Most workers want flexibility in their work schedules to help them manage life’s day-to-day realities such as caring for children or other family members.GETTY IMAGES
Some people might think that the quest for a better balance between work and the demands of daily life is just a Generation Z issue, but employers like Danielle Gagner are discovering that work flexibility is on everyone’s mind these days.
“I started my business more than six years ago with the goal of having a better work-life balance for both me and my employees,” says Ms. Gagner, president of Anchor Marketing, a Vancouver communications agency that specializes in not-for-profit clients.
“I had young children at the time, and I wanted to foster an environment where both I and my employees could prioritize their work and their lives at the same time. My youngest employee is 24 and my oldest is 49, and they’re all interested in flexible working conditions,” Ms. Gagner says.
Since the pandemic, it has become common for companies of all sizes to allow employees with desk jobs to work from home or remotely at least part of the time, but Ms. Gagner opted for something different – both time and location flexibility.
“I have certain times of the day where I require our team to be available for clients, but people can do their actual work at any time that suits them. For example, I have one employee who takes care of aging parents, and she likes to take care of them in the day and do her writing work in the middle of the night,” she says.
Depending on the workers’ ages, most employees want more flexibility either to take care of parents or for child care, she says.
According to a LinkedIn survey conducted late last year, younger Canadians are the biggest fans of hybrid and remote work, but those types of work are preferred by almost all ages. For Gen Z, 64 per cent prefer hybrid and remote, compared to 66 per cent for Millennials, 55 per cent for Gen X and 49 per cent for Baby Boomers.
Employers have become more open to flexible conditions since the pandemic says Winny Shen, associate professor of organization studies at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto.
“Workers are paying more attention to whether an employer offers flexible conditions when they’re considering who they want to work for. And while there are some kinds of jobs where you have to be on site, many employers are realizing that for other jobs the real question is not where you’re located, but what is the best way to get the work done,” Dr. Shen says.
She points to academic studies such as one published earlier this year in U.S. journal Personnel Psychology in which authors Ravi Gajendran, Ajay Ponnapalli, Chen Wang and Anoop Javalagi found that, “remote workers generally have better outcomes than their office-based colleagues” in the work they deliver.
“Altogether, findings suggest that remote work offers modest upsides with limited downsides – even for those who spend more time working away from the office,” the authors said.
“It’s essential for human resources departments to work with their employees to figure out what kind of flexibility is best. I call it ‘flow’ – it’s what you want, where work and life flow together seamlessly,” says Jodi Kovitz, chief executive officer of the Human Resources Professionals Association, which regulates HR practitioners in Ontario.
She points to research issued last year by recruitment agency Randstad showing that while 20 per cent of workers surveyed say they miss seeing their co-workers in person as often as before the pandemic, 43 per cent don’t miss being in the office at all and 56 per cent think their company’s culture has improved.
“It’s one of many studies showing that flexibility with work leads to better morale,” Ms. Kovitz says.
Allowing people to be out-of-office is just one of many ways to encourage greater working flexibility, she adds. “The key principle is, giving people more autonomy over how they flow between their responsibilities at work and outside of work,” she says.
One company, Toronto communications agency Media Profile, launched a program in 2022 it calls WorkAway, which gives employees a bonus if they want to travel and work.
“The benefit gives all employees the opportunity to work anywhere in the world for one month with $3,000 after tax to help cover travel expenses to support their remote work. The stipulation is that they must work within our time zone and be actively engaging with their teams during core business hours,” says Media Profile President Alison King.
“Without question, this has been one of the strongest retention and hiring benefits we’ve ever introduced,” Ms. King adds.
Ultimately, flexibility depends on good communication, Dr. Shen says. “Working out-of-office doesn’t mean unlimited time off. Everyone still has to make sure the work gets done.”