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Flexible Work Arrangements: Making the Case Concerned about spending enough time with her new baby, Melinda, an award-winning newspaper reporter, was able to negotiate a 4/10 flexible work schedule with her editor that allowed her to work ten hours every day and take every Friday off. For the first time in her career, Melinda felt she was achieving some balance between the job she loved and the rest of her life. But the arrangement only lasted for a couple of months. Another reporter complained about Melinda's arrangement, and instead of sticking by his earlier commitment, Melinda's editor caved. Angry and unwilling to give up her time with her child, Melinda soon left the paper for another writing job that did offer flexibility."I was disappointed that my editor backpedaled at the first sign of a problem," Melinda said. "I decided to go somewhere that was more flexible and that would be as loyal to me as I've always been to my job." Fortunately for most American workers, Melinda's story is not the norm: the vast majority of flexible work arrangements are highly successful, leaving both the employee and employer better off and more satisfied than they were before, according to Susan Seitel, president of Work & Family Connection Inc., a Minnesota consulting firm that offers web-based work-life courses on flexibility for managers and staff. "Workers are struggling to handle child and elder care needs, further their education, and play a role in their communities, all of which are responsibilities that operate on unpredictable hours," Seitel said. "At the same time, many CEOs are looking for more productivity and commitment and less absenteeism from a workforce. Flexible work arrangements hit on all of those needs." And there's more good news for workers: Responding to increasing employee demand for flexible arrangements as a criterion for accepting or remaining at a job, more employers are allowing flexible arrangements like part-time work, work from home or compressed work weeks. In fact, the number of employers has more than doubled from 32% in 1996 to 71% in 2003, according to a 2003 poll of more than 600 companies by the Mellon Financial Corp. The trend has been fueled in large part by four factors, said Peter Burki, CEO of LifeCare® Inc., a Westport, Connecticut-based national employee benefits organization:
More companies are also recognizing that they, too, benefit from flexible arrangements. "Companies get paid back in spades," said Burki, whose company provides work/life, legal/financial and other supportive workplace services. "It's just human nature to prove that you're worthy of a special arrangement — even to overcompensate." Studies show that flexible work arrangements:
At the same time, experts acknowledge that not every situation is conducive to a flexible work arrangement. To make a successful bid for flexibility, an employee needs to show how the new arrangement is going to benefit the employer, not just the employee. "You have to make a strong business case," said Gail Jern, Human Resources Manager for Westaff. "For example, if an employee is going to come in at 6 in the morning in order to leave at 3 in the afternoon, they can argue that they'll be more productive when it's quiet and able to answer early business calls for the company. There has to be give and take on both sides of the equation." Sources: Peter Burki, CEO of LifeCare® Inc., a Westport, Connecticut-based national employee benefits organization that provides Life Event Management Services, including work/life, legal/financial assistance, time management training and other supportive workplace services. www.lifecare.com Gail Jern, Westaff Human Resources Manager Susan Seitel, president of Work & Family Connection, Inc., a Minnesota consulting firm that offers web-based work-life courses on flexibility for managers and staff. www.workfamily.com
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