#flex work

[karisewer]

“My feeling is if a company doesn't have a way to support remote and flex work, they don't know how to manage for results https://t.co/DmtkCCDwnJ”

[designforwork]

Much has been written about the inexorable rise of the gig economy. However, a new survey from jobsite Glassdoor, claims that only 13 per cent of workers across all employment types would even consider this route for future employment, and the vast majority of employees (76 percent) feel more secure sticking to permanent employment in 2017. As with any …

A new survey claims that only 13 per cent of workers across all employment types would even consider the gig economy route for future employment, and the vast majority of employees (76 percent) feel more secure sticking to permanent employment in 2017.

Further down the study,

The survey suggests that the major perceived benefit is flexibility, both for job seekers and employers. When asked the question, “What do you think would be the biggest advantage of working in the gig economy?”, most (35 percent) of employees selected  “flexible working”, followed by “better work-life balance” (11 per cent) and the ability to “be my own boss” (10 percent). Furthermore, 39 percent of female employees feel that the biggest advantage of working in the gig economy would be the flexible working, compared to just 31 percent of men. However, 73 percent of women also reported they already enjoy a good work-life balance in their current roles.

Salaries and benefits remain the most important workplace factors for both men (56 percent) and women (63 percent), something which is typically less stable in gig or contract work.

More stats coming...

This new UK survey finds that only 12 per cent of those already self-employed feel they would earn more if they left a job to take on work which paid “per activity” (rather than an annual salary), with 21 per cent of those in full time work feeling the same. On a wider level, just one in ten of all respondents across all forms of employment believe that the gig economy would become the “future of work,” with double that amount (20 per cent) feeling it actually exploited workers and harmed employees’ rights.

In terms of job generation, only 13 per cent of all respondents predict that the gig economy would be a good way to reduce unemployment and create jobs in the future.

And to Millennials...

The millennial generation of employees has been labelled as the group who will structure and shape the way we work in coming years. However, only 10 per cent of 18-24 and 9 per cent of 25-34 year olds are of the opinion that the gig economy will eventually become the “future of work.”

In closing, some thoughts on the gig economy’s expansion -- or lack thereof:

Although many ride-sharing and travel platforms have popped up in recent years, they’re still confined to a small corner of the workforce. Further, gig roles only really work for relatively simple jobs that are easy to measure, don’t require deep institutional knowledge, and don’t rely on long-term relationships. The majority of the fastest growing jobs in the labour market today require human creativity, flexibility, judgment, and soft skills. For some jobs, the UK gig economy is here to stay. But don’t expect the majority of the workforce to be part-time contractors any time soon.”

[designforwork]

According to Flexjobs.com, a 'flexible job' is defined as a professional-level job that has a telecommuting, flexible schedule, freelance, or part-time component. In a Flexjobs survey about flexible job preferences, telecommuting remains the most popular choice of flexible work for job seekers (72%), ranking well above flexible schedules, which is the second preference (52%). Part-time schedules (36%) and freelance work (34%) are also in demand.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2017/02/16/how-remote-work-is-changing-and-what-it-means-for-your-future/#1c0319215c8d

Breaking down the minutiae of terminology.

And in another recent, related Forbes post, this stat: “According to the numbers of folks looking for jobs, Indeed.com saw 36% increase in job seekers looking for ‘telecommute’ roles in 2016. The company also recorded an 89.5% increase in job seekers searching the term ‘remote jobs.’” 

[thecareerhackers-blog]

To Work Remotely or to Not Work Remotely?

That is the question nowadays. Frank Kalman spends most of his days in the office, but during certain times of the year, he’s traveling for work or to see family.

So he gave working remotely a shot for one week. Here are his pros and cons.

[femininefreak]

[flexpaths-blog-blog]

Ask the Founders: Who's Entitled to Flexible Work?

Every week, “Ask the Founders” features our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO.  They’ll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

This week's Ask the Founders question at first sounds like it's about approach...but you'll find it goes deeper than that.

