CRISTEN DALESSANDRO: Alright. Well, thanks everyone for being here today.
The title of this webinar is Equitable Flexibility Is Possible: the five elements at the core of successful workplace flexibility.
For those of you unfamiliar with O.C. Tanner, we partner with large organisations around the world to help them improve their workplace. Today's presentation is both SHRM and HRCI certified for one hour of general credit. We'll be sharing the program IDs at the end of today's session. And this presentation is being recorded and will be sent out to all registered attendees by the end of the week.
So before we get to our content, I think it's important to introduce ourselves for those of you who may not know us. So I'm Cristen Dalessandro, and joining me in the webinar today is Daniel Patterson. Daniel is a senior researcher here at the O.C. Tanner Institute who specialises in the psychology that shapes the workplace experience.
In addition to his research, he regularly leads client assessment projects as well as tailored client initiatives that analyse business impact and ROI, specifically with an eye to helping organisations improve their workplace cultures. He specialises in mixed-method research and holds a master's degree from the University of Utah with advanced studies in research and theory. So welcome, Daniel.
DANIEL PATTERSON: Thank you very much, Cristen.
And I'm here today with Cristen Dalessandro, one of our top, senior researchers and sociologists here at O.C. Tanner.
And she specialises in the study of social inequalities as well as qualitative and quantitative research methods.
As part of the O.C. Tanner Institute, Cristen conducts client assessment projects and researches the employee experience and workplace culture through a social science lens. She has a PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah. She has published over twenty articles in peer reviewed journals, and her recent book, Intimate Inequalities, Millennials' Romantic Relationships in Contemporary Times, explores how millennials navigate social and identity differences in their relationships.
Okay. So now that you know a little bit about us, let's take you through our agenda for the day.
CRISTEN: Thanks, Daniel. So first up, we're gonna tell you all about our 2024 Global Culture Report, which is where you can read more about the idea of equitable flexibility, as well as a number of other important workplace trends, after this session. So next, we'll get into the current state of flexibility at work. What is flexibility?
Is the definition actually more expansive than we think? Third, well, we wanna talk about our model, including the five factors that we found characterize equitable flexibility in the workplace.
And then lastly, we'll cover some practical application strategies and then wrap everything up, and we'll have some time for Q&A at the end. So with that being said, Daniel, would you mind starting us off by talking a little bit about this year's GCR?
DANIEL: Absolutely.
So, it would be helpful to provide a little background on the 2024 Global Culture Report, or the GCR as we call it, because this is largely where we're drawing the information from for today's webinar. So what exactly is the GCR? Well, at a high level, this is O.C. Tanner's annual report that provides industry leaders with a rigorous look at the evolving shape of work.
Every year, O.C. Tanner tracks, analyzes, and chronicles the latest trends and insights in the workplace using both qualitative and quantitative data to develop a framework of a thriving workplace culture specifically from the employee perspective.
So to achieve this, our report considers several key elements. First, as the title implies, we take a global approach by surveying employees in more than twenty countries across six continents around the world.
Second, we explore the talent magnets, and these are the six key characteristics of workplace culture that are crucial to an employee's decision to join, engage, and stay with an organisation.
And then last but not least, as we've already mentioned, our report focuses on the employee experience or how employees view their experience within an organisation.
So through interviews, focus groups, and surveys, our current GCR report engaged over forty thousand employees, leaders, and HR practitioners in twenty seven countries to better understand the state of workplace cultures around the world.
And a key theme that emerged from this exploration was the idea of shift: how small but powerful shifts in the workplace have employees and leaders questioning how to adapt to a new business landscape characterized by uncertainty and rapid change.
And so this year's Global Culture Report really digs into and reveals the insights, strategies, and principles that enable HR leaders to build thriving workplace cultures in the face of this ongoing change.
Well, Cristen, now that we've kind of covered a little bit about the Global Culture Report, I think we should just jump right in.
CRISTEN: Sounds good, Daniel. So first up, I wanna talk a little bit about the state of flexibility at work. So before we even get into our model, what does flexibility look like right now?
And, you know, firstly, why should we care about flexibility in the first place and whether or not employees perceive it to be equitable?
Well, here's just one example. So when employees perceive that flexibility is equitable, our research has shown that we see an eight times increased odds that employees want to stay with their organisations at least one more year. So in, you know, the current climate that's been going on for a while where job hopping seems to be kind of increasingly everywhere, this is a pretty significant stat. You know, eight times higher odds.
