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How Important Is Flexible Work? 43% Choose It Over Pay Raise
In a world where no one seems to have enough time, the ability to arrange it as you choose has become increasingly valuable. That’s the clear message from a recent global survey: 43% of respondents would choose flexibility over a pay raise.
The survey, which included 800 employees at all organizational levels, was conducted by Unify, a communication software and services firm. “Employees are serious about flex work,” said Bill Hurley, Unify’s Chief Marketing Officer. “In addition to nearly half of all employees preferring flex work over a pay raise, nearly one-third said they would change employers if offered flexible work elsewhere… Business leaders who ignore the Flex Work Imperative could find themselves suffering the loss of their best employees.”
Significantly, the study also notes that “it is not an ‘all-or-nothing’ situation. Many employees would be satisfied with a few days per week working from home; or the ability to work in the office for part of the day, and then finish at home.”
While employees’ desire for increased flexibility is nothing new, the fact that so many employees appear to value it more highly than increased compensation is an interesting twist. One that management would be well advised to bear in mind.
Management implications – So what does this mean for management? At a macro level, senior managers naturally needs to be mindful of the character and desires of their own work force – plus of course their own operational requirements – when considering, designing and offering flexible work arrangements for their organization. But if executed thoughtfully, increased flexibility can be a valued and – equally importantly – cost-effective benefit. One that helps retain talent.
At a micro level, individual managers should be attuned to the needs of their own staff, and recognize the motivational value and appeal that scheduling flexibility has. At the same time, increasingly remote management poses challenges of its own, as many companies, most notably and publicly Yahoo YHOO +1.26%, have discovered. It places additional demands on management to ensure that both employee goals and results are extremely clearly defined and delivered.
My own experience? I managed for many years in what I’d call a semi-flexible work environment. Scheduling flexibility for employees was a possibility but not a right, driven by the operational needs of a department and subject to the approval of an individual manager. My overall takeaway was that offering flexibility, even in seemingly small matters (“Can I leave at 2 p.m. on Fridays in the spring to go to my daughter’s softball games?”) was always highly appreciated and very good for employee morale. At the same time it undeniably placed more responsibility on individuals managers to be sure they stayed on top of things and that the time away from work was being used, or made up, effectively. And to be 100% sure they were still getting the results the job required, even when work was accomplished in a less predictable and time-bound manner.
But that, after all, is the job of management.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2014/10/03/how-important-is-flexible-work-43-choose-it-over-pay-raise/
In a world where no one seems to have enough time, the ability to arrange it as you choose has become increasingly valuable. That’s the clear message from a recent global survey: 43% of respondents would choose flexibility over a pay raise.
The survey, which included 800 employees at all organizational levels, was conducted by Unify, a communication software and services firm. “Employees are serious about flex work,” said Bill Hurley, Unify’s Chief Marketing Officer. “In addition to nearly half of all employees preferring flex work over a pay raise, nearly one-third said they would change employers if offered flexible work elsewhere… Business leaders who ignore the Flex Work Imperative could find themselves suffering the loss of their best employees.”
Significantly, the study also notes that “it is not an ‘all-or-nothing’ situation. Many employees would be satisfied with a few days per week working from home; or the ability to work in the office for part of the day, and then finish at home.”
While employees’ desire for increased flexibility is nothing new, the fact that so many employees appear to value it more highly than increased compensation is an interesting twist. One that management would be well advised to bear in mind.
Management implications – So what does this mean for management? At a macro level, senior managers naturally needs to be mindful of the character and desires of their own work force – plus of course their own operational requirements – when considering, designing and offering flexible work arrangements for their organization. But if executed thoughtfully, increased flexibility can be a valued and – equally importantly – cost-effective benefit. One that helps retain talent.
At a micro level, individual managers should be attuned to the needs of their own staff, and recognize the motivational value and appeal that scheduling flexibility has. At the same time, increasingly remote management poses challenges of its own, as many companies, most notably and publicly Yahoo YHOO +1.26%, have discovered. It places additional demands on management to ensure that both employee goals and results are extremely clearly defined and delivered.
My own experience? I managed for many years in what I’d call a semi-flexible work environment. Scheduling flexibility for employees was a possibility but not a right, driven by the operational needs of a department and subject to the approval of an individual manager. My overall takeaway was that offering flexibility, even in seemingly small matters (“Can I leave at 2 p.m. on Fridays in the spring to go to my daughter’s softball games?”) was always highly appreciated and very good for employee morale. At the same time it undeniably placed more responsibility on individuals managers to be sure they stayed on top of things and that the time away from work was being used, or made up, effectively. And to be 100% sure they were still getting the results the job required, even when work was accomplished in a less predictable and time-bound manner.
But that, after all, is the job of management.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2014/10/03/how-important-is-flexible-work-43-choose-it-over-pay-raise/
