Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Creating a Flexible and Inclusive Work Culture to Drive Employee Engagement

Employee Onboarding & Engagement ConferenceHuman Capital Institute

October 26, 2009

Judi C. CaseyAlfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network

Boston College

Amy MunichielloInclusiveness Strategy Consultant

Ernst & Young, LLP

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

AgendaJudi’s agenda

• What are flexible work arrangements?

• Why is flexibility a business imperative?

• How has the economy impacted flexibility?

• What are the business benefits?

• How do you create a flexible culture?

• What are the links to engagement?

Amy’s agenda

• FWAs begin as a program• The evolution into culture

change• Flexibility is demanded across

generations • An enabler of inclusive

leadership• What do we expect from our

people? • What does engagement feel

like?

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What are flexible work arrangements?

“Flexible Work Arrangements alter the time and/or place that work is conducted. FWA provide flexibility in the:– Scheduling of hours worked and arrangements

regarding overtime, predictable scheduling, and shift and break schedules;

– Amount of hours worked; and – Place of work.”

Workplace Flexibility 2010

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What are flexible work arrangements?

“The Sloan National Initiative also includes in their definition of workplace flexibility:

• The ability to have career flexibility with multiple points for entry, exit and reentry into the workforce; and

• The ability to address unexpected and ongoing personal and family needs.”

Workplace Flexibility 2010

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Common flexible work arrangements

• “Compressed Work Week: A work schedule that condenses one or more standard workweeks into fewer, longer days. (9/80)

• Flextime: A work schedule with variable starting and ending times, within limits set by one’s manager. Employees still work the same number of scheduled hours as they would under a traditional arrangement. (7 am-3pm or 10 am-6pm)

• Job-Sharing: An arrangement in which two or more part-time (or occasional) employees share the responsibilities of one full-time job at a pro-rated salary.

• Part-time Work: A work schedule that is less than full-time but is at least half of the regularly scheduled full-time workweek.

• Personal or Family Leaves: A block of time off while retaining one’s job. These leaves may be paid or unpaid.

• Telecommuting: …regularly work at home or at an alternative worksite during part or all of a work schedule (in office M/W/F, remote work T/Th).”

MIT

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FWA Metrics and Statistics

Everyone wants FWA• Nearly 80% of workers say they would

like to have more flexible work options and would use them if there were no negative consequences at work. Families and Work Institute, 2004

• 79% of companies allow some employees to use FWA

• 37% of companies allow all or most employees to use FWA

(Galinsky, Bond, & Sakai, 2008)

Not for every job or employee• Must meet business needs • More common among professional staff• Must achieve performance expectations

% of Workforce using FWA

Beers, T. (2000). Flexible schedules and shift work: Replacing the ‘9 to 5’ workday? Monthly Labor Review, 123(6), p. 33.

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Why is flexibility a business imperative?

• Constant change is the norm• Resilience is a differentiator• Must be nimble and responsive in any type of economy • How individuals, leaders and organizations can contribute• FWA are a strategic business imperative in any economy

Down Economy •Alternative to Layoffs

and Rehiring•No/Low-Cost Strategy•Support Employees•Reduce Stress

Up Economy •Recruitment•Retention•Employer of

Choice

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Business benefits of FWA

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Business benefits of FWA: Data

96% report that flexibility influences their decision to stay at the company; 73% say that flexibility is “very important” in that decision, and 23% say that it’s “somewhat important.”

Employees who use flexible work arrangements scored, on average, 30% lower on stress and burnout.

Bank branches with flexible work arrangements had retention rates 50% higher than other branches.

Corporate Voices for Working Families with WFD Consulting

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Business benefits of FWA: Data

• 73% of employees with high availability of flexible work arrangements reported that there was a high likelihood that they would stay with their current employer for the next year. Bond, J.T., Thompson, C., Galinsky, E. & Prottas,D. (2003). Highlights of the 2002 national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute.

• Studies indicate that the availability and use of flexibility and other work-family policies is associated with higher commitment, job satisfaction, loyalty, and lower intention to turnover. Kossek, E., Lautsch, B., & Eaton, S. (2006). Telecommuting, control, and boundary management: Correlates of policy use and practice, job control, and work-family effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 68(2), 347-367.

