Today, there are likely to be thousands, if not millions of people across the UK working flexible hours. They do it in order to accommodate other commitments such as family, education or simply because their body clock isn’t used to working a normal nine-to-five weekday shift. Until recently, technology was seen as an obstacle in the way of this form of job.

Fortunately, for many jobseekers trying to find a role where they can work at hours which suit them, legislation around flexible working is due to change from next month. From June 30, anyone who has been in a role for at least six months will automatically gain the right to request flexible hours from their employer, something which might prove appealing with the right technology.

Technology at the fore

One possible proviso of being able to work outside of regular office hours is using a personal device to complete tasks. The prevalence of smartphones and tablets is making this possible, contributing to a trend called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). According to a survey by Egnyte, 32.3% of jobseekers said flexible working hours were the main reason for bringing a personal gadget to work.

The second most popular reason for using personal devices for work was that it enabled working from home – 26.9% cited this as the greatest advantage of BYOD. There’s no denying that, for millions of people in or looking for employment, BYOD could make things much easier, but ability to work on a personal device wasn’t seen as too important.

Overtime a concern

Anyone willing to abide by a company’s BYOD policy in order to get a new job might wonder where they would use it. The survey discovered that 45% would use their own tablet, phone or laptop for work purposes in their spare time. In that time, almost 60% of respondents said they would use their own device at home for work. 42.2% would do so while on the way to work.

As soon as this new legislation around flexible hours comes into effect, it might be worthwhile for jobseekers to ensure that their devices are ready for BYOD. This means ensuring that they have the right software, having anti-malware software installed and trying to get rid of anything on the device that’s seldom used to free up space on the hard drive.