Flexibility in the workplace
Is it the solution to well-being at work?
For many of us, the pandemic has been the start of a reflection on our work lives, giving us a new perspective on how we spend our time and what we consider essential in the corporate world. One of the most significant realisation was that many aspects we deemed indispensable, such as our presence in an office, turned out not to be as crucial as we thought. The freedom and time gained from working from home quickly became a privilege many of us can’t imagine to let go of.
After four years of working remotely, I recently started a new job that requires my presence in the office three times a week. While I have the flexibility to choose which days I come in and can adjust my hours as needed, I still need to electronically log my time and spend hours in commute each week. It’s an ajustement that highlights both the potential benefits and drawbacks of work arrangements. We have all grown accustomed to a new normal, one that prioritises flexibility and allows us to organise our work-life balance in a way that better aligns with our personal lives.
Expectations have evolved, yet the corporate world seems to be divided in two camps when it comes to flexibility: those companies that want to revert to pre-pandemic working arrangements in a quest to regain control over their employees, and those that are innovating and adapting to current needs by proposing new ways of working.
For me, flexibility is a way to have more control over my days. It allows me to seamlessly integrate, or have the impression to, work into my life, making the most of my time while still having to commit to a 40-hour workweek.
In today’s newsletter, we will look into the different ways companies can offer flexible work arrangements, the benefits and potential challenges of these arrangements and how the future of work could look evolve to better meet the needs of employees.
What does flexibility at work mean
Flexibility doesn’t mean the same to everyone, and companies have several options to implement a more flexible working environment.
Work location: The most obvious form of flexibility is allowing employees to choose where they work. This can range from full-time remote work to hybrid models where employees split their time between the office and home.
Working times: Flexible working hours mean that employees can start and finish their workday at times that best suit their personal lives. I’ve seen many companies implementing core hours where everyone is expected to be available but leaving the rest of the day open for individual scheduling.
Part-time work: Giving employees the opportunity to reduce their working hours whether it’s for family reasons, to pursue a side hustle, to volunteer, or simply to have more free time.
Unlimited holidays: When companies started implementing this benefit, I kept hearing that employees wouldn’t use it, either because they feared taking more holidays than the norm or they felt they didn’t have time or that it would be seen in a bad light. This measure however grants employees more freedom in making decisions about their wellbeing. For exemple, they can take time off to help a parent or friend in need without having to worry about exhausting their limited vacation days.
Sabbaticals: Granting employees who have been with the company for certain period a sabbatical provides the opportunity to take a break, explore something new, or recharge by spending time on personal passions. I’ve had one, and I would encourage both employers and employees to make use of it.
4-day work week: I have yet to see a study that doesn’t show positive results from implementing a shorter work week. It can significantly improve productivity and have a great impact on work-life balance.
Job sharing: Job sharing involves two employees splitting the responsibilities of one full-time job, I started reading about this last year and found the idea very interesting. I read a profile on two women splitting the CEO role and it gave them the opportunity to take such a position knowing they could keep time for their families and split the burden of such a demanding role with someone they trusted and who complemented their skills. It does require organisation and top notch communication, leaving your ego at the door and a lot of trust, but if it can allow more people to get the career they want without causing detriment to their personal lives, I think this should become a more common practice.
Benefits: As mentioned, not every employee has the same needs and that should be reflected in the benefits too. Core benefits should be the same for everyone but employees should be able to select the additional benefits that match their lives. For exemple, most companies offer discounts to sports memberships. I play tennis and swim and these sports are never included in these packages, which make the benefit useless to me or to anyone who doesn’t like sport. Why not instead do a voucher system where people can freely choose what they want to spend their benefit on? For exemple mental health resources, professional development, wellness, etc.
Flexibility is not only about accommodating employees’ preferences but also about fostering a culture that values well-being and respects personal time.
The Benefits of Flexibility
Flexibility offers numerous benefits for both employees and businesses. By helping employees achieve a better work-life balance, employers foster an inclusive culture and a supportive environment. The ability to organise work hours and location in a way that accommodates personal life demands can significantly improve mental and physical health, reduce stress, and enhance overall well-being.
