Olly wanted his Shiny New Object to be ‘time’, but as time is hardly a new concept, we settled on ‘flexible working’.

He’s in the very fortunate position of spending most of his working week at Mahabis, but having one or two days a week to spend with other non-competing businesses.

But Olly believes the benefit of this arrangement is mutual. Far from detracting from his ‘main’ job, his other work helps him do his job better. He learns complementary and transferable skills and by being open to this set up, it seems that Mahabis has been able to a. recruit him in the first place and b. keep him happy.

Olly believes that people shouldn’t be measured on the time they put in, but what the employer gains from them: “It’s less and less about the hours you work, but what you contribute.”

Businesses are both missing out on talent and wasting money by being inflexible – for example, if a company needs to fill a role it’s often either a choice between a full time employee or an expensive agency. Why not instead be open to someone working part time, school hours, term time only?

As Olly rightly points out, “you spend so much time, so much effort and so much money in recruiting good people, to lose them because you won’t let them work at home on a Friday is baffling.”

It’s not about mandating one way of working over another; some people may prefer to be in an office environment. Everyone is different – it’s just about being open so you’re able to secure and retain the best talent for your business.

For more on Olly’s thoughts on stress relief, his journey into retail and book recommendations, check out the podcast in full here.  Subscribe to the ‘Shiny New Object’ Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and Soundcloud.