Why the new way of working has serious flex appeal
Flexible working is at the heart of what we do here at Hive Minds—both in what we do for others and how we work ourselves.
In fact, flexible working is the reason behind why we started Hive Minds in the first place—allowing people to make the most of their time by getting an extra pair of hands on board, even for a quick 5-minute task (yep really, our VAs can be booked in as little as 5-minute slots).
This is exactly where flexible admin support, on-demand executive assistants, and pay-as-you-go EA support come into play—helping people outsource admin without hiring or committing to full-time staff.
The thing is, flexible working isn’t wishful thinking for the future—it’s very much here already.
A recent YouGov study even found that the traditional 9–5 is now only the norm for a minority of workers, with just 6% of people in the UK working those hours without any form of flexibility.
There have been so many benefits linked to flexible working that the UK government even launched a flexible working task force and put laws in place to make it easier for people to get into this new way of working.
Legally, anyone who has worked for a company in the UK for 26 weeks and beyond has the right to work flexibly—either home-working, part-time, flexitime and even job sharing.
One request can be made a year and a decision must be made within 3 months. There has to be a “sound business reason” for a company to reject the proposal (eg: it would bring extra costs onto the business) but if there’s nothing to report, you’re good to get your flex on.
On top of new legislation in the workplace, flexible-working freelancers and influencers now make up 15% of the working population—and that’s set to keep rising.
Alongside this, more businesses are turning to ad hoc business support in the UK, remote executive assistants, and scalable admin support instead of traditional hiring models.
So, with so many of these numbers going up, what the flex makes flexible working so great?
Here are just some of the benefits of sashaying away from the 9–5.
It boosts productivity
Sometimes you have an off day—it happens—but with flexible working, you can work around it instead of trying to focus on the unfocusable.
An article in the Financial Times reported that 89% of British workers believe that flexible working would boost their productivity and 81% of remote workers said it would encourage them to increase productivity levels—those are some pretty high numbers.
But even without the studies, flexible working allows you to work to your limits, your strengths and when you feel most productive—that counts for you too, night owls.
And when paired with the right productivity-focused assistant or AI-enabled executive assistant, you can remove low-value tasks entirely and focus on what actually moves the needle.
It helps you to prioritise sleep
If you’ve ever woken up startled by the sound of the alarm after getting only a few hours’ sleep, followed by a sprint for the tube—you know how tiring the rest of the day can be wipes sweat from face.
Sleep is so, so important for our health, avoiding burnout and yes, it even benefits our work too.
According to The National Sleep Foundation, a good sleep pattern results in quicker decision making, better concentration and higher levels of productivity.
Flexible working—especially when supported by outsourced admin or flexible EA support—gives you the breathing space to prioritise rest, rather than constantly trading sleep for work.
It allows you to work from anywhere
That’s right, you could be answering emails on a balcony in Barcelona, or writing proposals on your sofa with a sharing bag of Malteasers all to yourself—without having to spend every commute shuffling between questionable smells and serial manspreaders.
Flexible working has opened up a whole world of possibilities (quite literally).
With the rise of digital-first EA services, remote executive assistant support, and virtual teams, work and travel can now co-exist quite happily—with the right support in place.
Closer to home, flexible working also helps millions of parents spend valuable time with their families and gives new mums the opportunity to get back to their careers without the pressure of full-time childcare costs.
It’s a huge step towards equality—and a more realistic way of working.
It puts you in control
Those who know flexible working will know all about self-discipline (and how it can sometimes be a struggle when you’re in full control of your time).
However, there’s nothing better than taking the wheel on when you work and what you do.
It might take a little while to kick in, but flexible working makes you incredibly productive. You start to become naturally obsessed with efficiencies, automation and smarter ways of working.
This is where automation and EA support or AI admin support can play a big role—helping you streamline your workload and focus on outcomes, not admin.
It helps to achieve work-life balance
Ahh work-life balance—it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, because it’s different for every person.
Want to attend your daughter’s football game? Sure.
Would love to catch up with your friend who’s in town for one afternoon only? Go for it.
Flexible working allows you to make time for what matters.
And increasingly, that flexibility is being supported by flexible team support services, on-demand executive assistants, and business support that grows with you—so you don’t have to do everything yourself.
Work doesn’t have to be the 9–5. It can be whatever time you like, as long as what needs to be done gets done.
It was back in the throes of the industrial revolution that the 8-hour workday was created—and sure, it’s served us well for the last 200-or-so years.
However, we’re in a new age.
With technology, artificial intelligence, automation and virtual executive assistants, there’s more opportunity than ever to create a way of working that is flexible, scalable and actually works for real life.
And for many people, that starts with one simple shift: getting the right support behind you.