It is in the best interests of both the employer and employee for firms to take a flexible approach to cutting costs during the downturn, according to Acas.
John Taylor, the chief executive of the group, said many employers have been looking for innovative alternatives to redundancy during the recession.
More firms than ever have been cutting jobs only as a last resort, he said, and organisations choosing to do this will see benefits in the long term.
"In the long-term, those organisations which have dealt with their workforce in a fair, open, transparent kind of way will reap the rewards in terms of less labour turnover [and] less absenteeism as and when the economy starts to recover," he said.
Earlier this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed flexible working is the most valued benefit for employees, ahead of material perks such as bonuses.
Some 47 per cent of UK professionals surveyed by PwC said flexible working practices in the office were most important to them, with performance-related bonuses coming in second with only 19 per cent.
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