The IWG Flexible Working Survey reveals that more than two-thirds of global employees work remotely every week, and over 50 percent do so for at least half of the week. The emergence of this mobile workforce has been majorly driven by technological change, globalization and changes in employee expectations. 

Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO, IWG said, “We are entering the era of the mobile workforce and it is hugely exciting. Not just for individual employees, but for businesses too. This is a huge shift in the workspace landscape globally, and businesses are now looking closely at what this means for their corporate real estate portfolios."

Interestingly, business leaders believe that offering flexible working hours to their employees has led to positive results and has also increased productivity.  

The study further highlights that every week 70 percent of the employees globally are working at least one day a week not directly from the office. And more than half i.e. about 53 percent of them work remotely for half of the week or more, while more than one in 10 (about 11 percent) people work outside of their company's main office location five times a week. 

In India, 58 percent of the employees work remotely from locations other than their company's main office locations and about 40 percent of Indian professionals believe that their companies are wasting significant amounts of money through underused office space. 

Flexible working hours and work from home options are gaining popularity and considering the employee expectations even organizations are moving away from traditional 9 to 5 setups and promoting flexible working strategies. In December 2017, work from home was reported as the most searched preference by job seekers in India as per the Year in Job Search report by Indeed. Another study by Leadership IQ showed that working from home significantly increases the chances of liking your job, as opposed to working from a traditional office building. 

From these various surveys, we can conclude that flexible working not only reduces commuting time but also enhances productivity and increases staff retention, job satisfaction and even creativity. Therefore, it’s time now that organizations move beyond the traditional office setup and leverage flexible working strategies for better results.  

Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO, IWG says, "Flexible working, supported by a professional on-demand workspace network, is now being discussed by senior leaders across functions in companies including risk management, business development, human resources, marketing and strategy. One day soon, flexible working could simply be known as 'working'. We are reaching the tipping point."