The management challenge of balancing flexibility and control at work

In today’s rapidly changing work environment, leaders are challenged with managing in a new way and now more than ever finding ways to balancing flexibility and control. This is certainly new to many of them, any many struggling with how to do that and needing training and help in how to best design this. Some may even need help with changing their view on this challenge, since many are not too fond of this new way of working.

Research by psychologists like Tammy Allen, PhD, and Mindy Shoss, PhD, underscores the positive impacts of workplace flexibility on employee autonomy and job satisfaction.

Those working in talent acquisition and recruiting have also experienced increase in talent′s expectations on flexibility, both regarding where and when to work. Recent study reveals that 64% of those surveyed would change jobs for more flexibility.

Other researchers have found out that flexibility encourages creativity, innovation, and responsiveness, while control ensures consistency and alignment with organizational goals.

Striking the right balance fosters a productive and motivated workforce, while an imbalance can lead to lower job satisfaction and engagement, higher employee turnover and micromanagement, that is affecting productivity in a negative way.

Understanding Flexibility and Control

Flexibility in the workplace can mean a lot of things, like for example:

• Adaptable work hours, within the day or even between season of the year.
• Remote work options, working from home, neighborhood office hub or a foreign country.
• Not being hired to work for one business unit, but rather across business units.
• Not being hired for a specific job or role, but rather to work on assignments in alignment with skills and interests.

Control can be shown or gained in various ways, like for example:

• Setting clear expectations.
• Setting and following certain standards.
• Ensuring that organizational objectives are met.
• Employees needing management approval for every little decision, instead of having some kind of approval scheme.

Both elements, flexibility and control, are crucial for a well-functioning workplace.

Both elements, if not well thought out, designed, and implemented, can lead to poorly functioning workplace.

The Importance of Balance

An imbalance between flexibility and control can lead to negative outcomes. Excessive control stifles innovation and reduces morale, while too much or ill designed flexibility can cause confusion and decreased productivity.

Leaders must create an environment where employees are engaged and motivated to do their best no matter where or when they work.

Strategies for Balancing Flexibility and Control:

1.????? Clear Expectations and Good Communication Clear communication is crucial in balancing flexibility and control. Leaders should communicate regularly on the organization’s vision, goals, and expectations, helping employees see how their daily tasks align with those matters. Regular feedback on performance ensures alignment and addresses ambiguities. Part of the discussion around expectations is rethinking how we measure performance, is it worked hours – or outcome or value created in the job.

2.????? Empowering Employees Empowerment involves delegating responsibilities and encouraging a sense of ownership. Leaders can provide resources and trust employees to make decisions, fostering innovation and job satisfaction. However, empowerment must be balanced with accountability to ensure alignment with organizational goals.

3.????? Implementing Flexible Structures Agile methodologies and other flexible structures can help balance flexibility and control. These frameworks promote iterative progress and adaptive planning, allowing teams to respond quickly to changes while maintaining focus on objectives. But this can also be done in a simpler way. For example, by manager and employees having an online task list or overview of assignments, where everybody is responsible for updating their progress, and then everybody can follow up on how things are going.

4.????? Fostering a Culture of Trust Trust is essential for balancing flexibility and control. Transparent, reliable, and supportive leadership builds a culture of trust, encouraging open communication and collaboration. When employees trust their leaders, they are more likely to embrace flexibility and adhere to controls. Managers not trusting their employees when it comes to flexibility should look into that, why they do not trust them. If that can′t be fixed, then maybe those employees should not be working for the organization.

5.????? Regular Review and Adaptation The balance between flexibility and control requires continuous assessment and adjustment. Regular reviews of processes, performance metrics, and employee feedback help identify areas for improvement. Leaders and employees should talk about what regular means in this context and change the frequency as needed. Leaders also have to available and accessible for employees that may need support or help with assignments. Leaders must at all times be open to change and willing to adapt to maintain an effective balance.

Conclusion

Balancing flexibility and control is a dynamic process requiring constant updating on what is needed at any given time, thoughtful consideration and ongoing effort.

By fostering clear and regular two-way communication, empowering employees, implementing flexible structures, building trust, and regularly reviewing practices, leaders can create an environment that boosts engagement, productivity, and sense of belonging, both onsite and remote.

Achieving this balance enhances organizational performance, on various long-term metrics, and contributes to a positive workplace culture, equipping leaders to navigate today’s complex business landscape and how we expect #futureofwork to be.

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Herdis Pala is an experienced leader, with 20+ years in management positions, there of 13 years in C-Suite positions. Her responsibilities have mainly been within HR but also in Operations, Marketing, Service, Facilities Management, and more.

She is also a highly appreciated Speaker, Lecturer at Universities, Corporate Trainer, Executive Coach, and Management Consultant – now working as Head of HR at EFTA.

In her free time she loves to read and write - and has already started working on her next book.

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*The help of AI was used to create the image at top and for some drafting of this article, additions and final version was done by Herdis Pala.

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