is not well defined, flexibility can generate problems such as:
- Isolation,
- The loss of the collective bond ,
- Mental overload,
- Lack of coordination between teams.
Not all professions allow the same forms of flexibility (teleworking, flexible working hours ), and some employees may feel at a disadvantage. This can lead to a feeling of injustice or damage motivation and commitment. To avoid this, it is essential to offer flexibility that is adapted to each position, clear for everyone, with effective management.
How can flexible working be effectively integrated into an HR strategy?
For flexible working to be truly useful, it must form an integral part of the HR strategy and of a flexibilisation policy. It ‘s not just a question of authorising teleworking or offering flexible working hours, but of taking into account the company’ s constraints, employees ‘ expectations and managers ‘ objectives.
- Carry out an assessment and draw up an action plan
First and foremost, it is essential to map out the business lines, operational constraints and internal expectations, because not all jobs are compatible with the same forms of flexibility. The aim is to identify :
- Posts where teleworking is possible,
- Services subject to physical presence constraints,
- Specific needs expressed by employees ( part-time, flexible working hours, etc.).
- Involving stakeholders in the construction of a flexibilisation policy
For flexible working to work, the rules have to be drawn up with everyone concerned: managers, employees and staff representatives. This enables us to choose the right forms of flexibility together, and to decide how to apply them and for whom. By involving teams from the outset, we avoid misunderstandings and make it easier to implement on a day-to-day basis.
- Developing a clear and transparent framework
Even with flexibility , there needs to be a clear framework. An internal charter or document should explain who can benefit from these arrangements, how they work and what is expected of each person. This framework helps to prevent abuses, ensure fairness between employees and provide legal protection for the company.
- Supporting managers
Flexibility is changing the role of the manager. They will have to help their team to remain effective, even from a distance. They need to learn how to build trust, stay in touch with their colleagues, organise regular opportunities for discussion, and recognise when someone is feeling isolated or overworked. To do this, it is important to train managers and support them in this new approach.
- Using digital HR tools
To manage flexibility effectively, you need the right tools. Recruitment software makes it possible to track who is working where, when and at what pace. It can also be used to record candidates ‘ preferences from the moment they are recruited, manage schedules and monitor team satisfaction. HR collaboration tools make it easier to communicate, share information and coordinate between teams, even remotely.
- Measuring and adjusting the flexibility policy
Flexibility in the workplace needs to evolve over time; it’s an adaptive policy. To find out whether it is working well, you need to ask your teams for their opinions on a regular basis, monitor indicators such as absenteeism, quiet quitting and staff turnover, and talk to your managers. This helps to identify what ‘ s working and what ‘ s not, and to adapt the strategy if necessary.
You now have a clear vision of the challenges and good practices associated with flexible working. When properly implemented, it can create a more humane, efficient and attractive working environment. It’s up to you to build a human resources management strategy in line with your values and objectives. Want to optimise your recruitment and get the most qualified talent? Contact our team and find out more about our JobAffinity recruitment software.
