The Evolving Work-Life Needs of Today’s Workforce:
Research is showing that effective and flexible workplaces are becoming essential tools for organizations
to attract and engage top talent as the aging workforce and the dual focus on personal and professional
lives become increasingly important drivers in the labor market.
Creating a work culture that promotes optimum creativity and innovation in the workplace involves
moving work life issues beyond policy and programs to culture change and work redesign.
There is no argument that the 21st century workforce is nothing like the 20th century workforce. Our
culture is changing. Research is showing that workplace flexibility is becoming an essential tool for
organizations to attract, motivate, and retain top talent – Often above salary and benefits…
The real issue is work life balance and how to achieve it. It’s not a new topic… initiatives for work life
balance and workplace flexibility have been going on since the early 1970’s, when women began moving
into the workforce. While the trends for work life balance have come a long way, the debate continues.
Can we have it all? Do we have to sacrifice one for the other? Is work life balance the
responsibility of an employer?
While these questions can be challenged by many compelling arguments – the bottom line exists. What
happens to employees outside of their organization inevitably affects what happens inside their
organization.
Critical issue effecting organizations today: Caregiver Burnout
As the US population continues to age and the number of employee caregivers grows, elder care issues
will continue to have the potential to severely impact a company’s bottom line, in terms of workplace
productivity, retention and employee satisfaction.
In the past twelve months, 65 million people have served as an unpaid caregiver - 60% of these people
work fulltime. Within the next five years, one in every two employees in the US workforce expects to
provide care for an elderly relative or loved one. These working caregivers are paying a high price as
they struggle to balance their personal and work responsibilities. Organizations are also paying a high
price due to lost productivity, absenteeism, and health care cost due to stress related illnesses.
With a greater number of workers expected to be caring for elderly relatives in the future, eldercare is
an evolving challenge for employees and organizations alike.
When employees are able to plan and prepare for eldercare responsibilities, their employers also
benefit. It makes good business sense for employers to invest in their organization by providing
supportive education, resources, and flexibility to assist employees in addressing their elder care issues.
By supporting the caregiver, they strengthen their culture and bottom line.
For organizations to stay competitive in the 21st century workforce, they must address
workplace flexibility alternatives.
Workplace Flexibility is defined as when, where, and how work is done. It includes compressed
workweek, flextime, telecommuting, job sharing, job switching, and phase retirement. When properly
managed, workflex can increase productivity, decrease unplanned absences, promotes diversity, and
cross training. Most importantly, it has a positive impact on workplace culture, morale and employee
recruitment, engagement and retention.
While progress has been made to integrate workplace flexibility into the mainstream there are still many
challenges and barriers facing organizations. The problem is complex and still remains more of a
concept than a reality - Considered more of a benefit or accommodation and in some cases feared as an
impediment to career advancement. The benefits and challenges are:
Benefits of Workplace Flexibility
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Attract talent
Employee loyalty
Employment engagement
Customer satisfaction
Customer retention
Continuity/disaster readiness
Productivity Profitability
Reduces Absenteeism
Turnover
Real estate cost
Utilities cost
Travel cost
Challenges and objections facing workforce change
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We need our employees in one place
Our business requires on-site workers
Do it for one – we have to do it for all
Flex teams are hard to manage
We’re a small company
We don’t have money/time/energy to focus on this right now
There’s a large pool of talent out there – my employees aren’t going to leave
Changing the culture of an organization takes time. An organization can start off with small steps and
grow a program as they see results and comfort levels increase.
Key to successful workplace flexibility programs
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Build the business case for workplace flexibility/senior support from the beginning
Senior leaders buy-in is critical to the success of every workflex program. Engage senior leaders
to gather feedback on the concerns they believe are critical in the developing of your program
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Assess organization worker flexibility readiness
Identify jobs that people want to do from their home or remote locations or share with other
workers
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Design a workflex policy that best fits your culture Agree and document team values
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Determine how your organization will judge success
Develop methods of tracking projects, time management etc.
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Determine rules of engagement
Be strategic by planning and implementing policies and procedures that support the virtual
team. How decisions will be made and documented
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Execute a work agreement
Set clear expectations and ground rules
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Implement conflict resolution policies
Establish guidelines and model for appropriate behavior for resolving interpersonal conflicts
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Choose the right people
Trust and loyalty is the key to a successful workflex team
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Training managers
Ensure that virtual managers and team members have the competencies, skills and technology
they need to success
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Launch a pilot program
Begin with a six month pilot program to be reviewed and evaluated for redesign for permanent
adoption
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Communicate results to entire group
Adopt an open communication policy and document and review lessons learned
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Create team satisfaction surveys
Encourage feedback to better develop your program
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Review Management Performance
Develop checklists and audits based on key performance indicators
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Expand the program over time through technology/systems and infrastructure
Expand your program to include more advance technology, tracking software, real estate redesign, including additional alternative work option as acceptance increases.
Becky Keenan, CFP, RFC, Founder and President of Keenan Convergence, has over 25
years of experience working with Charlotte area businesses providing work-life consulting and
educational programs to employees and key management. In her presentations Becky discusses the
evolving work life needs and lifestyle of today’s workforce and explores how human resource
professional can drive change in their organization through innovative strategies and best practices to
stay competitive in the 21st century.
A Certified Estate Planner and Registered Investment Advisor, champions the cause of work-life balance
as one of the five critical components of HR’s Total Rewards.
As a business owner, speaker and community advocate, she understands the changing demands of the
business environment and has broadened her focus to include the creation of the Charlotte Work Life
Forum, a platform for the Charlotte business community to explore innovative strategies and best
practices on work life issues. www.keenanconvergence.com www.networklegal.com