Workplace Flexibility

Are Your Flex-Work Strategies on Target?

67 percent of human resources professionals surveyed in the 2015 Workplace Flexibility Study believe their employees have a “balanced work-life.” But when you ask employees, you hear a different story. Recent research shows that employees struggle to find the right work-life balance, with more than two-thirds of today’s U.S. workers struggling to balance their personal and professional lives.

Why the disconnect?

Source: www.talentmgt.com

Workplace flexibility is a fairly all-encompassing term that that describes an employer’s approach to offering unique workplace policies that allow for some freedom in how, when, or where employees conduct their work.
The key, however, is mentioned about halfway through this piece:  “understand what flexibility really means to (your employees).” 
Some may prefer a flexible start time to help them avoid morning rush-hour.  Others may desire the ability to work from home some days to perform their individual focus work, or to avoid driving to the office in a snowstorm.  Some organizations have even gone as far as offering Fridays off during the summer for their people!  If your organization’s flexible work policy isn’t addressing the needs of your workforce, then it should be revised.

Developing a successful flex-work policy by offering a breadth of programs that appeal to all employees can have several benefits.  These include increased employee morale, a better sense of work-life balance, and an improved ability for your organization to attract and retain talent. 

Organizations, however, should do their due diligence to determine which employees are ultimately the right fit for flex-work.  Working from home, for instance, requires an individual to be responsible and self-motivated.  A successful teleworker is also one whose job function does not require daily face-to-face interactions with coworkers or guests to the office.  Our team recommends utilizing FlexMatch Suitability Assessments to determine the employees who can most likely adapt to remote work, and managers that are able to lead in new ways successfully.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.
 
Work Life Balance

Why We Shouldn’t Take the Place Out of Workplace – Insights | Colliers International’s Blog

You may have heard that “work is not a place; it’s a thing you do.”

I’m not sure when this phrase was first coined. But with mobile technology and changes in company personnel, policies have certainly made this a reality now.

However, workplaces are still important spaces. It’s where we connect with our colleagues, socialize and have unplanned conversations and interactions. Without the physical space, we can’t build these sorts of relations. Without physical space, organizations are in danger of becoming so loose that the culture just disappears. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I Iike to go somewhere to work and see and meet new people. Doing it virtually is just not the same.

Source: insights.colliers.com

Work-life balance has become an oxymoron of sorts, at least within its traditional definition.  As individuals strive to achieve more time away from the office, today’s mobile devices manage to tether them to their workplace responsibilities whether or not they are on the clock.  As Peter Black of Colliers points out in this article, “the boundaries of our workplace become fuzzier and fuzzier!”

Black argues that before the world gets swept up in any sort of mass work-from-home movement, corporate decision makers need to consider the benefits of the physical workspace.  He explains that being present within an office allows employees opportunities to collaborate, and have spontaneous conversations that simply could not occur working remotely.  Many companies, when considering their new office environments, have decided to commit to workplace strategies such as the open plan to encourage more of these same chance meetings and face-to-face interactions.

Stegmeier Consulting Group has had the privilege of assisting organizations that have instituted successful remote work programs, as well as organizations that that have placed an emphasis on the in-person power of the physical office.  In fact, some clients of ours have engaged us to help with a combination of both!  No matter which direction your organization views as its future, know SCG is a partner you can count on to help your people transition smoothly to whichever strategy you deem most appropriate.  

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change