Flexible work hours don't just retain employees longer, but also give rise to entrepreneurs. Business owners and business people believe flexible working, including flexible timings, and options like work-from-home are crucial towards introducing innovation at workplaces.

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About 48% business owners believe flexi-working is the need of the hour if entrepreneurship is to be encouraged, says a survey carried out among 495 business owners by workspace provider Regus."Flexibility can help employees think out of the box and seek out innovation," says Sahil Verma, chief operating officer, Regus. Experts say flexible working not just taps into employee demand for a better work-life balance, by allowing them to work their own hours and from different locations, but also helps employees mix with colleagues from different functions and firms, thus widening their outlook and experience.CP Ravikumar, general chair, Texas Instruments India Educators Conference, says encouraging innovation in organisations is crucial. 

"Most entrepreneurial ideas are put together and the basics worked out while we are still with some organization. Most people who want to start out on their own, work out the basics before formally quitting existing jobs," says Sandesh Mhatre, an IT employee who is planning to start a food startup, adding that therefore, "flexi work timings provide space to develop ideas.Apart from flexi-hours, measures like skills upgradation programmes, formal innovation programmes, mixing staff from different functions, and access to senior management also help in nurturing innovation, says the survey.

Experts say with small businesses accounting for over 90% of the businesses, and over three fifths of employment, it is necessary to foster entrepreneurship."A single individual who starts out as an entrepreneur, goes on to employ a handful of people in a few months time, gradually expanding the headcount," says Mhatre.> Choose your schedule

— Dell India has an initiative called Connected Workplace, that allows team members to maximise their potential by working remotely, part-time, flexi-hours, sharing jobs etc. The company believes one big positive derived from the Connected Workplace initiative, is a reduction in carbon footprint, by having less people commute by road.

— At GE India Technology Centre, three types of flexible work arrangements are offered. Employees can either choose their work timings, or work a day or two from home every week, or work part-time.

— Microsoft allows flexible scheduling, whereby employees can work part-time or full time from home, provided the manager permits.