Perk or Strategy? Why and How Your View of Flexibility Makes a Difference in Performance

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the great state of Texas! I'm here to speak to participants in?the?Governor's Executive Development Program?about "Reimagining the Workplace for the Texas of Tomorrow":

• What does a High Performance Flexible Workplace and Workforce look like in action?
• Why does it matter to the Texas of Tomorrow?
• How do you begin to make progress toward that vision by reimagining where, when and how work is done??

One of the reasons?employees and leaders everywhere?continue to clash about flexibility is because they can’t agree on what that flexibility is—perk or strategy? We should have settled that debate in March 2020 when organizations worldwide quickly transformed operations, and in some cases not just survived but thrived, by reimagining where, when and how they worked.

Yet, our latest national research found when thinking about the use of flexibility offered by their employer, nearly half of flexible workers still see that flexibility primarily as a human resources policy or perk, rather than a business operations strategy.

The true promise of a high performance flexible work model depends on viewing flexibility as an operations strategy to execute business priorities and investing in that flexibility with the focus, attention and resources this critical strategy deserves.

That view point makes an impact. There was a notable difference between the percentage of employees who view flexibility as an “operations strategy” (47%) and those who view it as a “perk” (37%) who reported being “very satisfied” with their flexibility. A higher number of the “operations strategy” employees (77%) also reported feeling more productive and engaged compared to the “perk” segment (72%). In another data point of interest, a higher number of employees who view flexibility as strategy (53%) received training and guidance to help manage their flexibility compared to those who still view it as a perk or benefit (47%).

Learn more how viewing flexibility as a strategy, rather than a perk, can make a difference for your organization in the “The Now and Next of Work: A 2023 Flex+Strategy Group Research Report, Unifying Leaders and Employees on the Future of High Performance Flexibility.”

Dollars & Cents Data

I recently spoke with?WorkLife News?about?a new report from Scoop and 波士顿谘询公司 that found flexible companies outperform those with more restrictive work policies. One compelling stat shows 20% revenue growth from 2020-2022 at companies without in-office requirements compared to just 5% at those companies with hybrid or fully in-person arrangements. ??

We’re not surprised companies that have embraced flexible work models are outperforming those who have not. As I said in the article, “This research is dollars and cents data,” and it reflects and validates what we’ve been finding for the past ten years in our own research: flexibility drives business outcomes.?

Like our research, the Scoop/BCG data points to the increasing need to bring leaders and employees together to reimagine how, when and where we work so that it benefits both the business and employees going forward.

“There is a gap between the employees working flexibly that did translate into operational growth, and the way leaders are seeing flexibility, that is going to stand in the way of leaders being able to prepare their organizations to be future ready.”??

Until next time, keep reimagining work and life,

Cali

Cali Williams Yost, Founder & CEO of the?Flex+Strategy Group, is one of the world's most trusted authorities on how work flexibility can unlock high performance, engagement, and well-being. For over 20 years, she has helped organizations from banks to hospitals to universities reimagine how, when, and where they operate. She is the author of?two books?on the subject, and her media credits include the Today Show, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Marketplace, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Harvard Business Review.

Follow her on?LinkedIn and?Instagram.