Indian employees want flexi-time, more family time and fitness

MUMBAI: If Indian employees could cut down on the time they spend commuting to their workplace, they would prefer spending time with their families or pursuing some fitness regimes. This is the finding of a new survey conducted by Regus, an international outfit that specialises in providing flexible work solutions.
Predictably, its survey underlines the benefits of flexi-time working life.Around 85% of the Indian employees surveyed said they would spend time with partner while 83% said they would devote more time for exercising if their commuting time to workplace was reduced. The survey also claimed that businesses offering flexible working practices to workers saw most employees working harder.
Flexi-time is possibly one of the most researched topics in modern psychology; it has been often researched in European and American institutions and various corporate houses. The verdict on its benefits is not a clear yes or no. For instance, a research paper presented by the Hagan School of Business in New York underlines that though workplace-home conflict is common, introduction of flexi-time may not necessarily improve work-family synergy.
An Indian study published in the IITB Management Review of March 2011 says that Indian women IT professionals can achieve a fine work–family balance by setting priorities in their work and personal lives and by having support systems both at work, formally through HR policies and programmes, and informally through supervisor and co-worker support and at home. The IITB study found that such interventions would go a long way in enabling women to perform better at work, be more committed to the organisation, and ultimately contribute to the growth of the economy and positively impact society as whole.