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Work smarter, not harder': those four words act as kind of collective philosophy for all stakeholders in an organisation. From chief executives at the top to entry level recruits at the bottom, there is consensus, a mutual desire to be part of an enterprise that is exciting, challenging and fun. Everyone shares that ambition because that's how work should be - it's a place where you belong, where your contributions have real value, where your time is being spent well and where you feel good about yourself.

While such environments will invariably foster a culture where people are, on occasion, happy to come in earlier or work later than usual, the ideal is to get to a point where all employees feel that this no longer matters; that they are able to get all their work done, hit their targets and contribute to their company's successes on their own terms. And, all without feeling burdened by various occupational demands that create a climate of unease, stress and hardship.

However, the truth of the matter is that we are not quite there yet. In its 2014 paper 'Megatrends: Are We Working Harder Than Ever?', the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development concluded that, in part, work "has become a more intense and demanding experience".

It continued by saying that this was 'not necessarily a bad thing', explaining that technology has been influential in not only making work more challenging, but more productive and, for employees, more lucrative (an increase in wages, for example, through greater production).

That positivity is tempered though, with the CIPD adding in its report that it is highly likely work will become more intense over the coming years, and, furthermore, even in more positive economic times, the pressure felt by most employees will not ease up. Work will continue to be demanding, more so than it now is in fact.

It said: "It is difficult to see many organisations taking conscious decisions to reduce workloads or adopt a more relaxed approach to deadlines unless this becomes a critical business issue (to the point of having a negative impact on customer satisfaction or service delivery or damaging the reputation of the organisation)." This need not be the case, and in this article we will look at how a smarter way of working is possible through increased flexibility, greater collaboration and investment in new technologies.

GETTING FLEXIBLE
In the summer of 2014, a watershed moment in the history of the work occurred - symbolic for some, transformative for others. The government brought into effect new rules that extended flexible working to all employees. Up until June 30th, that right, legally speaking, was only available for carers and individuals who looked after children. Now 20 million employees could enjoy that flexibility.

Speaking at the time, the then deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg said that modern organisations are appreciative of the benefits attached to flexible working. Not only does it boost productivity, it also enhances staff morale and helps retain/attract talent. He added: "Today is a crucial milestone in how we can help people balance their family life with work and caring responsibilities. And from next year, shared parental leave will allow mums and dads to be able to choose how they care for their newborn in those first precious months."

His colleague Jo Swinson, then business minister and still an MP (she lost her seat at the 2015 General Election) commented in an interview with the Independent on Sunday that rigid working practices were anomalous to the spirit of the 21st century. The world had to get away from a "1950s mindset". Flexibility is the new norm.

WORKING SMARTER
Smarter working cannot really exist without flexible working practices and organisations that have been reluctant to change - or asserted that this isn't for them - are no longer able to say as much for three main reasons.

One, it is increasingly difficult to deny a reasonable request for flexible working from an employee because, by and large, a lot of work can be done outside of an office. Workplaces are still important but not essential for day-in and day-out activities. ACAS has produced some detailed guides on best practice for submitting and dealing with such requests in the workplace.

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