Offering Flexible Work Options Emphasizes Positive Workplace Culture to Prospective Applicants
As American workplaces return to “business as [sort of] usual,” the pros and cons of work-from-home, hybrid schedules, and a full return to the office are broadly discussed. While it’s clear that flexible work options — for those industries and workplaces in which they are practical, of course — bring benefits to companies in the form of lower absenteeism, higher employee retention, and even improvement in brand image, the benefits for workers seem to receive the lion’s share of attention.
Looking past the obvious benefits to both employer and employee, it is possible to see how closely these two are linked, and how employee satisfaction in both the high-level culture and daily details of the workplace can make a dramatic difference in the way your organization attracts and retains talent.
Three of these reasons stand out at this particular place in time: moving toward a post-pandemic environment, looking forward to the new normal — whatever that might be — and setting concrete goals for a future that no one can fully predict.
#1 Clear Communication. Working in a variety of locations and modalities can lead to clear communication in a way that face-to-face work sometimes does not. A friend in a professional field shared that early in her career, she held a position that was directly impacted by policy changes at several levels of the organization, and these changes were surprisingly not documented anywhere; instead, her team members were only able to learn about these shifts by overhearing executives’ hallway conversation and jumping in wherever they could. She joked that she could learn more about the policies that governed her high-profile work from the local newspaper than from her own office!
While most examples are not this extreme, flexible work solutions push employers to clearly communicate their expectations, which also facilitates fair and accurate performance assessment. This clarity also helps employees themselves to be sure they are on track with their daily work and their broader goals. In keeping with this, Business News Daily recommends formally documenting expectations for all staff members, emphasizing that lack of such clear expectations may even be “the most foundational” factor leading to lack of engagement in the workplace. When workers consistently understand what is expected of them, they can spend more time focusing on their work.
#2 A Broader Talent Pool. Flexible work solutions grow the network of applicants you can reach. It’s no secret that hiring is a tough task right now and attracting good team members is a priority. Flexible work schedules can expand your list of possible candidates much further than competitive pay and standard benefits can.
Simply put, there are workers who would hesitate to accept a full-time job in an office who still have valuable contributions to make to a workplace. One example might be an adult caregiver to a senior parent who has the time and talent to devote to full-time work but may simply feel uncomfortable leaving their parent home alone each day. With the cost of in-home aides and nurses sometimes being prohibitive, a candidate may actively seek employment that offers the option of at-home work.
For parents of younger children, flexible work options can directly reduce the expense of care outside of school hours, which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. Opening your list of potential candidates by offering flexible work options can provide your organization with marked benefits. In a 2019 article in Forbes, Frances Dewing summarizes this advantage when she notes that “Differences in opinion are an asset.” A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives to everything your team does, she states, allowing you to put ideas to the test before formal commitment to projects.
#3 A Culture of Trust. The last benefit to highlight about offering a flexible schedule is what it communicates to the prospective team member, most importantly a culture of trust. A commitment to offering flexible work schedules whenever possible lets applicants know certain level of confidence is placed in employees of the organization, regardless of their location. This trust may also suggest to a prospective team member that the workplace culture may be less tolerant of common office pitfalls like micromanagement and blame shifting. Having the option to work within non-traditional locations and hours also lets workers know that they are not expected to leave their “home selves” behind (parent, caregiver, leisure-time artist) and bring only their more formal selves to their jobs.
When employees feel free to draw on all of their talents and experiences rather than just those that can fit into a cubicle, the whole organization is enriched from the inside out.
