A flexible workplace culture

Melanie Joy Douglas
No longer are the days of the single-income household where one partner handled household affairs while the other worked his nine to five job without any distractions. Both adults in the average Canadian household need to work to survive financially, and as a result, there's more pressure on people to amalgamate their everyday responsibilities into their worklife.

It's not surprising, then, that surveys as of late make clear what is most important to employees today; even more than job stability, salary, vacation time, and benefits--employees want workplace flexibility.

A recent national survey of over 22,000 professionals rated their top job priorities. They were asked to rank what matters most to them about their job. The results are as follows:

1. Challenge of job, responsibility
2. Flexible work schedule
3. Job stability
4. Base pay
5. Vacation time or paid time off
6. Benefits
7. Skill Development, educational, or training opportunities
8. Ability to work with leading-edge technology
9. Opinion and Knowledge are valued
10. Job atmosphere
11. Casual attire
12. Recognition of work well done
13. Potential for promotion
14. Ability to work on creating innovative solutions/strategies
15. Having the tools are support to do job well
16. Commuting distance
17. Geographic location of job
18. Effective career-path planning and support
19. Bonus opportunities
20. Working with highly talented peers

With flexible work schedules coming second only to actual job responsibilities, clearly, workers simply no longer want to be tied to a desk between the hours of nine and five.

Flexibility in the workplace, however, is not a one-way street where employers must bend to employee demands. Companies today are asking more than they ever have before from their employees. Thus, in order to achieve company goals, employers are giving their employees flexibility. It's a win-win situation.

Companies can nurture a culture of flexibility through their work schedules. Accordingly, managers are encouraged to "manage the work, not the clock." Employees' performance plans are thus structured so that outcomes are judged, rather than time spent on projects. Managers are able to offer flexible start and end times as long as a main set of hours is covered. Employers and employees work together to offer telecommuting options, compressed workweeks, and if appropriate, part-time hours.

As companies develop management policies in regards to work flexibility, they must consider six areas:
• reduced work hours
• reduced work days
• working part-time
• working non-traditional hours
• work-sharing
• summer leaves

While some employees require reduced hours to take care of responsibilities outside of work, employers cite the most popular form of flexibility as simply working a schedule different from the traditional 9-to-5. For that reason, workers still want their full pay-cheques; however, they want to be able to leave work early to drive their daughter to soccer practice, take their son to a dentist appointment, care for an ill parent, or perhaps just to "be there" when their children get home from school. A lot of workers, who are employed in a flexible workplace, leave work early, spend time with their families, and then finish their work at home, after their children go to bed. And if they are able to complete their work at home, why not?

Undeniably, not all jobs allow employees to participate in flex hours. Support jobs such as reception or security require workers to be there during specific hours; nevertheless, candidates for these positions understand these stipulations going into such lines of work.

Employers who have implemented more flexible practices are reaping the rewards of their commitment to employees: workers are happier and more productive. With flexibility in the workplace achieving such positive results for both employer and employee, look for the trend to grow. At long last, in this clichéd hustle-bustle, live-to-work, dog-eat-dog world, people are finally moving toward balance.