And here's just some more evidence with regard to the importance of flexibility.
So when employees are satisfied with the level of flexibility at work, they're more satisfied with their jobs, have higher engagement, and are more likely to be promoters of the organisation among other positive outcomes as you can see in this table.
So just to kinda highlight a couple of things, you know, one of the things that we found, for example, being a promoter, we see a five hundred and sixty eight percent increase in the odds that employees will be a promoter when they're satisfied with that level of flexibility.
Four hundred and eighty two percent increased odds in high engagement when they're satisfied with flexibility.
And regarding their just overall satisfaction with the employee experience, we see an almost nine hundred percent increase in odds, eight hundred and ninety four percent increase that, you know, they're gonna be satisfied with that experience when they perceive that flexibility is equitable in their workplace environments.
So, you know, we see that flexibility seems to be a good thing, but, you know, the other side of that is that the prevalence of flexibility, and in particular, equitable flexibility could really be improved.
So our research has shown that only fify seven percent of employees say their organisational cultures support flexibility in every job role. This is where the equitable part comes in. You know, while flexibility may be available to some employees within organisations, it's not always available to everyone.
And in addition, while flexibility is often traditionally thought of in terms of workspace, so where people are working physically, there are actually other ways that we can think about flexibility.
So, when you hear the term flexibility, I think a lot of times, it's kind of a knee jerk reaction to conceptualize or think of it in a very specific way, oftentimes related to that workspace. You know? Are you working remotely, hybrid, or, in an actual office or on a research site?
Our research has shown that flexibility is actually more than that. You know, it's more than where or even when employees get their work done. According to the employees that we talk to, it also can encompass autonomy, time away for personal matters, time allotted for professional development, and even more.
So another really interesting thing that I wanna share with everybody is that how flexibility looks can be different depending on the employee and the job role. You know, it's not just that there's a one size fits all solution or that flexibility looks this way. It really can depend on what your job is, what you're doing at work, and a lot of different aspects. So, for example, you know, in our 2024 report, we did some analyses that actually differentiated what we call the eighty percent employee.
And this is really just sort of our moniker for employees who typically don't work behind a desk and who also tend to have less access to technology and voice in the workplace.
You know, we did some analyses that differentiated these folks from what we call corporate or more white collar workers. So just to kinda give you a little more context, eighty percent workers might include those working in food service or manufacturing, whereas corporate employees include groups like software developers or investment bankers.
So when we look at this table here, we can see that the types of flexibility ranked most important really differ by worker groups.
While corporate employees rank autonomy and workspace choice first in terms of importance, we found that eighty percent employees are really looking for time for personal development and the ability to take time away for personal matters.
So just as a side note, you know, I think one criticism that we often come across in flexibility discussions is that, you know, it's impossible in some cases for some folks who might be members of that eighty percent group to have flexibility in workspace because just due to the nature of eighty percent jobs, you have to be on-site. Right?
You know, if you're working in manufacturing, for example, you probably are gonna have to be on-site to complete most of that work. There's no work from home option. However, you know, notice that while, quote, "work where I choose," is on the corporate side of the table, that actually doesn't appear on the eighty percent side. So what this indicates is that employees know that different types of flexibility may or may not be possible due to the nature of their jobs.
And this can actually be good news for organisations. Right? Because it means that there are still things organisations can do to help employees reach flexibility regardless of what their job roles are. You know, there's lots of different options. And I think this quote from an article in Harvard Business Review really drives this point home.
"Every job deserves some flexibility. It cannot be viewed as a scarce or privileged resource. True flexibility aligns employers and employees to achieve mutual gain in meeting both performance and work life needs."
DANIEL: And, you know, Cristen, I really like this quote, because it illustrates that true flexibility is good for both employees and employers alike. You know, employees who are happy with flexibility in their work environments consistently help their organisations outperform their competition.
CRISTEN: Exactly. And, you know, Daniel, I think the next thing that we have to do is break down in more detail exactly how organisations might achieve equitable flexibility.
DANIEL: Absolutely. Now before we dive into the model, though, I'd like to do just kind of a a quick recap.
So as Cristen has highlighted for us, equitable flexibility is more than just life balance.