One person on my team has a flexible work schedule because she has to take care of her ailing relative.  I know there's a few people, including me, that would also like a flexible work arrangement, however, our need is not as urgent.  How do we approach our manager?  

ROBIN:

Your request for flexibility has nothing to do with whether or not your associate does.  Furthermore, why your associate has flex does not make their arrangement more or less important than yours.  Elder care is not more important than adoption or a sabbatical or just a need for a compressed work week.  Your manager has already shown a readiness towards managing flexible teams so approaching your manager should be fairly straightforward.  While you may be informed of company policies, it is more important to take into consideration the business impact of your “flex-ing” and address that in your discussion with your manager.  Each member of the team should prepare their “flex request” and allow time for your manager to work with each team member one-on-one. 

One special consideration – given that  multiple colleagues are requesting flex schedules – perhaps give your manager time to readjust workflow and schedules so that everyone’s efforts are synchronized and the entire team’s efforts are optimized.  Consider how you will work together, share information and conduct meetings.  Assuming your manager says yes, it is important to think about how you will be successful at working flexibly.

MERYL:

Teeing up a flexible work request should not be about ‘Why do I need it?' or 'Why is it important for me?’. Rather it should be about ‘Why it is important for the business I am in?’.  The answer should hold true for the company, the team, the manager, and the individual making the request. 

Flexible working is about shared responsibility. 

Framing it this way from the beginning changes the whole discussion. So while you may deem your colleague’s request as urgent, that isn’t the point.  What is urgent to the individual isn’t necessarily urgent to the business.  It is more about having a compelling business dialogue about why flexible working would be effective in your situation, in other words, your role and/or working environment.  So take a moment to step back and ask yourself some important questions and prepare yourself for a solid business dialogue. 

These questions will involve your company culture, manager style/work environment and your own capabilities/realities. 

With regard to company - Does it stand for and promote flexible ways of working?  Is there an openness and appetite for it or did your colleague get approved as more of an accommodation or quite frankly due to legal reasons given she is a caregiver and has rights as a result? 

If there is openness, how has the company messaged or strategically aligned flexibly working?  Is it discussed as a health/wellness stress reduction measure?  Does it talk about it as it relates to cost savings?  Does it integrate it with retention and engagement of diverse talent?  Is it teed up on your company’s recruitment website as a reason why the company is a  best place to work? 

Having this perspective is important as it helps frame your having a smart, aligned business dialogue with your manager or HR.

Second, size up your manager.  Do they work flexibly?  Are they comfortable with the topic, have others approached them successfully?  What do they respond to?  Are they more of a ‘dip your toe in the water’ – let’s try this out first?  Or, are they more innovative and apt to stand behind this publicly?  Are you both operating from the same definition of what is possible?   Are you being emotional, telling stories, making it personal or are you have a business dialogue?  Steer clear from the former.

Third, think about your world and its realities.  Does your job truly allow for flexible working?  Can you successfully perform your role independently mixing up where, when, how and how much you work?  Do you have the discipline, wherewithal, capabilities and confidence to work this way?  Do you really want to work flexibly?  Or is it out of need? You need to really consider this.

Approaching your manager in a way that is relevant, tied to business, objective, when they see this can be a triple win -the trifecta of company, team, individual- ultimately gives you the best probability of success. 

Have a question you want to ask Robin and Meryl? Email it to jessica (dot) smith (AT) flexpaths (dot) com, send a Direct Message via Twitter to @FlexPaths, or write on our FlexPaths® Facebook wall.

[flexpaths-blog-blog]

The Flexible Workforce and the 4.0 Career

Three stunning facts:

The average worker between the ages of 18 and 34 works at one place for 2.9 years “before moving on to greener pastures”.

In the 90s, 80% of young workers aimed to climb the traditional corporate ladder. Now, only 60% of people in that cohort have those career aspirations - and that number is steadily declining each year.

Most of these workers will quit a job to take a longer vacation or to pursue a personal goal, and “then, when they're ready, they return to their career”.

  This is the new HR reality: to maintain an engaged, consistent workforce and therefore, companies need to consider offering flexible work arrangements.

