)
)
)
76 percent of millennials are willing to take a pay cut for a job that offers work flexibility.
80 percent of employees would be more loyal to their employers if they had flexible work schedules.
58 percent of Gen Z employees are reporting burnout in 2021 and 77 percent of them are planning to switch jobs in the next year.
Welcome to The Great Resignation. People are quitting jobs and looking for something different. That something is work flexibility.
Many leaders are gingerly expecting employees to come back to the office, hoping things will go back to “how they were before.”
But for many, they never want to go back to the way it was.
Why would employees want to be restrained to a fixed office space, or a rigid 9 to 5 schedule when they know they can be just as productive with more convenient times and places?
73 percent of employees wanted flexible work options to continue even after COVID, according to a Microsoft study.
Think about it this way. If you are trying to put on the greatest show in the world, you are going to need an amazing lineup of talent. But no matter who else is on the bill, if you don’t have Beyoncé, no one is going to take you seriously.
The same goes for attracting and retaining work talent. You need a great culture, sensible compensation, and lots of other benefits. But if you don’t have work flexibility, people are going to walk away.
If you want to keep your top talent, you must offer more work flexibility. People want more agency over their lives and know they can get it. If not with you, then with someone else.
But what does work flexibility actually mean? One day a week working from home? Letting folks come in at odd hours? Let’s dive in.
What is work flexibility?
Workplace flexibility acknowledges that work doesn’t have to be done in a particular place or time. A flexible workplace is one where employers know how and when their employees perform their best. The focus isn’t on the number of hours employees put in every day, but the outcomes they deliver. It gives employees the freedom and autonomy they need to get their work done effectively.
There are three dimensions of work flexibility.
Flexible talent: People can work full-time, part-time, or on a contract basis as a freelancer.
Flexible hours: People can set their own schedule according to what works best for them and their teams.
Flexible location: People have the freedom to choose their own work location, including their home, a co-working space, the company office, or a mix.
Benefits of work flexibility
Work flexibility gives employees the opportunity to manage their job in a way that suits them the best. It also allows organizations to hire better talent without any location limitations.
Here are some of the main benefits of work flexibility:
Save money
Office space is often the second highest line item of any company after labor costs. With a flexible arrangement, you don’t need as much dedicated space. Flexible work also ends up saving costs for employees with an average remote employee saving up to $4,000 per year from reduced transportation, clothing, and food costs.
Higher productivity
Flexible employees know their work isn’t defined by the number of hours they put in every day, but the quality of work that they deliver. That is why they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the task accomplished. 77 percent of employees report being more productive when they work from home.
Improved talent retention
Employees are more willing to stay at a company when they get better work flexibility. 80 percent of employees would take up a job that offers a flexible schedule over a job that does not. 36 percent would readily leave their current job if work flexibility isn’t an option.
When employees leave your company in large numbers, hiring new employees can be immensely expensive and time-consuming. In fact, hiring a replacement can cost up to twice as much as the employee’s annual salary.
How to effectively implement work flexibility
1. Start by assuming everything is flexible
It’s not easy to decide which path to take to achieve work flexibility. Should you allow employees to work remotely? How often? Should you remove fixed workstations from the office? Should you give employees the freedom to set their own working hours?
Over the course of the pandemic, we proved that all of these are legitimate options, as well as allowing some employees to shift to a freelance model if they want.
If you are going to build a company people love working for, you need to be willing to question everything.
Flexibility doesn’t have to mean a total lack of structure, but whatever structure you build should be intentional.
2. Explore hybrid work models
Not all employees want to work from home. Some live with roommates, some have difficult households, and some just don’t thrive in a remote work situation where they don’t get to interact with their colleagues face to face.
Forcing people to work remotely is the same as forcing them to come to the office. Instead, explore a hybrid business model where employees get the choice to work from home or from the office. Some models keep the office as the center, while others shift it to digital tools.
The right one will depend on what works for your company and your employees. Before switching to a hybrid work model, make sure to ask these 15 questions to build the right hybrid workplace.
3. Stop fixating on employees’ working hours
If you are still using work hours as a measure of employee productivity, you need to step back. If your employees are meeting their deadlines and delivering great work, it’s no use obsessing over when they clock in or clock out.
Work flexibility is all about finding the right rhythm that works for you. Some employees may prefer working early in the mornings, others may feel more productive late in the night. Company leaders and team managers should give employees the space that they need to perform their best.
