Analyzing Flexible Working During Covid-19: Marks & Spencer's Approach

This research report aims to determine the role of flexible working within Marks and Spencer during the Covid-19 pandemic. It seeks to understand the concept of flexible working, identify associated benefits within the UK retail industry, and ascertain the challenges faced by the company while implementing flexible working. The research employs qualitative methods, including inductive and interpretivism approaches, utilizing both primary and secondary data. Data analysis involves thematic analysis, and sampling uses a simple random probabilistic approach. The findings suggest that employees perform best when given flexibility in scheduling their work hours, leading to cost efficiency, improved deadline management, and overall efficiency for Marks and Spencer. The implementation of flexible working helped sustain the company's workforce during the pandemic. The report concludes with recommendations to minimize challenges and further enhance the flexible working environment.

RESEARCH PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENT
 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 DATA ANALYSIS
 RECOMMENDATIONS
 REFERENCES

AIM AND OBJECTIVES
 Aim:
 The aim of the study is to determine the role of flexible working during Covid-19 within Marks
and Spencer.
 Objectives:
 To understand the concept of flexible working during covid-19.
 •To identify the benefits associated with flexible working within UK retail industry.
 •To ascertain the challenges faced by the company while implementing the flexible working
within Marks and Spencer.
 •To recommend the best ways through which the challenges can be minimized in order to
provide best flexible working environment

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Methodologies Description
Research type Qualitative
Approach and
Philosophies
Inductive and Interpretivism
Data collection Primary and Secondary
Data analysis Thematic
Sampling Simple random under probabilistic

DATA ANALYSIS
 .1) Do marks and Spencer company follows
practice of flexible working?
Q.2) Marks and Spencer Company offer flexible
working to what category of employees?

CONTINUED…
 Q.3)What is the key advantage of the
flexible working condition at
workplace?
Q.4) What is the key challenge associated with
the flexible working situation?

RESEARCH OUTCOME
 The finding in the research means that employee are at their best
when they are given the opportunity to schedule their working hours
based on their individual ability and according to their task.
 The impact of the flexible working is such that it could incorporate
various advantages to the business that involve cost efficient, managing
deadlines, efficiency and such like of advantages.
 This has been identified as a fact that due to the approach of flexible
working Marks and Spencer Company could sustain its workforce.
Sustainability become the key issue companies and employees faced in
the time of Covid pandemic.
 The role of flexible working played is to support the businesses for
delegating to the best practices possible in order to approach to the
flexible working situation at the organisation.

CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
 After conducting this research which is based on flexible working system across the
organizations that are operating at global level with the emergence of COVID – 19
pandemics, it has been realized that there are many benefits that both organization and
their management enjoys on the ground of implementing flexible working in their work
culture or system.
 It has been found that workers are able to achieve greater balance between their work and
lives which results in higher satisfaction among employees and improvement in their
existing level of morale.
 Accordingly, there are lower costs associated with employee turnover which generally
incurred in terms of recruiting and providing training to new joiners.

REFERENCES
 Wessels, C. and et.al., 2019. Fostering flexibility in the new world of work: a model of
time-spatial job crafting. Frontiers in Psychology. 10. p.505.
 Zangirolami-Raimundo, J., Echeimberg, J. D. O. and Leone, C., 2018. Research
methodology topics: Cross-sectional studies. Journal of Human Growth and
Development. 28(3). pp.356-360
 Maadani, O., Shafiee, M. and Egorov, I., 2021. Climate Change Challenges for Flexible
Pavement in Canada: An Overview. Journal of Cold Regions Engineering. 35(4).
p.03121002.