How it works
Flexible working covers three kinds of change. Where: working from home, hybrid work or working from another site. When: flextime, core hours with flexible edges, or staggered shifts. How much: part-time hours, job sharing, annualized hours, or compressed weeks that fit full-time hours into fewer days.
Arrangements can be formal or informal. Formal arrangements are agreed in writing and change the contract or the policy that applies. In the UK, for example, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working from their first day in a job; employers must deal with requests in a reasonable manner and can refuse only for a good business reason.
For workplace teams, flexible working changes demand for space. Flexible hours spread arrivals across the day, hybrid and compressed weeks change which days are busy, and part-time patterns lower average attendance. Planning desks, rooms and services from measured attendance rather than headcount keeps the office matched to the way people actually work.
How to measure it
- Track attendance by weekday and time of day to see how flexible patterns change demand.
- Record the types of arrangement in use by team, so space planning reflects them.
- Monitor retention and engagement for people on flexible arrangements.
Examples
- An employee starts early and finishes mid-afternoon to fit school pickup, within the team's agreed core hours.
- Two part-time employees share one role, each working part of the week, with an overlap day for handover.
Common mistakes
- Treating flexibility as a perk decided case by case, which leads to inconsistent and unfair outcomes.
- Offering flexible hours but scheduling key meetings at the edges of the day.
- Planning space from headcount when flexible patterns mean far fewer people are in on most days.
How Kadence helps
Kadence supports flexible patterns. People set an office or remote status, including several statuses in one day, and book desks and rooms in advance, on repeat or on the day. Booking rules and windows let admins set durations and how far ahead people can book, and Workplace Insights shows how attendance shifts across the week.
Hybrid working coordination · Desk booking software · Workplace analytics
Frequently asked questions
What are examples of flexible working?
Common examples are flexible start and finish times, core hours with flexible edges, hybrid and remote work, part-time hours, job sharing, compressed hours, annualized hours and staggered shifts. Each changes when, where or how much someone works, and many employees combine more than one.
Is flexible working a legal right?
It depends on the country. In the UK, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working from their first day in a job; employers must handle requests in a reasonable manner and can refuse for a good business reason. Other countries have different rules, so check local law.
What is the difference between flexible working and hybrid working?
Hybrid working is one type of flexible working: it changes where people work by splitting the week between the office and elsewhere. Flexible working is broader and also covers when people work, such as flextime, and how much they work, such as part-time or compressed hours.
What is a flexible hybrid work model?
A flexible hybrid model lets each employee decide where and when to work, rather than following set office days. It gives the most individual choice but makes it harder for teams to overlap, so it works best with shared schedules and occasional team days.
Related terms
- Hybrid work A way of working where employees split their time between the office and remote locations such as home.
- Compressed work week A schedule that fits full-time hours into fewer, longer days, such as four ten-hour days, in exchange for extra days off.
- Four-day work week A working pattern that cuts the standard week to four days, usually with fewer total hours and no cut in pay.
- Hybrid work policy The written rules for how hybrid work runs: office days, booking, meetings, manager duties and how success is measured.
- Remote work Work done away from the employer's office, usually from home, for all or almost all of the working week.
Sources
- Flexible working, GOV.UK
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed