The Impact of Flexible Work Arrangements on Employee Satisfaction

Filed under: Benefits

Why are flexible work arrangements so popular among today’s workforce? They give workers a sense of control. The main factor that deteriorates work-life balance is the feeling of being pulled in multiple directions at once but having no ability to change those circumstances.

However, the COVID pandemic did change those circumstances. Not only were parents spending more time at home with their children, but they no longer had to commute to their job and deal with day-to-day workplace challenges. Some adapted well, others did not. But what became evident was that circumstances can change, people can adapt, and that in itself gave workers a stronger sense of control over their lives.

If one of the biggest contributors to employee satisfaction is work-life balance, then control is the key. Not all workers want to work from home; some enjoy the camaraderie of the workplace. Others feel more productive working from home, while many prefer a hybrid schedule in which they benefit from both scenarios.

Flexible Schedules

There are various components to flexible work arrangements. One is related to time – when and how much time they dedicate to the job. Flexible scheduling offers various formats, such as:

• Flextime – A flextime policy enables workers to choose from a variety of different options. For example, 7:00 to 3:00 p.m., 9:00 to 5:00 p.m., or 10:00 to 6:00 p.m.
• Four-day workweek – Compressed workweeks generally mean longer workdays, but they also can provide a three-day weekend. As either a company-wide policy or a standalone option, this flexibility offers both parents and single workers more time to spend with family, travel, or indulge in hobbies.
• Job sharing – This work arrangement enables two or more workers to share a workload. They may choose from a variety of options, such as splitting the normal workday, workweek, or even work every other week. It’s a good alternative for people who prefer to work part-time, but also a practical arrangement for workers winding down or returning to work (e.g., new parents, phasing out retirees, time-strapped caregivers, or even to help assuage potential burnout). Better yet, a shared job doesn’t have to be a permanent situation; it offers an alternative to help workers who might otherwise have to quit their job entirely.

Components of Job Satisfaction

Whether offering flextime time or remote/hybrid work arrangements, there are an abundance of benefits that lead to employee satisfaction.

The ability to start work earlier or later, or the ability to work from home, can help reduce the stress and time requirement of a long commute to work. For onsite workers, as-needed flexibility can help when workers need to pick up a sick child at school or be home for a repairman’s “service window”.

Both flextime and working from home (WFH) give people the opportunity to schedule their work around regular fitness classes, instead of the other way around. Moreover, workers have the freedom to schedule ad-hoc appointments with physical and mental health providers, who are generally unavailable on weekends. These flexible options give workers the power to engage in self-care activities and prioritize their own well-being. Not only does this lead to greater work satisfaction, but it can also reduce absenteeism, increase energy levels, improve overall health and reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions.

Working from home solves for a lot of work-related problems for many people. These issues may include being home when children return from school (eliminating the expense of after-school care), the ability to customize a more comfortable and quiet workspace, and even limiting in-office antagonism and conflicts among coworkers. From a performance perspective, the distance gives some workers a better opportunity to be evaluated based on the quality of their work rather than the quantity of time spent in the office.

One of the misnomers that was proven untrue is that unsupervised workers slack off when they work from home. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review study found that teams with greater autonomy yielded a 25 percent increase in performance, with more than 70 percent reporting they feel more engaged when they have the ability to structure their workday and work processes.

When workers are happy with their job, they tend to stay with their employer. A FlexJobs survey revealed that eight out of 10 workers prefer jobs with schedule flexibility, and three out of 10 say that flexible work arrangements directly influence their satisfaction with the job. A Gallup report found that more than half (54 percent) of workers would be willing to leave their current position for one with more flexible opportunities. And finally, a Workplace Trends survey discovered that companies with flexible work policies have a 35 percent lower employee turnover rate.

The ability to work from home expands the pool of talent available to employers. For example, there are people who want to work but often cannot, due to a disability that keeps them homebound or even mothers of school children who cannot manage the schedule of picking up children from daycare or after-school care due to the long, traffic-challenged commute home. When people who want to work find an employer that is accommodative to their personal needs, this not only nurtures job satisfaction but also brings more workers into the fold for a wider range of skills, experience, and knowledge.

Address Challenges – Do Not Avoid or Dismiss Them

Flexible work arrangements definitely present challenges for employers. While much of the technology aspects were worked out pretty quickly during the COVID years, many problems remain. Still, they are solvable for employers willing to face them head on.

For example, one study found that nearly a third of remote workers struggle with isolation. Not only do they miss out on office friendships and impromptu gatherings, they also have fewer  opportunities to learn from coworkers, less access to resources, supplies and equipment, difficulty “unplugging” from work at nights and weekends, and getting less onsite exposure that could help with promotion opportunities. While “separation anxiety” can make workers feel disengaged and less satisfied with their job, employers can deploy more personal and frequent communication strategies and employee engagement practices to develop a cohesive company culture that includes flextime and remote workers.

While flexible work policies alone tend to yield high job satisfaction, employers should be willing to implement additional measures to help nurture and maintain that sentiment. To foster an inclusive culture, employers also should focus on positive mental health, and using technology to enhance collaboration regardless of various schedules and locations.

Flexibility should not just be a benefit; it should be core to an organization’s culture and a hallmark of its success.

 

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