As workplaces begin to re-open, returning to work safely is top of mind. When determining what a safe return looks like, don’t overlook the power of flexible work options for your employees. You may have already introduced elements of flexibility to your workforce as part of your pandemic response, but in the medium- and long-term, flexible work options can help boost the productivity of your employees while accommodating the expanded health and safety requirements of workplaces in today’s reality.
Before we examine the top considerations when introducing flexible work options, let’s look at a few definitions.
What are flexible work conditions?
Working 9 to 5 might have once been the standard arrangement for office work, but with improvements in the tools we use to work and communicate, there are now a variety of ways to arrange work schedules to make a living. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety identifies the following examples of flexible work arrangements:
Flex time
Flexible working hours give employees the option of variable start and end times while maintaining the total number of hours worked. This arrangement will usually require employees be available during a core set of business hours.
Reduced hours/part-time
Reducing the number of hours worked below “full time.” Don’t forget to consider changes in eligibility for employee benefits and government programs as a result of reduced hours.
Compressed work week
This arrangement sees employees formally “banking” extra hours for a day off in the future. For example, in a 40-hour work week, employees may work 10 hours per day in order to only work 4 days in a week.
Flexplace
With this arrangement, employees do not work from the office, but instead are able to work remotely. This arrangement can also be called telework, telecommuting, work from home or remote work.
Job Sharing
This refers to a work arrangement in which one position is shared by more than one person, with salary and benefits of that position divided between each employee.
Annualized hours
Annualized hours can help smooth variable demand for employees by formalizing the number of hours worked on an annual basis, rather than a daily or weekly basis. This allows for employees to work fewer hours when there is less demand for their services, and more hours when they are needed.
Phased Retirement
Instead of an abrupt retirement, arrangements involving employees who are near retirement can gradually reduce their hours to maintain continuity until eventually entering full retirement or an indefinite part-time arrangement.
Expanded leave
These arrangements allow employees to take time away from work without loss of employment rights.
Here’s what to ask yourself when evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of flexible work options
Have flexible work arrangements worked so far?
In response to COVID-19, many organizations have had to drastically change the way that their employees work. The obvious example is the large number of employees who have shifted to remote work during the pandemic, with Statistics Canada reporting that over 4 million workers who do not normally work from home had started to do so at the end of March. Where working from home wasn’t possible, organizations have opted for other flexible work arrangements such as reduced hours and staggered shift start times to manage employee interactions as well as changes in demand.
In many cases, the pandemic fast-tracked the introduction of flexible work arrangements. If your organization did so, has it worked? Evaluate the program’s success so far and look for elements that can be continued long-term. The big example here, of course, is permanently maintaining some work from home options for employees even when physical distancing restrictions are lifted.
What are your safety concerns?
As post-quarantine plans come into sharper focus, consider using flexible work arrangements to help protect the health and safety of your employees. Introducing flextime or compressed work weeks (or even a combination of both) can be a good way to reduce the volume of employees in your office at any one time. These are especially good options if working from home is not feasible.
Does flexible work make strategic sense?
Choose the flexible work options that fit with your business needs. Evaluate options with an eye towards ensuring your organization can continue to meet business objectives and serve your customers. For example, staggered compressed work weeks for your employees can extend customer support hours without relying on overtime. Reduced hours or job sharing arrangements may, unfortunately, also be necessary as the economy adjusts to the new COVID-19 reality.
Can you afford flexible work arrangements?
The costs of adding flexible work options may not be very high, but cost can certainly be a consideration. For example, unchecked flextime can increase overhead if it extends office hours far beyond core business hours.
Potential cost savings might make flexible work arrangements even more attractive. Work from home programs that allow organizations to reduce their office space can represent large savings, a benefit that Waterloo-based OpenText will be taking advantage of after the pandemic subsides by not reopening half of its physical offices.
Does the arrangement work for your employees?
A flexible work arrangement that matches your organization’s strategic goals and supports your business objectives doesn’t mean much if you don’t also have buy-in from your employees. The pandemic’s effect on physical distancing and the economy likely required mandatory and swift implementation of flexible work arrangements. But when planning for flexible work in the long-term, make sure that your choices work for your employees as well. Consider the policy from your employees’ perspective. Is flexible work an advantage for them? For example, a work from home policy isn’t a perk for employees who do not want to work from home.
How do you determine if flexibility is important at work for your employees? You can poll them, of course, but you should also talk to your managers: have they been asked about flexible working options? And don’t ignore what your competitors are doing. Does flexible work make you a more attractive employer in your industry?
Another big consideration is how to manage your employees’ work and engagement. The solutions to this will be specific to each organization and even each department/team. You’ll need to consider how to manage accountability and continuity of work as well as how managers will ensure employees are kept up-to-date on pertinent company information and training. This may require additional resources being put towards corporate communications, training or support for managers.
Benefits of a flexible work arrangement for employers
Why is flexibility important at work? For many employees, flexible work options contribute to a work day that respects their time. If formalized flexibility can produce happy, productive employees with minimal changes to operations, it’s a valuable change to consider for your organization.
How does flexible working affect employers?
It’s good for business
Flexible options recognize that employees have more going on in their lives than just their jobs — a situation that the pandemic has brought into focus, especially for parents and other caretakers. While flexible working is not a legal right, these options give employees more control over their schedule and can help reduce absenteeism by allowing employees to attend to some of the unavoidable events that can come up, especially with regards to childcare and eldercare. The autonomy that flexible work options give employees can also encourage their loyalty, further promoting retention initiatives for your organization.
Improve candidate attraction
Flexible work options can help make employers more attractive to job prospects. Flexibility is an attractive feature for job seekers; according to research conducted by the flexibility platform company Werk, while 96% of U.S. employees need flexibility at work, only 42% have access to the flexibility they need. By offering — and advertising — flexible work options, organizations can attract a wider pool of candidates who may not be getting the flexibility they want from other employers.
Increase productivity
When employees have the option to choose to work from home, employers can see large productivity gains. Likewise, flexible work options can help employees work when they’re most productive — and there’s even an indication that workers with more control over their schedules work longer hours. The other benefit is that flexible work options don’t require big changes on the part of the employer and its operations; give employees more autonomy over their schedules, and watch the productivity improvements pour in.
What’s next?
If you’ve decided that some form of flexible work is right for your organization, don’t hesitate to begin formalizing the program. As workplaces open up again, updated health and safety plans present a good opportunity to propose flexible work schedules for your employees. Formalizing the program also helps establish its parameters to give all employees the same opportunity and benefit.
Alongside formalizing the program, don’t forget to communicate the program to your employees. Ensure that managers are well-versed in how the flexible work option will be implemented company-wide and what it means for their team specifically. Developing training for managers to learn about the new management skills that flexible work options require is also advisable to ease the transition.
Lastly, recognize that nothing is permanent. All programs can be re-evaluated at a future date to reduce or expand the flexible work options available to your employees.