It's about having a sense of governance over our work and our time.
It's about having some choice in how we accomplish our work, some autonomy over our time at work, and the ability to dedicate time outside of work for interest, skills, and relationships.
And one thing that, you know, we've also kind of touched on is, most importantly, this flexibility must be available for everyone and not just a perk that's awarded to a select few.
So when we think about this, how do organisations achieve equitable flexibility?
Well, our research has identified five contributing factors.
So the first is leadership support, and that's leaders who support and advocate for their employees as well as show empathy and understanding for their needs.
Next would be organisational support. And as the title implies, it's when organisations empower leaders to give employees flexibility and provide systemic policies and tools.
We then have employee empowerment, and this is when employees feel that they're empowered to make decisions about their jobs, and how they accomplish the the tasks that they have.
The fourth is work choice. This is where employees have some discretion about what work they do and how they do it.
And then last but not least, we have time management. And this is where employees have the autonomy to manage their workdays.
Now what we'd like to do now with this kind of working model is spend some time unpacking each of these elements and taking a closer look at each of these five factors and really get a better, deeper understanding, and we'll start with leadership support.
So it's no surprise that when it comes to creating a work environment that promotes flexibility for everyone, leader support is going to be crucial.
Leaders really set the tone for their teams, and they're the ones that provide that day to day link between individual employees and the organisation's culture.
And ensuring all employees have the flexibility that they need to thrive at work really begins with leaders understanding the unique needs of their people.
And I really like this quote from Stephanie Nadi Olson. I really think this captures this idea and the importance of it. She said, "every leader owes it to the people they get to work with to find out what kind of flexibility is ideal for their team and how much of that flexibility is possible within the bounds of ensuring the team performs."
CRISTEN: Thanks, Daniel. You know, I think it's really useful that she acknowledges here that flexibility for the employee also has to align with the needs of the team and by extension, the organisation as a whole.
You know, in order to achieve that climate of equitable flexibility that really functions for everyone, leaders have to work with their people to find the balance of flexibility that works for everyone.
DANIEL: Absolutely. And, you know, I think it's important to note here, and I know you've touched on this already, is that, when we're talking about, you know, equitable flexibility or flexibility in general, we're not saying that, you know, it turns into kind of a free for all where everyone gets to do exactly what they want, how they want, when they want.
It's really about striking that balance, and modern leaders really are integral in, kind of achieving that balance of understanding and meeting the needs of their people and also kind of the parameters of what's possible within teams and the organisation.
And I also think it's important here to recognise that when we're talking about leaders who are understanding and empathetic, these listening kind of leaders, what we're really talking about are modern leaders.
And so for those who might not be familiar with O.C. Tanner's research on leadership, modern leadership reflects a people centered approach to leadership that emphasizes mentorship and empowerment over traditional practices of gatekeeping and micromanaging.
And when it comes to modern leadership practices that help integrate flexibility into the employee experience, we found four core areas that really stood out. So first is incorporating practical empathy. And this is a practice of care where leaders actively seek to understand and support the unique needs of their people. And in fact, we have an entire chapter dedicated to practical empathy in the GCR. I'd highly recommend everyone cheque that out when they have a chance.
And this actually leads nicely into our second practice, which is advocating for your employees.
Now it's one thing to listen to your people and, you know, maybe understand their needs, but it's quite another to then advance those needs in a meaningful way that really supports their growth and development.
Next is providing autonomy and voice. That's actively bringing employees into the conversation about how they can approach their work in a way that really works for them while, again, also meeting needs of the team in the organisation.
And then lastly, modern leaders help create connections for their people, both to the resources that they need as well as to the opportunities to grow and thrive in and out of the workplace.
Our research finds that when employees perceive their leaders as modern leaders, there's a four times increase in the odds that they will also perceive that they have a high degree of flexibility in their jobs. So modern leadership practices are really integral to kind of helping achieve equitable flexibility.
And, likewise, when employees perceive their flexibility in the work, and support from their leaders, there's a tangible impact in their overall satisfaction.
So, here's some examples of positive employee perceptions around flexibility and leader support and the increased odds of job satisfaction.
So, you know, if we look at that first one there, when employees feel that their leader supports them when they need to be flexible in their work, there's an almost four times increase in the odds of job satisfaction.
