SMEs fear pitfalls of flexible working

Just under half of small businesses are concerned that a fragmented team will yield negative results in terms of morale and teamwork, according to recent research conducted by Virgin media Business.

Approximately 14% of the 5000 small businesses partaking in the survey were able to offer their staff flexible working solutions, with the expense cited as a prominent factor. The data shows that approximately a third of responses suggest that the infrastructure and technology required effectively support remote working exceeds available budget, with an additional 11% suggesting that the HR requirments would result in additional complication.

This data comes in contrast to prior surveys comprised of FTSE 100 companies showing 69% of those participating were willing and able to provide the ability to work flexibly.

The research revealed that 43% of businesses expressed concern that a fragmented team would result in negative results from a managerial perspective in terms of morale, teamwork and productivity as a result of employee isolation.