Wind blows, leaves fall, branches break … Fall is upon us. Children are back in school. New routines have been formed. Families are feeling the pressure of homework, sports practices and after school activities while others are taking a foreign language class, attending a doctor appointment with an aging parent or volunteering.
What are your work policies when life steps in? Do they bend or break?
Now is the time to think about changing your company’s flexibility policies for 2013. There are two types of flexibility policies: formal and informal. Both are very important and both provide benefit to you, the employer, as well as your employees.
Why implement a flexible workplace policy? Because it is increasingly becoming the most important employment criteria for today’s professionals, men and women of all ages – and should be yours as well.
Just look at these recent statistics:
- More than 80% of all companies offer some sort of flexible workplace. Your competition is doing it.
- More than 80% of professionals want informal flexibility options to get their work done.
- Nearly one in two working adults are willing to give up some salary for more flexibility at work.
- More than one in five working adults strongly agree that flexibility is one of the more important factors when deciding for which company to work. This number is higher for millennials.
Offering flexibility is not all about employees. It is about employers. A flexible workforce policy affects your business positively in many ways including the following:
- Attracting skilled employees
- Keeping employees motivated
- Energizing staff
- Increasing employee satisfaction
- Lowering staff absences
- Becoming an employer of choice
What else can a work/life/fit culture add to your business?
Dollars. For example, for every one percent of increase in the number of employees allowed to work from home, the firm’s profit rate increases by six-tenths of one percent. Do the math, coupled with employees giving up some salary for the flexibility, you’ve added dollars to your bottom line. Offer telecommuting and the impact becomes even larger due to diminished real estate costs.
The reality is work life flexibility is here to stay. We work and live in a global economy where we are “on” 24/7.
Next month we’ll talk potential pitfalls and how to get started! Time to bend, not break, and keep your employees and business growing!
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