In today’s hyper-connected, always-on world, it’s getting harder for many people to disconnect from work. Long hours, early starts, working through lunch, being on-call, or catching up on emails late at night, many professionals are incredibly dedicated and hard-working. Commitments vary, so it’s unreasonable that most employees want and expect increased workplace flexibility with their scheduling. Everyone varies with what they need regarding working when, where, and how they can be most effective.
Increased Workplace Flexibility Equals Outstanding Results
By embracing change and technology, with the right culture, it’s possible to evolve the scheduling approach. Gone are the days where everyone needs to work the same hours, tied to a desk or cubicle. Most people assume that workplace flexibility only refers to those employees who work from home. Increased workplace flexibility is also about letting employees have a voice in choosing when and how they work. With increased workplace flexibility offered, it’s possible to produce outstanding and superior results in a win-win culture.
Work-Life Integration
While it’s not the environment for everyone or type of role, many organizations could benefit from abandoning the traditional 9 to 5 workday concept. Shifting focus towards allowing employees to work from a location of their choosing, tied less traditional hours, can increase work-life integration possibilities. Flexible schedules, remote work-from-home opportunities, and fewer hours are all types of different scheduling options.
Benefits Of Workplace Flexibility
From the employee perspective, significant benefits include:
- The improved ability to meet personal or family commitments easier
- Cut down the time spent commuting
- Working hours that best fit their energy cycles (not everyone is suited to work during certain hours)
Employers also benefit from offering more flexible schedules, seeing some of the following advantages:
- Improved employee engagement
- Fewer absences and less turnover
- Enhanced productivity and customer satisfaction as happy employees often equals happy customers
- Perceived to be more attractive for top talent
Perception & Trust Issues Are Stopping Workplace Flexibility
The ability to implement a more flexible workplace culture is difficult for some managers and organizations to implement. Concerned about maintaining productivity and performance, many leaders struggle with accepting that it doesn’t matter when and where most work is completed. Trust issues predominantly stop some leaders from allowing people to have increased flexibility. Many traditional managers are reluctant to provide flexibility with varied shifts or allowing remote work because of a lack of trust and perception issues. Are you really working or just doing laundry?
Lots Of Workplace Flexibility Options
Starting the day working from home, transitioning in, or working remotely, there are plenty of options available for people to try to be more flexible. Unfortunately, concerning flexible workplace cultures, few companies equip their managers to handle unique schedules effectively. Despite this challenge, it doesn’t mean that workplace flexibility shouldn’t exist.
Top Talent Desire Workplace Flexibility
To achieve outstanding results, organizations that offer increased flexibility for their employees will win the war for talent. Employees who are given more freedom to choose how, when, and where they work tend to be more appreciative. When leaders provide flexibility to employees, maximum effort is often returned by top talent, who go above and beyond because they are more engaged.
Retain Top Talent
There’s also nothing worse than losing A-Players who consistently perform at a top-level outside of the organization. Life happens, and sometimes situations dictate that someone needs flexibility. Making your superstars happy is essential instead of sending them quickly to the exit. Also, people make all the difference in an organization as well. Companies can replicate your products or services, but they can never copy your most significant competitive advantage – your people. With the right flexible workplace culture, it’s easier to attract and retain the right people who can make a difference. Flexibility can reduce one of the critical factors in keeping someone happy instead of being persuaded to chase slightly better compensation.
Implementing A Flexible Workplace Culture
If you are interested in implementing a flexible workplace culture, here are several advice pieces to set your organization up for success.
Workplace Flexibility Isn’t …
Workplace flexibility isn’t about an organization saying, “Work whenever you feel like it.” It’s not a blank cheque to do whatever someone wants, as there need to be guidelines and clear expectations.
Position Everything as a Pilot
Without a formal program in place, many executives and senior leaders hesitate to allow increased workplace flexibility. Anything you do needs to be positioned as a pilot, initially. A trial period where you test what works and reference lessons learned helps keep leadership feeling more comfortable.
Tweak and Adjust as Needed
Any effort to increase workplace flexibility positioned as a pilot provides you with the ability to tweak and adjust if needed. Sometimes it’s necessary to roll back a change, blow up the approach, and try something else.
Can the Role Even Allow for Increased Flexibility?
Some roles might not be possible to be done remotely or at different times. Within each role, though, there could be opportunities to alter how specific responsibilities are accomplished. Perhaps there are parts of a position that could lend themselves to some flexibility.
Take a Hard Look at the Person
Some people require more structure and can’t handle increased flexibility. It’s not for everyone. Higher-performing employees who demonstrate both the right level of responsibility and proven strength to self-manage are the best candidates for initial consideration. If performance slips, it’s easy to adjust since it’s an initial pilot anyway.
Lastly, Lead by Example
Suppose leaders want their employees to be successful in an environment of increased workplace flexibility. In that case, they need to lead by example. Become empathetic for the remote experience by working from home. Adjust your schedule to accommodate personal appointments or align with your energy cycle. When employees see their leaders embracing change, it’s incredibly powerful in ensuring success. Don’t feel guilty having a life and other commitments outside of work. Doing so will help employees feel less anxious when it comes to leveraging working more flexibly. The importance of becoming more flexible will see an organization’s employees more productive, committed, and engaged.
