Workers are seeking flexibility and work/life balance

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THE CANADIAN PRESS

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WINNIPEG - With many workplaces in the thick of summer vacations, the issue of "how to get the work done" is top of mind for most employers.

At the same time, we know that work/life conflict for employees is also a big issue. Many feel they are doing more than one job (and some are) and many employees are struggling with stress from overwork.

They need their vacation time. Yet while vacation scheduling is a hot topic during the summer, the answer to ensuring full staffing complements isn't just about summer; it's about developing a year-round strategy and solution.

This is where instituting flexible work arrangements can help. In fact, more and more workers are seeking flexibility and work/life balance as one of the key elements of their decision to take a new job. And, since those baby boomers are watching the retirement clock, flexible work arrangements might just be a strategy for retaining some of this talent in your organization.

Studies are showing that instituting flexible work arrangements has many benefits. These include increasing employee morale, reducing absenteeism and reducing the cost of worker leaves, be it vacation, maternity or involuntary termination. It also helps with recruitment as flexible work arrangements are an attractive benefit for many employees.

There are several types of workplace flexibility. These include part-time work schedules, job sharing, compressed work weeks, shift work, telecommuting and general flex time. There is no one set of schedules that is suitable to every organization or business. Therefore, one of the first tasks an organization must undertake is to conduct a self-analysis to determine whether workplace flexibility could work and what type of flexible scheduling would best suit the needs.

Second, one of the challenges of implementing a flexible work program is to ensure it meets the interest and needs of the employee. Therefore, an employee survey should be undertaken so that any new programs can be moulded to satisfy identified needs.

General flex time appears to be the most common approach and is suitable to any size of organization. General flex time simply means that an employee can personally control their start and stop times as long as they work a standard number of core hours within a specified period.

Following are some guidelines that will assist you to implement a flexible work schedule more effectively.

* Develop clear policies: Be sure your policies and procedures are clear. Determine if the opportunity will be company-wide or limited to specific departments or if flex time is limited only to summer work hours. Ensure that the program can be instituted consistently and equitably and that vacation/sick leave, etc., are properly accounted for. Include time limits for your core hours. Overall, ensure clear directions on implementation, continuation, evaluation, discontinuation, and modification.

* Educate management: Expect some resistance from your supervisors as flex time requires more work and co-ordination. Ensure everyone understands the benefits and value to both the employer and employee.

* Educate employees: Hold meetings with staff to discuss the concept, respond to questions and get input into procedures and scheduling approaches.

* Start with a pilot project: Treat the flexible work arrangement as an experiment and start with a pilot project.

* Implement a proposal approach: Each flexible arrangement should begin by requiring employees to complete a proposal. The proposal should outline a business case for the new work arrangement, the benefits to the individual and the organization, the proposed work schedule, a description of how work will be accomplished and how co-worker needs will be managed.

* Ensure fair and equitable evaluation: The supervisors' role is to ensure there is adequate staffing at all times and therefore some arrangements may have to be terminated as business needs change or performance issues arise.

* Institute formal agreements: A flexible work arrangement is essentially a contract between the employee and employer on how work will get done and when. It requires a strong sense of personal responsibility and it must be treated as such.

* Build in a review: A flexible work arrangement is also a partnership and one that will need continual review and adjustments. That adage that nothing ever works the way it was supposed to is often the case.