There’s More To Flexibility Than Remote Work (New Research)

With RTO mandates failing , employers are looking to more flexible working structures.?

Willo pointed this out in early 2024, when our Hiring Trends Report found flexibility as the second biggest trend of the year—the first was AI adoption, which we covered in-depth in the Hiring Humans Report .?

And why shouldn’t employers think about employee flexibility? After all, it's better for productivity —employees with flexibility try harder, think more creatively, and typically stay with an organization longer.

To better understand flexibility at work, we interviewed and surveyed dozens of leaders from organizations like HelloFresh , Remote.com , and the HRPA - Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).?

This article is an intro to our findings; read the Embracing Flexibility report for all the data.

What is flexibility at work?

The crux of flexibility is a two-pronged agreement:?

First, employees can deliver work outcomes with the maximum possible control over their time, location, and work style.

Second, employees give flexibility back to the organization, showing up when necessary to complete their work and support both colleagues and the organization as a whole.

Flexible Work Is Not Only Remote Work

A common misconception is that “flexibility” means remote work—the reality is there’s far more to it.?

This is a critical distinction for two reasons:

1. Equating flexibility to remote work is a disservice to on-premise jobs such as retail, manufacturing, or transportation
2. Multiple companies opt for some in-person work even if it’s not technically required; this does not necessarily hinder overall flexibility

While nearly half of companies were fully remote or remote-first (43.2%) in our talent leader survey, the majority of companies had some in-office or on-site working requirement.

Flexible work fails without…

The companies succeeding with flexible work arrangements tend to have the following three foundational elements in common.

1. Well-defined jobs

Well-defined jobs are the critical first step to setting norms and expectations at work. A study by McKinsey and Company , for instance, found that employees who could confidently say they have established expectations and team norms were 3.4x more likely to say they were motivated at work than those without clear norms.?

2. Results-based accountability

The need for employees to deliver work outputs is crucial for flexible work arrangements because other metrics (like when you work) become less relevant. Another McKinsey and Company study, “companies that focus on their people’s performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform their peers, realizing an average 30 percent higher revenue growth and experiencing attrition five percentage points lower.”

3. Giving autonomy and trust first

The companies that saw productivity and growth through flexible work arrangements all said they gave trust first, rather than viewing autonomy as something to be earned. Data backs this up: a study conducted by Slack , for instance, found that “employees who feel trusted are 2x more productive than employees who don’t feel trusted.”

How companies empower flexible work

To provide tangible answers to these questions, we interviewed and surveyed dozens of HR and talent leaders, expert consultants, and industry association executives.?

This ebook is broken into the following chapters:

• Defining flexibility at work and the elements that underpin it
• The benefits and challenges of flexible ways of work
• Empowering flexibility: Processes, ways of work, activities, technology, and cultural shifts
• A 3-phase guide to developing a flexible work arrangement in your organization

Read the Embracing Flexibility Report here >