Meet Molly, co-founder of Flexa: a new look on flexible workplaces
At Livitay we love to connect with inspiring people (there are just so many!): understanding how they came up with their idea, what they believe in and the values we share. Here is Molly, co-founder of Flexa, who is taking a new approach to “flexible working” (although she doesn’t actually like this term, as you’ll read below..!).
Hi Molly, please introduce yourself, Flexa and how it all began?
Hi 👋 I’m Molly — one of the Co-founders of Flexa. We’re a job and employer brand platform that only works with truly flexible employers. We verify them (we call that Flexify) through a unique process that benchmarks companies against the market, and only the most forward-thinking employers receive our coveted stamp of approval!
It all began in a pub in Hackney, when Maurice and I were discussing how difficult it is to find out which companies offer the ability to work from home, or work flexible hours, or bring your dog to the office.
I’ve had an autoimmune disease since I was 18, and was sacked from my job in investment banking when I asked to work from home once a week to accommodate it. Thereafter, I worried about asking to work from home, and just wished that there was a place to go to find out which companies offered that kind of working environment.
We realised that companies were using flexible working as a way to retain their employees, rathert than to attract talent… and we thought that was a bit backwards because it’s the most in-demand employee benefit and people will move jobs for more flexibility (or turn them down for a lack of it).
We decided then and there to start Flexa and make sure that that information was available to everyone.
We have heard terms like flexible and remote thrown around a lot this year, but what does it mean in your eyes to be a flexible employer? How can employers encourage more work flexibility?
I actually hate the term flexible working 😂 — it’s a term that carries a lot of stigma. People have assumed for so long that working from home means you work less hard, and that in order to ask to work flexibly you have to have a “reason”. It means that flexible working is seen as an exception to the rule, and those who work flexibly are othered. I wish I had a better term to replace it… But I don’t… so I have to continue with flexible working and just try to define it better.
Flexibility is fundamentally about freedom. If companies offer employees freedom to work in a way that works for them then they will have a happier, more engaged, and more productive workforce.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to flexibility (that would be counter-intuitive), but it’s all about providing choice to employees — choice about where they work, when they work, and how they work — within a framework that still allows the business to thrive.
How is Flexa helping employers transition into being flexible or fully Flexified?
We have created a benchmarking index of hundreds of companies in the UK to help companies to understand where they sit versus the market — it’s here if anyone is interested (and it’s free!) — we only Flexify companies that achieve upwards of 55%. For those companies that don’t pass, we offer advice on quick wins for flexibility, and best practices around transitioning to becoming a truly flexible employer.
I think that it can be quite daunting to transition to being more flexible, for companies that have historically been very office-based, but small changes (like working from home on Fridays or giving an hour leeway around start / finish times) can make a real difference and start the ball rolling.
What’s your vision around culture/flexible work/wellbeing in the next 5 years and how do you think it will adapt to our work environment?
I’d like to think that we move to being measured more on outcomes and less on presence in an office, but I don’t think that this will happen in all companies, sadly. Although those companies that do will win the war for talent… So maybe that’ll force other companies to adapt. I’m pessimistic, given my past experiences!
Going full pie in the sky — I think it’ll become much more normal to employ people to do specific tasks / projects, rather than just sitting on the payroll on a permanent basis. Kind of like freelancing in the way that people do the same thing for a number of companies, but on a long-term basis.
What has helped you through lockdown? Any nice recipes, books or practices that have made this year slightly easier?
Being busy with Flexa has certainly meant I’ve felt the effects of lockdown less, so we’re lucky in that respect! Maurice and I are a couple too… So it’s been nice to be able to spend more time together and work on Flexa simultaneously.
I don’t think we’d have stayed sane without long dog walks — we make sure to go for a walk in the morning before we start work, and again after work, just so there are some limits between work / life. It’s definitely much harder to switch off, especially when things get busy, so that delineation has been crucial for our mental health.
I trained to be a chef after uni, so I’ve found that having extra time to cook more complicated dishes, rather than throwing something together because you’re short on time. The Peloton has also been a very welcome addition without the ability to go to the gym! I do miss the pub though 😬
Follow Flexa on Instagram 👉 @flexa_careers and visit their website for more information 👉 flexa.careers
If you want some awesome wellbeing information and courses for your employees, check out our website to find out more about our app and how our programmes can help your company 👉 www.livitay.com
Sign up here for free wellbeing content delivered straight to your WhatsApp👉 www.livitay.community
