London Olympics spur new SME work culture

More than half of businesses that adopted flexible working practices for the Olympic Games plan to keep the change for a long-term period.

According to a poll by YouGov over three quarters of staff who trialled flexible working plans to avoid disruption during the 2010 Games had a positive experience.

Now, 56% of businesses believe that flexible working is important to attracting the best staff with 48% saying it will become even more important over the next five years.

"This is excellent news for business," said Andrew Millard, senior director, EMEA marketing for the Online Services division at Citrix. "The survey findings confirm that the Olympics has created a flexible working legacy, with employers and staff reacting positively to new ways of operating, allowing them to be equally productive, wherever they are located."

The YouGov Suvey polled over 500 senior decision makers across businesses based in London with less than 250 employees. 47% of businesses which adopted the new flexible working policy say they plan to keep it or will introduce it again in the near future.

"Just as the huge investment in infrastructure is expected to provide an important legacy in terms of housing, jobs and sporting achievement, so the adoption of mobile work styles and more flexible working practices will also provide lasting change in making businesses more competitive and improving work-life harmony of their employees," said Millard.

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