At the same time, you need to change your company culture so nobody is looked down on for taking advantage of the flexibility options that are available to them.
4. Offer flexible working perks
The role of the employer doesn’t just end at allowing employees to work flexibly. You need to support your employees actively to help them make the most of the flexible work arrangements. Here are some of the many flexible working perks that can help with that:
Caregiving leave
The flexibility of taking caregiving leave can reduce stress levels of your current employees and even attract new ones. It’s necessary to recognize that some employees may have complex family situations where they are responsible for taking care of their kids, parents, or even grandparents. Offering caregiving leave will lead to them seeing the company as more understanding and thoughtful of their situation.
Unlimited PTO
Creating a policy of unlimited paid time off (PTO) helps show that you are an employee-first workplace. Apart from being a great incentive to prospective job candidates, it also helps build trust among your employees. But is offering unlimited PTO enough for instilling a culture of workplace flexibility?
Dan Jimenez, CEO of Chatbooks, took a typical approach to PTO for tech startups: unlimited, untracked. But they soon realized that no one was actually taking advantage of unlimited PTO to recharge themselves. People were only taking leaves to get things done. No one was taking a week or more off just to completely recharge, possibly because of the fear of being judged.
As a result, Chatbooks initiated a mandatory time off where employees were expected to be out of the office for one week every quarter. Introducing this small change encouraged more employees to go on leaves. In Q1 of 2020, only 25% of employees took any time off. In Q1 2021, that jumped up to 90%.
Home office setup allowance
If your employees will be majorly working from home, provide them with a home setup allowance so they can create the right working environment that motivates them day in and day out. This can include reimbursements for laptops, headphones, office desk, chairs, speakers, and more.
Work flexibility is irreplaceable
To attract and retain top talent, there’s no other option; you must offer work flexibility. Employees want more control over their work schedules and a better work-life balance. Forcing employees into the traditional 9-5*5 is quickly becoming a dealbreaker.
Flexible work options make employees’ lives easier, remind them that they are appreciated within the company, and improve productivity. Work flexibility can mean lots of things, and the more you are willing to explore it, the greater your chance of working with the best people.
Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash
76 percent of millennials are willing to take a pay cut for a job that offers work flexibility.
80 percent of employees would be more loyal to their employers if they had flexible work schedules.
58 percent of Gen Z employees are reporting burnout in 2021 and 77 percent of them are planning to switch jobs in the next year.
Welcome to The Great Resignation. People are quitting jobs and looking for something different. That something is work flexibility.
Many leaders are gingerly expecting employees to come back to the office, hoping things will go back to “how they were before.”
But for many, they never want to go back to the way it was.
Why would employees want to be restrained to a fixed office space, or a rigid 9 to 5 schedule when they know they can be just as productive with more convenient times and places?
73 percent of employees wanted flexible work options to continue even after COVID, according to a Microsoft study.
Think about it this way. If you are trying to put on the greatest show in the world, you are going to need an amazing lineup of talent. But no matter who else is on the bill, if you don’t have Beyoncé, no one is going to take you seriously.
The same goes for attracting and retaining work talent. You need a great culture, sensible compensation, and lots of other benefits. But if you don’t have work flexibility, people are going to walk away.
If you want to keep your top talent, you must offer more work flexibility. People want more agency over their lives and know they can get it. If not with you, then with someone else.
But what does work flexibility actually mean? One day a week working from home? Letting folks come in at odd hours? Let’s dive in.
What is work flexibility?
Workplace flexibility acknowledges that work doesn’t have to be done in a particular place or time. A flexible workplace is one where employers know how and when their employees perform their best. The focus isn’t on the number of hours employees put in every day, but the outcomes they deliver. It gives employees the freedom and autonomy they need to get their work done effectively.
There are three dimensions of work flexibility.
Flexible talent: People can work full-time, part-time, or on a contract basis as a freelancer.
Flexible hours: People can set their own schedule according to what works best for them and their teams.
Flexible location: People have the freedom to choose their own work location, including their home, a co-working space, the company office, or a mix.
Benefits of work flexibility
Work flexibility gives employees the opportunity to manage their job in a way that suits them the best. It also allows organizations to hire better talent without any location limitations.
