Over the course of the last few decades, with the explosive growth of the internet, boom or bust, work has inexorably changed. The rise of new jobs that did not exist just five years ago as well as the gig economy are some of the biggest changes. The COVID-19 pandemic has just compressed a decade or more of work transformation into just two years. It has sealed the fate of the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday office job.
Technology has allowed us to work from anywhere, 24×7 but it has taken the pandemic to prove that millions of workers, across the entire globe, could do that. While the pandemic has brought other challenges, flexible jobs and dynamic workplaces are becoming the new normal. Employees now are beginning to seek and demand flexibility in when, where, and how they work. In developed countries, more employees are staying in the workforce longer as a result of dual-income households and an aging population. The millennial workforce also has a much different approach to work than the baby boomers or their parents. The rise of Employee Experience is a testament to the growing shift of organizations to cater to the demands of the new workforce as well as the older workforce.
Common to both older workers and younger millennials are the demand for flexible work. Organizations worldwide now beginning to realize that to retain talent and remain relevant, they need to adapt to this flexible working model. You have cutting-edge organizations such as Google in silicon valley moving to a flexible working environment but you also have more traditional businesses like banks shifting too. While the pandemic has caused the most changes so far, flexible work is still not as common as employees would like.
There are two main advantages to providing a flexible working environment. Firstly, it helps attract and retain top talent. Some more senior or capable staff may not be looking for the 9-to-5 experience, and having this flexible culture can be beneficial. We need to move away from an office work culture to flexible work culture. A lot of work can be done flexibly and the pandemic has shown that the hybrid work experience works. technology and infrastructure have matured to the point of ubiquitous reliability. Technology has now enabled us to work from anywhere. We just need to enable the culture to do so.
At Brandt, we know culture is the hidden part of an organizational iceberg. This shift will need effort and focus from leaders and government support where possible. We need to switch to a performance-based culture vs a work-hours culture. This is part of our Organization transformation in 2019 to enable our work-from-anywhere culture and approach.
The second and a fairly large advantage is that it allows greater women’s participation in the workforce. Many studies have shown that increased women’s participation in the workforce results in greater economic growth, GDP, and productivity.
Women have made many gains in the past few decades but still unfairly shoulder the bigger role in child-rearing and family care. This is obvious when you look at university graduates where women outnumber men in most places but yet, account for only one-fifth or less in leadership or senior management roles. As a result of this burden, women place greater importance on workplace flexibility. Today, this is no longer purely a women’s issue as more men are also playing a more active role as caregivers. This means that a successful flexible working arrangement is equally relevant to men. Of course, we must also ensure that flexible working does not come with a negative judgment or impact on career progression. In this area, men suffer more negativity as moving to a flexible working arrangement is seen in poor light. Many studies have found that women who work flexibly are just as committed, if not more, to reaching their full career potential than those who don’t. In this area, more work is needed to ensure male employees opting for flexible work are not seen as less committed to their work or careers.
Developing and getting the flexible working arrangements right requires the right culture, active support, and a strong commitment from the CEO and leadership team to set guidelines and clear policies. Governmental agencies and policymakers can play an active role in developing frameworks and legal aspects for employers to set up a conducive environment for this to bloom.
If organizations can get this right, flexible work arrangements can be used to increase retention and recruitment, result in higher productivity, and create an agile working environment and business. This can potentially increase the representation of women in senior leadership positions, and also better gender equity for all. This will also enable both men and women to secure a better work-life balance and also benefit organizations in attracting and retention of top talent.