When an employer prioritises flexibility, it sends a message that they trust them, that they care about their employees' overall quality of life, not just their productivity and performance. I haven’t seen studies on this, but my assumption would be that it would boost employee satisfaction and retention, and be good for business. As seen from research on the 4-day work week, employees who can condense their work into fewer days are often more productive and efficient.
Additionally, flexible work arrangements can support diversity by creating opportunities for individuals who may require non-traditional schedules, such as caregivers. This inclusivity ensures a wider range of potential talent can join a company.
Potential Drawbacks and Challenges
While flexibility offers many benefits, it also presents challenges and requires careful implementation.
Inequality in Access: During the pandemic we have seen considerable inequality between office-based workers and front-line workers, this newsletter is focused on office-based jobs as this is what I know but every job type deserves flexibility. HBR highlighted how some companies are merely accommodating flexibility, meaning a supervisor grants a request from an employee, in a case-by-case type of approval, which assimilate to “granting permission to the employee”. This does not result in a flexible work culture, can lead to unfairness among employees, based on their demands and lineancy of their boss.
Appearance of Flexibility: Sometimes, what appears as flexibility might not be genuinely flexible. Hybrid models with forced days in the office, or rigid schedules, seem to be a compromise between the desires of employees and those of employers but it doesn’t fully address employees' needs. Meeting employees halfway with partial flexibility is unlikely to be sufficient to boost job satisfaction and well-being.
Gender Disparities: Historically, women have been the primary seekers of flexible work arrangements, which results in less pay, and career opportunities. How do we ensure collectively that flexible measures are seen as measures for everyone and doesn’t result in discrimination for those needing or wanting flexible work arrangements?
Communication and Team Bonding: Flexible work arrangements can make communication and team bonding more difficult. When team members are working different hours or remotely, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of engagement and collaboration as in a traditional office setting. In a previous newsletter, I’ve discussed how remote work can lead to feelings of isolation and how developing friendships at work can improve well-being.
I’m also asking myself how feasible is it for companies to implement policies that are fair for everyone, respond to everyone’s needs and also ensures that teams are united and work well together. It might be done by companies willing to adapt and try new ways of working. Atlassian is betting on flexibility and doing a year long experiment with a Connection Hub, offering its employees a new workspace with just 12 desks to see how employees make use of it while keeping their “team anywhere” strategy, that allows their employees to work from the 13 countries they are implemented in.
Embracing flexibility
Workplace flexibility is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each employee has unique needs and different interpretations of what flexibility means to them. It is therefore important for companies to offer a range of flexible options tailored to individual circumstances. Not in a way that is merely accommodating requests but by granting everyone the same opportunities regarding core work arrangements (where, when, how, how long) and proposing modulable benefit packages.
While flexibility in the workplace presents challenges that need to be thoughtfully managed, the benefits for both parties often outweigh the costs in my opinion. Fostering an inclusive and supportive culture, where work-life balance is valued and contributions are deemed more important than physical presence should become a priority for companies. By being agile and responsive to employees’ needs, I believe they will be able to create a more satisfying work experience, enhance well-being, and in return, employees will be more engaged and productive.
I am hopeful about the future of work and excited to see the initiatives that companies will come up with. I believe that in order to be competitive and attract talent, they will need to ensure that employees are not only offered the best conditions to be productive and performant but also given flexibility over how and where they want to work.
What is important to you in terms of flexibility? Do you see it as the key to your well-being at work?
Here are some additional resources on the topic:
Navigating the complex landscape of flexibility.
The future of flexibility at work.
The Roundup
A curation of the most interesting resources I’ve consumed in the past 2 weeks.
📖 What I’ve read:
Should businesses offer wellbeing days?
How return to office policies are impacting employees.
Mental health at work: Why you need leadership, communication, and culture to thrive.
6 ways to bring strategy into your work everyday.
The Metaverse was supposed to be your new office, you’re still on Zoom.
A philosophical approach can help you identify what truly matters.
Are you the same person you used to be?
The surprisingly rosy future of remote work.
🎧 What I’ve listened to:
The Good Podcast: Ambition and the Future of Work
Squiggly Careers: How to overcome career challenges