How can flexible work arrangements reduce operational costs and environmental impact?

2 Challenges of FWAs

FWAs are not without challenges, however. You need to ensure that you have the right policies, systems, and tools to support your flexible workforce, and that you maintain clear communication, collaboration, and accountability. You also need to balance the needs and preferences of your employees with the goals and expectations of your organization, and ensure that you comply with the relevant laws and regulations. You may face some resistance or skepticism from managers, clients, or stakeholders who are used to traditional work arrangements.

3 Best practices for FWAs

To make FWAs work for your organization, you should assess your needs and readiness by identifying the objectives, benefits, and costs of FWAs. Evaluate your current culture, infrastructure, and processes to determine which types of FWAs are suitable for your industry, function, and role. Establish clear policies and guidelines that define the scope, terms, and conditions of FWAs. Make sure to communicate the policies to all employees, provide training and support as needed. Monitor and measure the outcomes by tracking the impact of FWAs on operational costs, environmental impact, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and retention. Collect feedback from employees, managers, clients, and stakeholders and make adjustments as needed.

4 Examples of FWAs

Organizations have implemented FWAs successfully, such as Dell's Connected Workplace program, which has saved the company $12 million in real estate costs and avoided 35,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Aetna has a Workability program that has enabled them to reduce their office space by 2.7 million square feet and save $78 million per year. Patagonia's flexible work culture encourages employees to pursue their passions and hobbies, offering flexible hours, compressed workweeks, job sharing, telecommuting options, on-site childcare and wellness programs. This has resulted in a high employee retention rate and a low environmental impact.

5 Tips for employees

If you are an employee who wants to take advantage of FWAs, here are some tips to help you succeed. First, discuss your options with your manager, including why you want to work flexibly, how it will benefit your performance and well-being, and how you will manage your responsibilities and deliverables. Negotiate the details of your FWA and set clear expectations and goals. Additionally, manage your time and tasks by planning your work ahead, prioritizing tasks, setting deadlines, and tracking progress. Use a calendar, a to-do list, or a project management tool to organize your work. Avoid distractions and interruptions, and focus on the most important and urgent tasks. Lastly, communicate and collaborate effectively by staying in touch with your manager, colleagues, clients, and stakeholders regularly. Utilize various communication channels such as phone calls, emails, instant messages, video conferences or online platforms to share updates, feedback, questions and challenges. Participate in team meetings, events and activities.