Embracing Work-Life Flexibility
The explosion of virtual work is leading to drastic changes in the workplace as employers take advantage of what they learn. Although, the benefits derived from 
flexible schedules aren’t actually new. Many contractors, myself included, and the self-employed have opted for independence at least in part for the ability to schedule our workday and ensure that our multiple personal and work demands and preferences are met. Stay-at-home orders simply created a living lab from which employers could see the benefits for themselves and their employees. In this article, we review data on the benefits of embracing work-life flexibility. Then I’ll offer three general considerations for successfully implementing new policies and processes.
What The Data Say About Work-Life Flexibility
Employer Benefits
According to Mercer, 83 percent of companies surveyed were considering some form of flexible work. A poll of higher-educational institutions found upwards of three-quarters of respondents said virtual work had at worst zero and at best positive impact related to productivity, work-life balance, and communication and collaboration with coworkers. Furthermore, Mercer suggested that workplaces that continue to embrace virtual work as compared to those that return to pre-pandemic work norms will likely perform better with respect to access to more highly skilled and competitivity ranked workers, overall recruitment, and retention.
Furthermore, the results of a 2014 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that over half of the HR respondents noted that flexible work arrangements had a positive effect on productivity, absenteeism, retention, job satisfaction, employee health and quality of life, company culture and morale, and the company’s public image.
Employers are taking notice of the data. Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey notes that 90 percent of the organizations will allow employees to work remotely at least on a part-time basis. Sixty-five percent said they would introduce flexibility on when employees worked.
Findings such as these suggest big shifts in how we work are underway. Gartner notes the percentage of high performers in the workplace will increase when employees have some choice of where, when, and how much they work (i.e., radical flexibility). However, this shift implies significant change, uncertainty, and stress. But, at least there should be a rosy light at the end of the tunnel.
Employee Interest and Benefits
Flexjobs’ survey of employees and their views on flexible work yielded many interesting relevant findings. Significantly, 83 percent of respondents were interested in flexible work. Twenty percent were willing to accept a 10 percent reduction in pay in exchange for flexible schedules. Some respondents said they’d accept fewer vacation days as well.
Seventy-five percent of respondents said they seak flexible arrangements for improved work-life balance. Time savings and commuter stress reduction motivated forty-five and forty percent of respondents, respectively. With 43 percent reporting commute times of two or more hours, the result is not surprising.
Three Key Elements Related To How to Empower Your Staff With Work-Life Flexibility
Cultivate Constructive Flexibility
The best way to create policies and processes around work-life flexibility is to be flexible with flexibility. Get staff input. Narrowly defined rules are not likely to suit everyone’s needs or preferences. Because every staff member has unique circumstances, offer choices. Empowering your staff to make good decisions has important benefits in and of itself.
Flexible work hours allow your staff to deal with pressing personal issues that otherwise might act as a distraction cycling in the background of an otherwise conscientious mind and competing for their focus while working. With flexibility, staff can more effectively allocate tasks to maintain maximum concentration and productivity where and when it’s most needed.
Changes to Staff Well-Being Benefits
Significant changes create stress and anxiety. Offer fully or partially fungible well-being or wellness benefits so that staff can choose to allocate their benefits toward what matters most to them. They may have a greater need for coaching or counseling due to loss, new family or personal challenges, or simply the rapid succession of change and resultant vulnerability.
With fungible benefits, you don’t necessarily need to increase all forms of benefits for everyone. You can let staff select and periodically update the allocation of their benefits when needed.
Create an internal discussion platform where staff can post questions and resources as well as choose to create private discussion groups around pressing concerns. Adopt a set of policies and practices to reduce staff overwhelm and support staff well-being.
Cultivate Staff Connection Through New Policies and Practices
Some staff members undoubtedly miss the interaction with their colleagues. In addition, they may feel some sense of alienation from the office while working virtually. It’s important to keep in mind not everyone prefers to work virtually. They may opt to do so out of necessity.
Cultivate and build connections. Engage your staff in the process of creating ways to facilitate the scheduling of meetings. Add time for informal interaction at the end or beginning of a meeting for staff who wish to participate in gathering informally. The use of a regular meeting format will allow staff to opt to attend or not without causing disruption.
Periodically check in with staff to make sure they’re participating regularly, even if less frequently. Make sure they maintain a connection with others. Another option is to create a regular day for an in-person or virtual social in the afternoon for a couple of hours.
In Sum
A review of the data on the benefits of embracing work-life flexibility both for the employer and employee is positive and supportive. Consider these three helpful considerations if you’re planning to institute new policies and processes. First, tap into staff preferences and ideas about flexible arrangements. Two, introduce greater flexibility in the type and use of self-development and wellness benefits. Three, purposefully cultivate staff connection. Of course, a lot more can be said about the issues and options surrounding the transformation to a more flexible workplace. Still, this is a good place to start.
If You’re Interested In Learning More About Work-Life Flexibility Options, See My:
- My virtual or in-person coaching in the workplace for leaders, mid-level managers, and other staff members,
- My customized virtual or in-person workshops, such as:
Contact Me, an integrated coach and energy healer who supports deep perspective-taking, problem-solving, and mind-body wellness.