Likewise, when they feel that their leader trust them to accomplish their work in a way that feels best, you see a three times increase. So all of these really positive, powerful impacts, when employees perceive that they have the flexibility that they need as well as the leader support.
CRISTEN: Yeah. These are pretty promising numbers, Daniel. And I love that we're seeing this kind of response to practices of leader care, trust, and support. Do you have any kind of example of what these practices look like in the real world?
DANIEL: As a matter of fact, I do. PCL Construction is a great example.
Now they've always made it a priority that their employees, as they like to put it, make sure that they work to live and not live to work. And by the very nature of their work, construction workers have to be on-site, much like Cristen was describing with the eighty percent workforce.
But that doesn't mean there isn't flexibility around what days are worked or when shifts start or stop.
As president and COO Darren Brown said, quote, "family is core to my company's culture, obviously taking into account that that can look different to everyone. I've often shared my belief that we work hard to support our family and passions. If we don't make time for them, what are we really working for?" Well, this is a great philosophy to have.
Well, in practice, what it means is that PCL has built a system that offers rotating weekend project schedules and allows for workers to flex their time to participate in important family family activities.
PCL says their ability to offer flexibility to workers is based on trust. Trust that leaders are working hard to provide flexibility when employees need it and trust in their employees to balance personal needs and business responsibilities.
Now I really love this example for a number of reasons. One, I think this is an excellent example of how flexibility can be integrated into a work environment, particularly where you're working with an eighty percent workforce who we don't traditionally think of as having that kind of flexibility, you know, in the work that they do.
But I also think it really highlights how leaders can work with their people to create an approach to flexibility that works for everybody, not just for a few. It'd be really easy to see how, say, PCL, maybe their foreman or their leadership team could have this kind of flexibility. But the fact that in one way or another, it's equitable across their entire workforce really is impressive.
And, also, this example actually provides us with a nice little segue into our second factor, and that's organisational support.
So like we saw in the PCL example, equitable flexibility requires not only support from individual modern leaders, but it also needs support in the policies and practices that are established at the organisational level.
So for example, our research found that when organisations have programs in place that support skill building, autonomy, and task flexibility, there, again, is a significant increase in the odds of, in this case, high employee engagement.
So taking just a look at these three here, when an employee feels their organisation supports employees learning new skills at work, there's a whopping six hundred percent increase in the odds of high engagement.
When they feel they have a great deal of autonomy in how they accomplish the work, four hundred and thirty percent increase. And when they have the flexibility in what they choose to work on each day, three hundred and forty percent increase in the odds of high engagement.
Now, additionally, when employees are satisfied with the level of flexibility their organisations provide, we see an almost four hundred percent increase in the odds an employee will want to stay with their organisation another year and a five hundred and sixty eight percent increase in the odds an employee will promote their organisation as a great place to work.
Now I know we've kind of, you know, touched on this at the beginning, particularly the number around the employees, just desire to stay, is huge and really a great way to kind of, help build that retention and really create the environment where employees are gonna wanna stay and grow and thrive is to provide them with that equitable flexibility in their work.
Now, again, of course, while we love our data points, we also love our stories of practices and action, which brings me to an example here with Unilever.
Now despite being a large, well established company, Unilever has always been very forward thinking when it comes to its work programs. Actually, long before COVID upended traditional work models.
This consumer goods brand has a long history of allowing their employees to work from anywhere, making them actually a really an early adopter of the flexible workspace.
To start with, Unilever doesn't even ask employees to work a regular nine to five day. Instead, employees are given the freedom to complete their work at a time that suits their needs. Now whether they want to work from home, flexible office space, or even a different country, Unilever supports them with adaptable work programs.
And in addition, all employees have access to the technology they need to keep work standards high.
Lastly, in addition to these arrangements, staff can also take part in job sharing, reduced hours, and other flexible work arrangements to help them thrive professionally and personally.
Now I should be clear here, this sounds amazing, and not every company can make all of the accommodations that Unilever does. But the important takeaway is the equitable flexibility, whatever that might look like for your company, has to come from the top and be reflected in policies that address the needs of all employees.
CRISTEN: Thanks, Daniel. You know, I always like the real life examples of how organisational practices reflect the points on our models just because they really bring to life how these findings look in the real world.
DANIEL: Absolutely. And we're lucky we still have, quite a few more left to go.
CRISTEN: Exactly. I actually think we have an example for every branch of the model. So we've got more to cover before we're done for the day.
