The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development are to work in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce to explore the benefits of flexible working hours to small businesses.
The initiative is to be carried out following a request from the shadow minister for small businesses and enterprise, Mark Prisk and will study how flexible working effects both the employees as well as the employers.
Mr Prisk and the two organisations share a belief that flexible working practices should, if applicable, be adopted by small businesses themselves rather than rely upon more government legislation.
Commenting on the initiative, the BCC's director general David Frost said: "Small firms face real challenges in offering flexible working to staff without jeopardising production or service targets, or impacting upon other business objectives."
He added: "Our research will take real examples of smaller firms that have adopted flexible working, examine the challenges they faced, and use this to provide practical guidance to other firms considering going down this road."
BT was recently held up as an example of what flexible working can achieve, with the telecoms firm revealing that since adopting the practice in 2001, it has seen a 20 per cent increase in productivity.
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