The past few years have dynamically shifted how the average employee relates to work. One of the core alternations has been a change in how employees want to engage with their workplace. Based on present data, over 62% of workers want flexible working hours, with a further 50% expecting flexibility when it comes to the place they work from.
These changes mark one clear new factor about the modern employee: flexibility is now a leading demand. For businesses that want to remain ahead of their competitors, attract top talent, and ensure their employees remain satisfied at work, a flexible work policy should be a leading priority.
In this article, we’ll dive into how exactly businesses should implement a successful flexible work policy, demonstrating the core concerns, benefits, and challenges that an organization is likely to encounter when shifting to this new mode of work.
Let’s dive right in.
Why Should You Offer Flexible Work to Your Employees?
A flexible work policy allows employees to take back control of their own working schedule. Depending on the specific circumstances of your work policy, this could include allowing them to work from home some days or even letting them choose their own working hours.
Despite the format of your flexible work policy, there are a number of benefits you can expect:
- Employee Engagement – Gallup research demonstrates that employees who have more control of how and when they work are much more engaged during working hours.
- Reduced Turnover – Workers are increasingly searching for companies to support a more flexible lifestyle. If you can offer a flexible work policy to your employees, you’ll increase retainment.
- Boosted Productivity – Workers with access to flexible working conditions demonstrate 39% higher productivity than those in traditional working environments.
With benefits in almost every possible area, integrating a flexible work policy into your business should be a goal you have to expand in 2024.
How to Pick the Right Flexible Working System for Your Business
Around 58% of Americans currently have the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week. Yet, just because people are engaging in flexible work doesn’t mean they’re all doing it in the same way. There are actually a number of different flexible work policies that businesses can opt for.
Graph to show the distribution of full-time remote work compared to part-time positions.
For example, here are some potential flexible styles that some businesses use:
- Flexible hours – Workers have the opportunity to come and go to the office as they please, without any strict 9-5.
- Flexible office days – Businesses ask employees to come in at least a few days a week, but they can pick when.
- 4-Day Weeks – A rising flexible trend is the 4-day work week. A pilot study in the UK had staggeringly positive results.
Your company might choose one of these or take a hybrid approach between them all.
How to Begin Flexible Working and Monitor its Success
The first step to any successful flexible working schedule is to understand what your employees want from the policy. By releasing surveys and asking your employees how they want to engage with a new way of working, you’ll have a clearer directive of how to implement this change to obtain the most positive response.
New quarters are a great time to implement changes in your working life. Especially around the end of a year, businesses can alter their working structures and monitor their impacts more easily. For example, starting on the first day of a quarter will give you a clear before and after to monitor progress.
In terms of measuring progress, organizations need to take a quantitative and qualitative approach:
- Quantitative – Check metrics of productivity and output and monitor measurable team achievements before and after instating the flexible work policy.
- Qualitative – Qualitative data refers to survey data that you obtain from your employees. Asking them open-ended questions will allow you to gather insight into how people are feeling about the recent change.
A balanced approach between these two will allow businesses to truly monitor the success of any flexible work initiative.
Challenges In Implementing Flexible Work
While there are numerous benefits for businesses that want to engage in flexible work, it goes without question that there will also be bumps along the road.
Typically, businesses face three types of challenges:
- Technological Challenges – Businesses need to find technology that facilitates collaboration despite workers not being in the same physical location. This is the first problem organizations encounter, but it is often the easiest to overcome.
- Social Challenges – Gartner reports that creating a positive workplace culture is the hardest challenge that businesses currently face. When embracing flexible work, your employees will see each other less, which makes it difficult to create team cohesion.
- Work-Life Challenges – Although a flexible work policy can help improve work-life balance, it can also blur the lines between work and home for many employees. Offering advice about how to shut off from work and allowing employees to block notifications after work ends will help overcome this challenge.
While there are certainly challenges that come with the territory, the benefits of implementing a flexible work policy into your business far outweigh any potential downsides.
Final Thoughts
Establishing a flexible work policy is one of the leading strategies that a business can adopt in 2024. Not only will it result in higher rates of productivity and more profit for your company, but it will also help your employees to feel matter at work, improve their work-life balance, and reduce instances of burnout.
When incorporating a flexible work policy into your business, you’re likely to encounter various challenges. From doubts about how to monitor its progress to different rates of acceptance, there are numerous scenarios that can arise. Within this article, we’ve attempted to respond to the leading concerns.
By following the strategies, tips, and advice laid out in this article, your business will be ready to implement a successful flexible work policy in no time. Make 2024 your best enterprise year yet!