DANIEL: We do.
CRISTEN: Yeah. So next, I wanna talk about the employee empowerment component of our model, which we can define as employees feeling empowered or a sense of agency in making decisions about their jobs.
And here's a quote from one of our focus groups that actually shows an example of a lack of employee empowerment and the impact when empowerment is missing. So, again, this is from one of our focus group participants, one of our focus groups that we conducted for the GCR research.
So this person said, "not having flexibility was very frustrating for us. The lack of trust in taking breaks and things like that felt like you weren't being trusted."
So it probably goes without saying this employee was not really feeling empowered in their job. Their work environment really helped foster a lack of trust, which is the opposite of what we wanna see.
And here are some reasons why. So when employee empowerment is, unlike what we saw in that quote, supported we see improvements in attrition plans, the odds of being a promoter, and great work.
You know, for example, when employees have some input into their own work goals, which is one form that empowerment can take, they are twice as likely to plan to stay for two years. They have three times the odds of being company promoters, and they're five times more likely to do great work. So in addition to this, employees have four times and five times increased odds of feeling a sense of belonging and inclusion respectively.
So as you can see from these numbers, employee empowerment benefits both employees and organisations alike.
So one example of an organisation that has encouraged employee empowerment in the past is Dropbox.
So from the initial days of operation, Dropbox cofounders have tried to build a culture around a, quote, "you're smart, figure it out" philosophy.
So John Ying, one of Dropbox's first employees, shared an example of this approach in action.
One day, cofounder Arash Ferdowsi told Ying he didn't want the Dropbox's, quote, "404 error page to be so boring."
He said, quote, "I remember you like to draw."
So he went to the drugstore downstairs, purchased a box of colored pencils for Ying, who then drew up a unique illustration to make the 404 page more interesting.
So the 404 error page is anything but boring.
The version that Ying created resembled something, for example, that artist MC Escher might have created.
And Ferdowsi didn't stop there with the special projects for this new employee.
Quote, "if you know how to draw, you can do web design," he said. So he got a copy of Photoshop for Ying who then began doing early Dropbox design work. So from the very beginning, Dropbox took the principle of, quote, "you're smart. Figure it out," to heart.
From the beginning, the cofounders identified what people are good at and let them do it. They trusted their talent with important work. So this approach provides employees with a sense of empowerment and has a positive impact on the employee's experience at work, as you might have guessed.
DANIEL: I love this example. I mean, what a great story. Although, I would be a little intimidated if, you know, our boss showed up with a box of colored pencils for us.
But I think this really shows that there are a lot of possibilities for making flexibility equitable overall.
I mean, there are just really so many ways to empower employees overall.
CRISTEN: Exactly. Right. And, you know, I think I would be curious. I would be intrigued if our leader showed up with a box of colored pencils for us. I'm not gonna lie.
DANIEL: He's probably watching this, and so we'll find a box of colored pencils on our desks here later today, I'm sure.
CRISTEN: Yeah. We'll see what we can do with the colored pencils. That would be interesting. But, yeah.
So moving on from that, you know, another possibility for making flexibility equitable is to extend work choice to employees. So in our model, we define work choice as employees having some discretion over what work they do and how they do it.
So for instance, when employees have the opportunity to work on projects that they find interesting, we see two times increased odds that they'll have an increased sense of well-being, two times increased odds that they will trust their leaders, and five times increased odds that they will do great work.
Another way to look at choice is whether or not leaders ensure that employees have some flexibility in how they accomplish their work. And when this is the case, we see an impressive two hundred and forty percent increased odds that employees will be organisational promoters and a seventy two percent reduction in burnout, which is really a pretty impressive reduction.
So to kinda go along with our pattern so far, you know, we have an example of what this looks like in action. And one example of work choice comes from Dow.
So Dow, the material science company, knows that where work gets done is secondary to how work gets done, and it gives its people a lot of autonomy.
So through the design your day program, employees can cocreate their ideal work schedule with leaders according to their roles, responsibilities, and personal preferences.
Dow aligns such programs with its DE&I or diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to ensure that employees feel valued, not just for the work they do, but for who they are. This includes giving more flexibility to employees in all types of life stages and circumstances, including those raising small children.
