Professionals demand job flexibility: working eight hours a day in the office will go out of style

Due to the digital transformation undergone by the current labor market, the number of companies that adapt to the new concept of 'work' is increasing. Technologies in the business field are having a great impact, and today there are many employees who with their computer or other device access all the documents, programs and tools they need to carry out their tasks.

In order to promote productivity, efficiency and balance of the personal and work life of their teams, companies must adapt to these new models. The work of the future will be different thanks to the technologies, the new needs of the companies and the lifestyle of the people, and for this reason, new labor formats and trends are emerging as to how it works.

Flexible schedule

There are already many companies that offer hourly flexibility – although limited within ranges – but telecommuting does not end up penetrating between companies. In Spain, 92.5% of the population claims that they never telework, according to Eurostat data, that is, only 7.5% of the population has ever worked remotely or does it regularly.

It is clear that much remains to be done to change the mentality of organizations, but the good news is that they have already begun to take action. Some companies are 'flexibilizing' their policies to offer their employees more conciliation with initiatives such as hourly flexibility, intensive working hours at some times of the year, the right to disconnection or measures that favor motherhood, among others.

The most demanded is to establish a flexible working day that is based on work by objectives, that is, that the work is evaluated by the goals that are met without the need to force a person to be in an office 8 hours a day. However, it should be borne in mind that teleworking is not for everyone, as there are people who say that they concentrate better in the office, and that in some cases it is necessary to go to the central workplace.

The rise of the 'freelance'

The difference between a freelancer and a freelance is that the former work completely on their own account and usually offer long-term services to their clients by charging a monthly or higher interprofessional minimum wage, while the freelances They provide services to clients independently, but in a timely manner, that is, they work on projects. In fact, some of them even have a regular income – which comes from their stable work as an employed person in a company – and they also provide other services to their own clients as a complementary activity.

Among the reasons for the rise of this phenomenon could be considered low wages, which cause people to have to look for complementary jobs, or the great growth that the entrepreneurial ecosystem has had in recent years that has encouraged many workers to develop their passions, with the intention of being able to live on it.

The importance of this trend lies mainly in that it offers flexibility, comfort and freedom, and that is to be freelance It means working through the Internet, from anywhere and at any time. It also shows how companies begin to look for these profiles to meet their specific service needs.

Technology begins to appropriate some manual and repetitive jobs and these jobs are disappearing. Thus, the need of companies is directed towards the hiring of experts who are specialized in very specific subjects, mainly in digital areas.