BANGALORE: As the job market is getting competitive more and more businesses are realizing the importance of nurturing some of their employees as entrepreneurs to help drive growth and believe that flexible working is a key to inspire such a practice.

According to the latest research conducted by Regus, a flexible workspace provider showed that 48 percent of business people surveyed in the country consider that flexible working can breed innovation among employees. The survey took into consideration views of over 19,000 senior business people and owners in 98 countries.

Sahil Verma Regus India Chief Operating Officer said,  "With small businesses accounting for over 90 percent of businesses and over three fifths of employment in most economies, it is evident why entrepreneurship should be fostered and nurtured."

The respondents said that entrepreneurship among employees can be nurtured through various measures like updating programmes, mixing staff from different functions and access to senior management. The survey also noted that 90 percent of respondents think entrepreneurship has increased in the past five years in their sector.

About 14 percent of respondents exclaimed female entrepreneurship and 11 percent as serial entrepreneurship (people who set up a series of new businesses, one after the other) is on the rise.

Verma further added, "Businesses have cottoned on to the powerful innovative drive of entrepreneurs too and are looking to foster entrepreneurship among their own employees."

"So how can entrepreneurial behaviour be encouraged? Flexible working not only taps into employee demand for a better work:life balance, by allowing them to work their own hours and from different locations, but it also helps employees mingle with workers from different functions, and even different firms, vastly widening their outlook and experience," he said.

And verma also feels that flexibility and diverse inputs can really help employees think outside the box and seek out innovation to drive growth.
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