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Workplace Flexibility

Who wants workplace flexibility?

Is workplace flexibility just of interest to women returning from maternity leave? Of course not. Everyone needs flexibility at work at some stage of their life. This article discusses the broader range of employees who want to work flexibly, including mature age workers, carers and students.

Everyone and anyone - whatever the age, gender, career position or stage in life.

The type of flexibility different people will be looking for will change throughout their working life and this can depend on a person's:

chosen industry - from building, health or education, to engineering, banking or manufacturing etc;
stage in life - from school leaver or university student, to new parent or mature aged worker;
personal circumstances - taking care of your own or a loved one's health and well-being; and
personal goals - trying to get a work/life balance.

And, the range of options offered by employers will also differ depending on their business objectives and how well they understand the needs of their employees.

Workplace flexibility means different things to different people, so there is not one solution. And, the perfect flexibility solution today may not be perfect in a few years time because what works at one stage in life can quickly change as personal circumstances do.

“(We) need to be looking at how we attract other parts of the workforce such as women and mature workers. Doing this requires us to offer more flexible working arrangements such as a move away from traditional working week hours, or allowing unpaid leave over the school holidays.”

David Arkell, President Human Resources and Organisational Development, Linfox
(Australia and New Zealand)

How can the need for flexibility change?

Easily. From a change in life situation, planned or not, to a shift in career aspiration, interests or goals. When, where and how a person works may change, for example:

When:

a student needing time off work to attend uni lectures, to study or to meet public transport timetables looks for flexibility in hours;
a mature aged worker wanting to take a long, well earned break with their partner, but still wishing to return to their job seeks a purchased leave arrangement;
a carer for a person with a disability needing to work shorter hours spreads a part-time role across five days;

Where:

a young staff member wishing to gain experience in an overseas market looks for flexibility to take a career break;
a father wishing to work from home two afternoons per week so he can reduce commuting time in order to spend more time with his children; or to take an afternoon off for a season to coach the school soccer team;
a sportsman who works two days a week from an employer's satellite office (closer to home) and three days a week at the central office to meet training needs;

How:

a parent wanting to spend time with their new baby accesses flexible hours and locations of work over a six month period;
two people seeking similar work who need to work reduced hours set up a job-share arrangement;
a person who has fluctuating periods of good health, needing time off for regular medical appointments and may also need flexibility in their job responsibilities;

Is the need for flexibility temporary or permanent?

It can be either.

But, whatever the age, gender, stage in life or for however long it is needed, it is important to work out a flexible practice that is good for the employee and the business.

Once the solution is right, it's a win/win situation that can work with minimal cost and maximum benefit to everyone.