Why you should embrace flexible working practices

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With International Women’s day, we’ve seen a lot of chatter about the need for more women in business. It is indicated that key to this issue, and indeed the issue of workplace diversity in general, is our failure to embrace flexible working

Research shows Australian organisations are not open to flexible working. Citrix found that 83% of Australian organisations can see some reason why they should not embrace flexible working practices. A third of workers at organisations that don’t offer flexible working said they believe the reason was the inability to monitor work done at home

While technology, business and society has changed markedly since the advent of the 9am to 5pm work day, many business leaders still have an old school ‘bums on seats’ mentality when it comes to evaluating a worker’s productivity. If they can’t see you working, then you mustn’t be!

This tendency to value ‘presenteeism’ over performance is detrimental – it means you end up retaining the people who can and want to be in the office every day, and miss the opportunity to engage a broader talent pool who need and expect flexibility in the workplace

Millennials demand flexibility. They have grown up using technology, have used it throughout school and tertiary study, and therefore expect to be able to use it at work. They see technological advances and the decoupling of work and location as beneficial to both business and family. They don’t talk about work and home life, but instead talk about ‘one life’ where they manage all aspects as one integrated whole. With a longer working life and later retirement ahead, Millennials are preparing to run a work ultramarathon, wanting the flexibility to switch gears at different stages to pursue goals professionally and personally, when it suits them.

On the other hand, women and men need flexibility to manage their commitments to both their family and their career. They need the flexibility to be able to determine when and where they work so they can accommodate all aspects of their life, integrating work and home into ‘one life’. For example, they may need to leave work early to pick up children or care for elderly parents, but will log-in at home later that night once the children and/ or parents are in bed.

Flexible working delivers a lot of benefits to employees, but organisations need to also recognise the business benefits. Through flexible working, employers can reduce office costs, attract a broader talent pool, retain key talent and critical skill sets, and boost employee morale and productivity. It can also enable better workplace diversity, with 42% of business leaders stating that flexible working is key to getting more women into leadership.

A recent article in Huffington Post discussed how ANZ bank is realising the benefit of flexible working, introducing an “all roles flex” initiative last year to attract talent, especially young people. It is reported, that ANZ employees can apply to change their work hours or even the place they work from, for a variety of reasons – from childcare or eldercare responsibilities, sickness or disability, to employees wanting to take language lessons or a gym class. So far 87% of the company has made use of the program.

So how can your organisation embrace flexible working? Here are four steps to get you started.

  • Believe in it – The leadership team must believe that flexible work is good and believe that even if an employee can’t be seen, they can still be working and delivering outcomes.
  • Look at your work models – Change up how you structure ‘work’. Understand the ‘work to be done’ and define what jobs can be flexible.
  • Update your people practices – Revisit your people systems to ensure they are driving and supporting flexible work. Look to reward productivity and outcomes rather than presenteeism.
  • Lead differently – New ways of work need different leadership. Even when employees are working alone and off-site, they still need ways to connect to the team and the wider organisation to ensure they are working towards desired outcomes. It’s important for leaders to change up their skills and beliefs to lead a diverse and flexible workforce where one size fits one.

Australian businesses need to embrace culture change if they are to thrive in the modern world of work, where talent defines an organisation’s success. By recognising the power of one size fits one and embracing workplace practices that value outcomes over presenteeism, we can create more innovative and agile workplaces.