Here are some of the main benefits of work flexibility:
Save money
Office space is often the second highest line item of any company after labor costs. With a flexible arrangement, you don’t need as much dedicated space. Flexible work also ends up saving costs for employees with an average remote employee saving up to $4,000 per year from reduced transportation, clothing, and food costs.
Higher productivity
Flexible employees know their work isn’t defined by the number of hours they put in every day, but the quality of work that they deliver. That is why they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the task accomplished. 77 percent of employees report being more productive when they work from home.
Improved talent retention
Employees are more willing to stay at a company when they get better work flexibility. 80 percent of employees would take up a job that offers a flexible schedule over a job that does not. 36 percent would readily leave their current job if work flexibility isn’t an option.
When employees leave your company in large numbers, hiring new employees can be immensely expensive and time-consuming. In fact, hiring a replacement can cost up to twice as much as the employee’s annual salary.
How to effectively implement work flexibility
1. Start by assuming everything is flexible
It’s not easy to decide which path to take to achieve work flexibility. Should you allow employees to work remotely? How often? Should you remove fixed workstations from the office? Should you give employees the freedom to set their own working hours?
Over the course of the pandemic, we proved that all of these are legitimate options, as well as allowing some employees to shift to a freelance model if they want.
If you are going to build a company people love working for, you need to be willing to question everything.
Flexibility doesn’t have to mean a total lack of structure, but whatever structure you build should be intentional.
2. Explore hybrid work models
Not all employees want to work from home. Some live with roommates, some have difficult households, and some just don’t thrive in a remote work situation where they don’t get to interact with their colleagues face to face.
Forcing people to work remotely is the same as forcing them to come to the office. Instead, explore a hybrid business model where employees get the choice to work from home or from the office. Some models keep the office as the center, while others shift it to digital tools.
The right one will depend on what works for your company and your employees. Before switching to a hybrid work model, make sure to ask these 15 questions to build the right hybrid workplace.
3. Stop fixating on employees’ working hours
If you are still using work hours as a measure of employee productivity, you need to step back. If your employees are meeting their deadlines and delivering great work, it’s no use obsessing over when they clock in or clock out.
Work flexibility is all about finding the right rhythm that works for you. Some employees may prefer working early in the mornings, others may feel more productive late in the night. Company leaders and team managers should give employees the space that they need to perform their best.
At the same time, you need to change your company culture so nobody is looked down on for taking advantage of the flexibility options that are available to them.
4. Offer flexible working perks
The role of the employer doesn’t just end at allowing employees to work flexibly. You need to support your employees actively to help them make the most of the flexible work arrangements. Here are some of the many flexible working perks that can help with that:
Caregiving leave
The flexibility of taking caregiving leave can reduce stress levels of your current employees and even attract new ones. It’s necessary to recognize that some employees may have complex family situations where they are responsible for taking care of their kids, parents, or even grandparents. Offering caregiving leave will lead to them seeing the company as more understanding and thoughtful of their situation.
Unlimited PTO
Creating a policy of unlimited paid time off (PTO) helps show that you are an employee-first workplace. Apart from being a great incentive to prospective job candidates, it also helps build trust among your employees. But is offering unlimited PTO enough for instilling a culture of workplace flexibility?
Dan Jimenez, CEO of Chatbooks, took a typical approach to PTO for tech startups: unlimited, untracked. But they soon realized that no one was actually taking advantage of unlimited PTO to recharge themselves. People were only taking leaves to get things done. No one was taking a week or more off just to completely recharge, possibly because of the fear of being judged.
As a result, Chatbooks initiated a mandatory time off where employees were expected to be out of the office for one week every quarter. Introducing this small change encouraged more employees to go on leaves. In Q1 of 2020, only 25% of employees took any time off. In Q1 2021, that jumped up to 90%.
Home office setup allowance
If your employees will be majorly working from home, provide them with a home setup allowance so they can create the right working environment that motivates them day in and day out. This can include reimbursements for laptops, headphones, office desk, chairs, speakers, and more.
Work flexibility is irreplaceable
To attract and retain top talent, there’s no other option; you must offer work flexibility. Employees want more control over their work schedules and a better work-life balance. Forcing employees into the traditional 9-5*5 is quickly becoming a dealbreaker.
Flexible work options make employees’ lives easier, remind them that they are appreciated within the company, and improve productivity. Work flexibility can mean lots of things, and the more you are willing to explore it, the greater your chance of working with the best people.
Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash
