Mind The "Flexibility Gap"! Employees and Leaders Want Different Things

There was a time in the pandemic when in seemed like we had reached a tipping point around flexible work arrangements. It was such a welcome shift to see leaders across the world speak to how joyful they were about how seamless their transition to 'work from home' had been.

As technology companies led the way, there were genuine hopes around the emergence of a 'new way of work'.

The last year and the last six months in particular have seen a reversal of sorts, as several prominent leaders have gone out of their way to take public positions around the importance of returning to office.

While there had been fears of higher resignation, several technology firms had wanted to provide a 'gentle nudge' to returning employees

But how do employees feel?

Now here's where things get tricky.

Research by the Future Forum reveals that there is an overwhelming desire for flexibility among employees. Flexibility of BOTH where and when they work.

In fact, the desire for flexibility in when they work is even greater.

A very strong 2/3rd are in favour of Hybrid working--still.

And while several leaders have had concerns over the impact of remote and hybrid work, the experience at the other end is quite different.

The presence of flexible work options aids employee connectedness with the company.

This is where the gap between leader beliefs and employee desires gets wide.

Further, there is plenty of different studies that show that minorities are more likely to use flexible work options wherever available... Wherever, there are longer work hours--particularly in office, the first to suffer are minorities--and in particular women.

For instance, a family member with a small kid recently confided that she would have to resign because her employer was mandating a return to office, and she wouldn't be able to leave her daughter alone so long. She is definitely not alone.

When leaders make statements about how working from home is likely to impact careers of those who avail flexible work options, they are really, (once again), making the workplace one which welcomes only those with fewer outside work responsibilities.

At MIT's 'Big Shift' last evening, researchers spoke about this 'gap' coming from "Leadership Nostalgia" for a time when everyone worked in office and leaders were most comfortable leading in-person.

Rather sadly, I have to agree.

Today, there is more research than ever and more 'use cases' than ever in how to make flexible work arrangements work for you.

Today, we know how to make flexible work successful.

We know that this needs:

• a good cadence of regular in-person meetings (that can vary from weekly to even quarterly)
• intentionality and good design for in-person days
• leaders learning to manage both in-person and virtually
• leaders learning to build human connection with team members very rapidly
• leaders communicating organizational values through their virtual and in-person actions
• managing the new employee onboarding with sensitivity
• technology that enables good asynchronous and synchronous communication
• intelligent work-redesign to enable asynchronous and synchronous work blocks
• building vibrant virtual communities to foster connection across geographies.

A large research project I have been involved in over the past six months has shown me one thing for sure:

So many organizations (and leaders) have developed skills and an understanding of how to do make flexible work successful.

It is almost surprising that these learnings are not always at the heart of new workplace design. As a new generation enters the workplace, these lessons need to perhaps be treasured.

The workplace of yesterday cannot be the workplace of tomorrow.

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(About me: I lead Unqbe, a think-tank and advisory firm around building future organisations. We track change through commissioned and primary research. We help leadership teams build Workplace 2.0 with a current focus on building level 3 cultures; building future-ready competencies; and future-oriented people practices.)