Employee Flexibility: Benefits and Practical Implications

The trend for employers to offer telecommuting (work-from-home) options and flexible work schedules is on the rise. Recently a Gallup report indicated that offering employees the ability to work remotely is effective at supporting engagement and productivity. In fact, the Gallup report indicated that 54 percent of office workers say they'd leave their job for one that offers flexible work time. But it doesn’t stop there. The benefits of flexible and telecommuting options for employees, employers, and the environment are also good reasons to adopt this trend. Let’s do a little dive into all of the benefits and the practical implications.

Avantages pour les employés

According to a Ring Central, employee benefits include:

• Less distractions: “less office chatter, clients, footfall, and even the prying eyes of your manager peering over your shoulder” can all enhance job satisfaction and productivity.

• Greater work-life satisfaction: employees have “more control over work-life integration and the ability to take a moment to deal with a personal emergency”. Employees then can easily make that time up later in the day, when their kids have gone to bed or during the time they would have been commuting.

• Réduction du stress : "Une étude a révélé que 82 % des personnes travaillant loin du bureau connaissent des niveaux de stress plus faibles. Les gens ont plus de liberté pour construire leur travail autour de leur vie, plutôt que de faire les choses dans l'autre sens."

• "Amélioration du bonheur et de la satisfaction : Selon le Global State of Work Report, les personnes qui télétravaillent ont plus de chances d'être plus heureuses. Dans cette étude, les personnes qui peuvent télétravailler au moins une fois par mois étaient 24 % plus heureuses que leurs collègues. “

Avantages pour l'employeur

Les avantages pour l'employeur sont infinis. Bien sûr, les employés sont plus heureux, en meilleure santé, plus engagés et plus productifs, mais cela contribue également à votre réputation. Saviez-vous que 87 % des clients de Starbucks boivent leur café parce qu'ils aiment la façon dont ils traitent leurs employés (Morgan, 2018) ? En un mot, voici les avantages pour l'employeur.

• Un meilleur engagement des employés

• Decreased costs in absenteeism and turnover

• Amélioration du recrutement et de la rétention

• Réduction des coûts (pensez au partage de bureaux)

• Amélioration de la productivité

• Plus de créativité et d'innovation

• Meilleure réputation de l'organisation

La demande

Bill Gates was right on the money when he said employers that offer flex time will have an edge. Why? Well according to Business Insider, 84 percent of millennials want more work-life integration and 54 percent want to work a flexible or alternative schedule. From the same source, up to 90 percent of the US workforce say they would like to "telework" at least part-time.

Permettre aux gens de télétravailler est également bon pour l'environnement. Pensez à la réduction des émissions de carbone dues aux déplacements domicile-travail. Offrir cette option n'est pas seulement bon pour les entreprises et les employés, mais c'est aussi une option socialement responsable.

So now that you might be sold on the idea of offering more flexibility and telecommuting options, let’s have a look at the practicality of it all.

The Right Balance

There is a balance to improving engagement through flexible schedules. For telecommuting options, limit home days to three times a week for full time employees. More than that and morale can suffer, and engagement can drop. When offering greater flexibility for work hours, in collaborative work environments, keep a few hours where everybody needs to be available. For example, having 9 am-3 pm set hours allows employees to start at 9 am and work until 5 pm, start a 7 am and end at 3 pm, or offer any other combination. If work is more individually focused, you may not need six hours . Perhaps, you only need people to be available between 9 and 11 am or 1 and 3 pm. Just be careful and make sure that all employees have consistent access. I have seen organizations with great policies that individual managers haven’t followed. If a team or entire department can’t access the perk, you will get resentful, disengaged employees. So, either get your managers on board or make sure everyone has fair access.

Conseils pratiques

Okay, now we know about the benefits and the right balance. So how do you implement more flexible schedules, while making sure employees don't abuse this perk?

Have a policy in place to keep things fair and consistent. This policy may include the following to ensure it is used fairly:

• Include a trial (one to three months) for telecommuting options for each employee before implementing options long term. Every employee is different. Not all can be successful work remotely.

• Clearly layout times people are expected to be available.

• Include a statement on how you will deal with any potential abuse.

• Ensure that following the policy is a shared responsibility between everyone.

• Re-think performance development and start tracking outcomes rather than minutes and hours of work. Have employees share in the development of work outcomes if possible. If individual performance suffers, include a statement to amend the policy on a case-by-case basis.

• For full-time employees, keep telecommuting options to no more than three days per week to keep up engagement and morale.

• Make sure that employees are equipped with, or have, a space at home that is ergonomically appropriate. Ensuring employees complete and sign off on a checklist before starting out can make sure they are set up for success.

Summing it Up

The benefits to offering greater employee flexibility and telecommuting options are endless for the employer and employee. It reduces costs, increases employee engagement, well-being and productivity, is good for reputation, and can be good for the environment. Making sure you have a good policy in place will make sure it is successful, and not abused.

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