Sabbaticals, for example, might be less of a luxury than a necessity - which is undoubtedly why companies like Google and 3M, both of whom rely on employing young creatives and innovators, have built furloughs and sabbaticals into their corporate culture. And their investment is rewarded. While at first glance millennials come across as the job-hopping generation of uncommitted workers, they are, in fact, entrepreneurial, collaborative, flexible, invested in innovation...and, argues Douglas Labier, “focused on having an impact on something larger than oneself, contributing something socially useful that connects with the needs of the larger human community”. Labier calls this kind of work practice the “4.0 Career”, mostly to emphasize that it is an orientation rather than a generation. It is an orientation, for example, shared by Generation X and Generation Y, both of whom value work-life balance and, surveys say, will increasingly seek flexible work over a 401K. What do you think?  Do you agree with Labier that the way we see work has more to do with an orientation vs. a generation?

Image credit: Mykl Roventine

[flexpaths-blog-blog]

Flexible Work: What's In It for Me? (and Me?) (and Me?)

Today we're introducing a feature we hope you will find both valuable and insightful.  It's called "Ask the Founders" featuring our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO and they'll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

Meryl (left) describes her flexible work style as "flex time all the time...in other words, always being flexible- at work, at home - at life."

Robin (right) describes her flexible work style as "Virtual Worker: no place is off limits."

Today's question came through via a Direct Message on Twitter.  We were given permission to post this question, however, we are honoring their request for anonymity.

Does "flex work" really work for the employer and the non-flex work employees?

MERYL:

Flex work doesn't really work if there isn't a common definition, commitment, and gameplan to make it work, both from the employer and employee standpoints.  Getting on the same page is key.  Once there is movement in that direction the sky is the limit.  For those who choose to limit themselves by technology, trust, stigma..it won't work.

ROBIN:

Flex Work, if done appropriately, benefits all the flexers, non-flexers, managers, and executives. The trick is defining "appropriately".  Really, the word "appropriate" should be replaced with "effective" and/or "productive".

Furthermore, the subjectivity and personal aspects of flexible work should be removed.  After all – who cares if I need to flex my  job because I want to earn an MBA versus care for a parent versus adopt a baby a China…the reality is that the EVERYONE needs to flex as a result of a broad spectrum of personal and professional change. 

MERYL:

This truly changes the dialogue to a business dialogue.  It level sets.  It isn't just about when, where, how much, and how the work gets done, but it is about getting the work done.

ROBIN:

The kicker is that companies benefit from employees “flex’ing” their jobs.

How?

By removing subjectivity and creating an operating environment where flexers, non-flexers, and leaders are clear on definitions, assumptions, and “rules of the road”.  When this happens, you actually create and environment of trust and respect NOT one based on line of sight and water cooler chat.  Trust, respect, wellness, work-life effectiveness are all soft benefits that drive quantifiable benefits including but not limited to reduced expenses and increased revenues.   From a corporate perspective this means greater productivity plus the ability to engage across multiple population segments. 

MERYL:

Opening the dialogue is key - across teams, direct reports, manager to manager.  And ensuring that managers and employees have the resources, confidence, and competencies to do it well.

ROBIN:

The question each company should be asking is...What is the specific business case for flex? ...and realistically build a flexible work model that addresses that. 

MERYL:

And make that case relevant to the business and work environment you are in - and update it as situations change.  For our corporate clients, the importance and linkages to flex work morph - they may start with retaining top talent and expand to more bottom line business benefits like real estate cost savings.

ROBIN:

So assuming employees and managers want flex and the company wants to utilize flex, the next step is providing fair access, optimizing utilization and creating a collaborative and engaged workforce. 

MERYL:

While flexible working has been talked about and companies are rallying around it, these are the next steps requiring systemized solutions and tools to truly take flexible work from foundational to functional.

We invite you to submit your questions via the "Ask Us Anything" link in the sidebar.  You can also ask via any of our other social channels including our Facebook page, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

Every once in a while, we may bring in one of our partners to weigh in, as well.