In 2020, as the world succumbed to the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of Google Meets streamlined the way that businesses were able to stay connected. As a result, many businesses witnessed the potential of flexible work arrangements (FWA).

Since then, rapidly increasing bodies of academic research indicate that the integration of FWA into a company’s business model not only maximises the creative potential of employees – it also boosts their productivity. 

In their book The Progress Principle, The Progress Principle (published by Harvard Business Review Press) Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer argue that the flow state – a state in which individuals experience higher levels of focus and creative output – is directly proportional to an individual’s autonomy over their working environment.

FWA has also been proven to increase productivity, as has been demonstrated by Nicholas Bloom – the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University. Bloom surmised that, in our increasingly interconnected world, the rigid work models of days gone by are decreasing in efficacy in comparison to more dynamic arrangements.