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Let’s Get Flexible
CTDO Magazine

Let’s Get Flexible

Friday, March 15, 2019

Demand for flexible work arrangements is growing.

To increase worker productivity and meet new social expectations, many organizations are turning to more flexible work arrangements, whether in time or location. According to a 2018 FlexJobs survey, a majority of 3,100 workers (65 percent) think they'd be more productive working at home than in the office. Surveyed workers defined their reasons for greater productivity at home as fewer distractions (75 percent), fewer interruptions from colleagues (74 percent), and less office politics (65 percent).

Indeed, according to Gallup's State of the American Workplace report, flexibility is key to establishing the balance and well-being that most employees are looking for. So, it's clear to see why the volume of employees who have telecommuted at some point in their career has risen to 43 percent. What's more, 51 percent say they would change jobs to have one that offered them flextime. Gallup's data concur with numbers from other recent studies:

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  • Werk's study of nearly 1,600 white-collar professionals across industries, geographies, and other key demographics found that 96 percent of the workforce needs some form of flexibility; yet, only 42 percent have access to the flexibility they need, and only 19 percent have access to a range of flexible options.
  • Flexibility ranked high on a recent MidAmerica Nazarene University survey that asked some 2,000 people to define their dream job. Men ranked flexibility as their second most important element, behind a good income, and women ranked it as the most important. On average, the respondents wanted to work remotely 11 days a month.
  • Alight's 2018 Workforce Mindset Study—a survey of 2,501 employees representing a cross-section of the U.S. workforce—reports that 51 percent of respondents, including 59 percent of high performers, would not even consider a job with less flexibility than what they have currently. And those who said they would consider a less-flexible job reported it would take an average pay increase of 31 percent to compensate for the relative inflexibility.

    Get it right

    Clearly, flexibility is one of the most important benefits workers want, but many companies that have a policy are still getting it wrong. As the typical 9-to-5 schedule dwindles and the number of people entering the gig workforce increases, companies are learning that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

    For starters, it's important to understand the distinctions between flexibility and contingent workers. A flexible job is a permanent, full-time role, whereas a gig worker is a short-term contractor or freelancer. Next, time- and location-based modifications must be standardized within a framework that can be broadly communicated across the organization.

    If your organization is ready to get started, here are a few types of flexible arrangements to consider:

    Telecommuting. This refers to a job that's performed remotely part of the time. According to Gallup, the telecommuting schedule that offers the most productivity is when an employee comes into the office two or three days per week (in a five-day workweek). You can implement telecommuting with nearly any position that doesn't require the worker to be in the office all the time, but managers may still prefer a person who lives locally and can quickly get to the office if necessary.

    Remote work. This is entirely performed away from the office. On average, approximately 5 percent of workers in each U.S. state work remotely, according to a FlexJobs map of the U.S. remote work job market.

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    Compressed workweeks. This option is growing in popularity. In this arrangement, the standard workweek is reduced to less than five days, and employees make up the full number of hours per week by working longer hours. Werk finds that three-quarters of workers are interested in pursuing this type of flexible work approach.

    Job sharing. This option is similar to part-time work, with two or more part-time workers sharing a full-time job. Currently, Werk data show that this is the least in-demand flex arrangement, but there is growing interest among men—Millennial men, in particular. While it's a part-time job for these workers, managers will need to supervise more than one person for a single job, which can create an extra strain on their responsibilities.

    Talent development executives need to pay attention to this flexible work trend because these employees will still need access to training and development—sometimes even additional training. For example, videoconferencing and consistent communication are keys to the success of telecommuting, remote work, and job-sharing arrangements. This may require training programs for co-workers on how to take advantage of collaboration tools, as well as training courses for leaders on how to better manage expectations and track performance of workers they don't see every day.

    Read more from CTDO magazine: Essential talent development content for C-suite leaders.

About the Author

Ryann K. Ellis is an editor for the Association of Talent Development (ATD). She has been covering workplace learning and performance for ATD (formerly the American Society for Training & Development) since 1995. She currently sources and authors content for TD Magazine and CTDO, as well as manages ATD's Community of Practice blogs. Contact her at [email protected]

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