Flexible Work Needs a Rebrand

The headlines are full of doomsday predictions for remote and hybrid work, but they might be premature. Hybrid and remote work offer employers advantages in-office work can’t. It’s the one-size-fits-all work model that has expired. Flexible work just needs a brand refresh. Below, the debate, the benefits, and some tips for flipping the script to make flexible scheduling more appealing.

Bridging the divide

According to Omnipresent, a global hiring navigator, 90% of employers are planning to return to full-time, in-office work by the end of the 2024. And 30% of them intend to make RTO mandatory — willing to fire those who balk. By contrast, 73% of employees would sacrifice benefits to keep their hybrid schedules, including changing jobs; working weekends; giving up vacation; taking a step back in their career or a pay cut. 

Further evidence of this disconnect, 87% of CEOs surveyed by KPMG said they were more likely to give “favorable assignments, raises, or promotions” on employees who came into the office than on those who worked remotely. McKinsey and Company’s 2023 Women in the Workplace report found that “while 77 percent of companies believe a strong organizational culture is a key benefit of on-site work, most employees disagree: only 39 percent of men and 34 percent of women who work on-site say a key benefit is feeling more connected to their organization’s culture.” Sounds like the makings of an epic showdown.

Flexible Work: a different value proposition

The argument in favor of RTO is often an increase in productivity. Claims are made that people working from home accomplish less. But it’s not easy to accurately define “productivity,” let alone measure it. Is it number of hours worked, meetings attended, lines of code produced, calls made, assignments completed? Are the studies including the savings in managing less real estate? Are they measuring savings in recruitment -- since flexibility is prized by candidates, more applicants can mean faster and more successful hiring. Do they include savings from retention? A Gartner study found that for high-performing employees, their intent to stay with a company with RTO mandates was 16% lower than other employees. 

Stack Overflow, long a champion of remote work, suggests that impact on productivity question is not the most important question to ask. What about the impact on diversity and accessibility?  The bottom-line benefits of a diverse workforce are measurable. Remote work is attractive to women, people of color, neurodivergent individuals, and those with disability accommodations. Ending remote operations outright will decrease employment participation by these underrepresented groups. Among millennials and women, the intent to stay with a company with an RTO mandate was 10% and 11% lower than for other groups. Layoffs that focus on working from home, rather than on objective work-related criteria, risk discrimination claims under Title VII and the ADA. 

And what about happiness, which translates to “engagement” — the holy grail of human resources and leads to better work outcomes?  Stack Overflow cites business psychologist Dr. Camille Preston who argues that happy employees work more productively and generate more sales. The company also cites Sean Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, “Happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%.” Who are the happier employees? Forbes found that “workers who worked from home 100% of the time were 20% happier on average than those who didn’t have that choice." Hybrid workers are more likely to describe their company as “an ideal workplace.” Companies that require RTO may not reap the productivity benefits they expect.

Reframing Flexible Work

I am not an objective participant in this debate. I had a hybrid schedule for years before the pandemic. Besides avoiding a 4-hour commute to Manhattan two or three days a week, on at-home days in Connecticut, I was at the phone at 7 a.m. to speak to folks in the UK and at 6 p.m. for calls to California. The working portion of my at-home days was longer than days I commuted. I felt empowered, productive, and yes, happier, as a result. I had supportive team members, managers, and executives, but not everyone does.

In general, younger companies and managers are more familiar and more comfortable with schedule diversity. Longer-term executives and more seasoned managers are more likely to adopt a,"that’s the way I did it; that’s the way everyone else should do it, too,” approach. “Face time” is still found at different firms — where employees stay late or start early to be "seen" and get rewarded for being visible, even though office presence is not needed to get the work done. 

Making the Case

I suggest a public relations push to counter knee-jerk reactions, find ways to improve the comfort level of the C-Suite, and make flexible work more appealing to those in charge. In counseling managers and employees on how to work past an in-office mindset to make flexible schedules work efficiently, I’ve learned a few things:

• Emphasize the “we,” not “me,” benefits of a flexible arrangement — being near a phone for calls in different time zones instead of commuting in; being able to offer customers early or late help hours; access to a bigger talent pool; economic benefits for employees saving on commuting, lunches, dry cleaning that cost an employer nothing; greater employee satisfaction; and higher retention rates.

• Make hybrid skeptics a top priority. It may not be fair, but in this case, the squeaky wheel needs to get oiled first. To the extent you can, make sure skeptics don’t sense a real difference between wait times for full-time, in-house workers and part-time, remote ones. 

• Look at jobs individually – hybrid or remote options will be different for a receptionist, bank teller, or warehouse worker than for coder or marketing executive. Even where a job must be done onsite, there may be an option for flexibility through job sharing or a four-day week. 

• Make sure you schedule some of your “on" time, wherever you are working from, during hours when the most other people are working. 

• Use an online project management platform like Asana, Mondays, or Acello to give team members access to project elements, progress updates, and due dates. Post your schedule there. That way, when you are not in the office or not scheduled to work, people can answer basic project questions without having to find you or wait until you are at work again. 

• Use in-office days for uniquely in-office activities like meetings with people outside your team. Even lunch with a colleague can make the long commute worth the trip.

• Check in regularly to keep expectations aligned. Ideally, managers should be regularly checking in with remote and hybrid employees to assess their well-being, productivity, and engagement. But if they don’t, send a weekly wrap up of what you’ve completed or your priority plan at the first of the week

• Ensure your employer does its part. Make certain technology is up to the task. Use collaboration tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom, Set expectations for response times and availability. Make sure collaboration spaces are equipped with digital components so remote employees can participate.  Set up digital mentorships or just cross-department online conversation/coffee breaks where employees in office or out can interact.