What does 'flexible working' actually mean for YOU?
A few weeks back I posted some thoughts on workplace flexibility here on IH Let's agree on something, the 9 to 5 must...die?.
Judging from the conversation that followed (thanks to all Indie Hackers for being so engaged) I understand that this topic has many different opinions and preferences colored by individual experiences.
My post specifically touched on the 9-5 concept we still very much work by, but workplace flexibility can be a lot more than when you work. So I'm curious to go a little further to learn more
What does 'flexible working' actually mean for you?
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When working in a technical position the words "flexible working" practically means one of two things.
You're going to be working all day every day.
The idea that your employer or your schedule isn't set to a hard and fast schedule can result in your free time being subject to attack when your workload increases.
You will have lots of free time
If the company has laid out what they believe to be a day's worth of work and assigned tasks appropriately, individuals who put in a little extra effort may work less.
I believe this is really only achievable in a remote environment because when you are working on-site there are a lot of added issues from politics and perception
I think there will always be a hard limit on just how flexible a work environment can be. Remote work: possible. Hours of the day: also negotiable. But eventually there will be deadlines, other team members that depend on your progress, and a "non-technical" project manager with a mindset of a slave.
Eventually organizations will form internal tree-like-hierarchical structures, prune some leaves every now and then and that's it.
TL;DR
If you want true flexibility and freedom, you must figure out a way to work on your own projects (either by getting paid for them or saving enough to not worry).
Well, flexibility means not being strictly tracking your hours of work as long as you're able to pass or do every tasks on time. This is especially true for people who has specific time of the day - like those who works best at night, or who wants to relax and travel while working.
So instead of tracking hours you'd base work on output? :)