Alexander Dahl, the director of public affairs & sustainability in Dubai says, quote, "our global focus on bringing your full self to work and design your day is not just a tick the box corporate program. It's a genuine effort to make our lives easier."
DANIEL: Again, another great example, Cristen. And this also serves as a really good segue into the last piece of our model, and that's time management.
CRISTEN: Exactly. You know, last but not least, the final component of our equitable flexibility model is time management. And we define time management as the condition of employees having the autonomy to manage their workdays.
So one aspect of time management is work life balance. When employees are encouraged to have work life balance by their employers, it increases feelings of trust, feelings of belonging, and the odds of doing great work as you can see here. You know, it doubles the increased odds that there's gonna be a feeling of trust.
We see about four point five increased odds that they're going to feel that sense of belonging and five times increased odds that they're going to be doing great work for their organisations.
And when employees need to make a change to their schedules at work, support for those changes is really important. Remember, especially for those eighty percent workers, who we talked about earlier and who you can read more about in this year's report. There's a whole chapter on this group if you are interested.
Being able to take time away for personal matters is one of the top desired forms of flexibility.
So when employees are supported in times of schedule changes, we see two times increased odds that they plan to stay at least three more years, which is, pretty impressive. You know? It's not just that they're gonna stay for another year. They're they're planning on a sort of longer term commitment.
We also see four times increased odds that these employees will feel a sense of belonging and also that they will feel satisfied with their organisation's culture.
DANIEL: You know, something that really stands out here that I really love is that, you know, these examples really show that it's not just allowing remote work that makes a difference, although that certainly can have an impact for certain employees. But time management is also about allowing employees to access balance and understanding from their leaders and organisation when it comes to their work schedules.
CRISTEN: Exactly, Daniel. And I wanna share, to cover our last component of the model, one more example of an organisation that supports employees having agency over their time.
So the Neiman Marcus Group, the luxury retailer, integrates workplace flexibility into their culture through their philosophy, the NMG way of working. With robust technology in place, associates can work and serve customers from home, in stores, and at distribution centers.
The company allows its associates to exercise agency over their time and choose their shifts and locations.
Eric Severson, the EVP and chief people and belonging officer says, quote, "our way of working philosophy empowers our associates to work whenever, however, and wherever to achieve their best results."
So integrating workplace flexibility has led to strong business performance for NMG, more productivity and satisfaction among associates, and a twenty percent less turnover in a challenging talent market. So this example demonstrates one strategy for helping employees achieve some autonomy when it comes to their work schedules. However, as we've seen already, time management can take many forms.
You might even say that the concept of time management itself is flexible.
Indeed.
DANIEL: Well, thank you, Cristen. And now that we've kind of covered all the the characteristics of our model, I think it'd be worth taking on some time now to kind of walk through some strategies for success.
Well, as we always do, we've covered a lot of content today. So, let's break down our model into some practical strategies that will get you on the path to achieving equitable flexibility in your organisation.
So let's start with leadership support. So some key strategies here. First is to embrace modern leadership practices. Again, this is that model of leadership that emphasizes listening to employees' needs, understanding their needs, advocating for them, empowering them, as you see here.
So it's really key to know the unique needs of your people and then really, taking that next step and working with employees to find a level of flexibility that's going to work for everybody. And I think it's been helpful that in the examples that we've looked at today, we've tried to capture actual real case studies and experiences of a variety of different organisations and different levels of employees.
So, you know, from, designers to construction workers, there are always ways that leaders can find different approaches to kind of create that flexibility for their people. But it starts with really listening to them, understanding them, and getting to know what those needs are.
Next is organisational support.
And here, organisations need to ensure flexibility at work is available and equitable for all employees.
And this is really going to need to come from a top down sort of strategy, and it's going to need to be integrated into the policies, practices, programs that the company puts forward. And then at that point, organisations have to empower their leaders to give employees flexibility in the work that they do.
Third, employee empowerment. So here, we wanna be able to construct work goals with employees and not for employees. And ties back into that leader support and those modern leader practices.
The way that you're going to be able to, you know, kind of really create those concrete goals, that are going to have a meaningful impact and outcome that are gonna provide the flexibility that employees want is by working with them and not simply just dictating those goals down to them.
And then again, in addition, taking a collaborative approach, whenever possible. Again, another plug here, remember those modern leadership principles.
Next is work choice.