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Business benefits of FWA: Data

• Organizations with higher employee satisfaction report larger than average annual returns to investors.

“…with respect to flexibility programs that enable workers to work from home, if the proportion of employees working from home increases by one percentage point, the firm’s profit rate increases by an additional six-tenths of one percent. For the average firm included in this sample, this equates to a profit increase of approximately $84 million.”

Meyer, C.S., Mukerjee, S., & Sestero, A. (2001). Work-family benefits: Which ones maximize profits? Journal of Managerial Issues, 13(1), p. 40.

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

How has the economy impacted flexibility?

Report from Families and Work Institute: The Impact of the Recession on Employers (July 2009)

• 81% maintaining the workplace flexibility they offer • 13% increasing the workplace flexibility they offer • 57% giving employees some or a lot of say about the schedules they now

work• “Some employers report that they have tried to find ways to improve

morale and to bring fun into the workplace during these trying times.”“Perhaps they view flexibility as affecting employee

engagement.”Families and Work Institute

Eli Lilly Press Release (September 2009)

• Eliminating the compressed work option • Insure that more employees are on site during core work hours• Lilly has been viewed as a leader in flexible work arrangements

Eli Lilly

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How has the economy impacted flexibility?

Working Mother Magazine Best 100 Companies 2009

• “On average, companies are cutting their flexibility policies, but those most committed to “best practices” like flex-time, telecommuting, job sharing and on-site lactation rooms, were holding fast. “

According to Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Magazine

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Creating a culture of flexibility

• Educate senior leaders, middle and line managers, and employees about how flexibility can help them to achieve their business goals

• Get buy-in and commitment at all levels• Make middle and line managers accountable (raise-dependent) for

creating a work environment where employees can thrive at work/home

• Help managers to manage important business outcomes v. face time

• Ask employees how flexibility would help them to accomplish their work goals

• Try a “pilot” program

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Creating a culture of flexibility

• Train managers and co-workers about how to implement and sustain FWA

• Don’t use different standards to evaluate and promote employees working flexibly

• Encourage communication about how work will get done and the “rules of the game”

• Use metrics and evaluation to demonstrate impacts, make improvements and re-measure

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Flexibility and engagement

How does flexibility influence engagement?

“Having access to the flexibility needed to fulfill work and personal needs was found to be predictive of:

– Greater employee engagement – Lower perceptions of work overload – Better physical health and mental health – Greater satisfaction with work-family balance.”

Center on Aging and Work, Issue Brief 19, January 2009

Engagement is one thing that you can influence in a down economy.

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Flexibility and engagement

Creating a flexible workplace contributes to employee engagement• Engaged employees care more deeply about

– customers – their team – the organization

Engaged employees less likely to take unfair advantage of their colleagues → offer them more control over their own flexibility.

Greater flexibility enhances levels of mutual respect → fuels greater engagement allowing even more flexibility.

Creates a model for workplace flexibility.

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Flexibility and engagement cont.

What does it take to create truly flexible workplace?

• Training and development programs • Culture of mutual respect • Shared performance measures• Range of flexible working policies

Fairhurst, D. (2007). A balanced model for sustainable workplace flexibility: the case of McDonald's, Development and Learning in Organizations 21(4), 16-19.

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Sloan Network Resources on Flexible Work

• Fact Sheet on Flexible Work Schedules; Effective Workplace Series on Flexible Work Schedules

• Workplace Flexibility Case Studies

• Topic Page

• Free monthly newsletter on work-family issues from the Sloan Network

• The Sloan Network Work and Family blog

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Other Great Resources on Flexibility

• Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Expansion, A Report by Corporate Voices for Working Families

• Flexibility and ROI: Asking the Right Questions, FlexPaths

• Aequus Partners Flexibility Portal

• The impact of the Recession on Employers

• Workplace flexibility: Findings from the Age & Generations Study

Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202

Need more information?Questions?

Judi Casey:caseyjt@bc.edu