Provide employees with opportunities to work on special projects. Give them that pack of colored pencils.
Particularly, in the current economy, one of the things that we have noticed is a lot of organisations across our research, a lot of organisations out there are apprehensive about shifting economic tides.
A lot of companies are kind of tightening the belt, so to speak. So mobility and movement within an organisation sometimes can stall or slow down as companies kind of weather change within their industries or markets.
But one way to kind of help employees still feel that they're valued, that they have opportunity is to find opportunities to work on special projects. What that looks like is going to vary for every organisation, but it's definitely a helpful strategy to keep employees engaged and feel like they've got that flexibility around work choice.
And then give employees some choice in how they get their work done.
Often employees are gonna have this, the people that are doing the work are gonna have some of the strongest insights in how best to do that work and get it done.
And then finally, time management.
Here, it's important to support employees in taking time away from work when needed, and also giving employees some choice over how they spend their time at work.
CRISTEN: Thanks, Daniel. You know, I think that those are all really great strategies, and I feel like just, you know, one additional thing I could add to that is I always think about that, you know, that table that we showed everyone way in the beginning that kind of compares the eighty percent workers with the corporate workers.
And, you know, in our research, we compare these two groups. And what's interesting there, I think, is the point that, you know, when we're thinking about flexibility, not only is it not a one size fits all, but the type of flexibility that people are looking for really differs. Right?
And so, you know, in our research, we're kind of looking at these worker groups in the aggregate. Right? We've got these big groups, you know, just one comparison versus the other. But if, you know, you all out there listening can think about your own organisations and how, you know, work roles and jobs are set up and what kinds of flexibility may or may not be available to different employees.
I think an important point is that the possibilities are really expansive. Right? And I think they're more expansive than we might initially think. And once we kinda start delving into, you know, okay. What is this employee's role, and how can we work with them to get them some flexibility that maybe doesn't look like, quote, unquote, traditional model flexibility. You know, maybe they can't work remotely, but maybe there's something else that we can do for them to get them access to flexibility that they might not already have.
DANIEL: Yeah. I absolutely agree, and I'm glad you brought that up because, you know, I think as you've touched on, one of the the critical factors really at the heart of all of this, is having an organisation and in particular, having leaders, that are actively interested in the well-being of their people.
Because, as you pointed out, flexibility is going to look different for everybody.
And it could you know, we highlighted, you know, kind of the eighty percent versus more of your knowledge workers.
But those differences are gonna play out across a variety of different demographics. I mean, we could do a whole another webinar just on breaking out all those, you know, what that might look like for, you know, every other kind of demographic in your organisation.
But the way that you get to those needs is to generally sit down and connect with your people. That's gonna be the way that you get to understand their role, the work they do, how they do their work, and what their needs are, not only in terms of, in the workplace, but also their needs outside of work.
One of the things that really stood out in a lot of the focus groups, and I know, Cristen, you could probably speak to this as well, were countless stories of employees who, both good and bad stories of employees who felt like, you know, if they needed to take time off work to deal with a sick family member or to deal with issues around child care, it had a huge impact on their connection with their organisation depending on whether their leaders understood those needs and provided them the flexibility to take care of them. So, yeah, absolutely. The opportunities for flexibility are expansive, and it begins with leaders reall sitting down and, listening to their people and getting to understand what they need.
CRISTEN: Exactly. Right. And and the only other thing I would add to that is, you know, if you're in a senior leader position, making sure that you have also empowered the leaders who report to you, to be able to extend flexibility to their people as well. Right?
So, you know, as usual, we've covered a lot in a pretty short amount of time. But, do you think we can wrap everything up in, let's just say, two takeaways?
DANIEL: You know I can. Okay.
So, and I think, hopefully, these themes should not be any surprise here at this stage of the of the webinar. But first and foremost, flexibility of work should be available and equitable for all employees.
And that's you know, no two organisations are alike. So no two approaches to achieving equitable flexibility are gonna be exactly the same. But what we--it's just essential that, flexibility is viewed as something that all employees need.
What that looks like is going to vary, but it's critical that organisations emphasize that equity aspect of flexibility.
And then, of course, as our data has really bore out in a number of different ways, giving employees flexibility in when, where, and how they work will really genuinely help them feel engaged, connected to their organisation, and want to stay.
CRISTEN: Yeah. Exactly. And just one other thing I can add to that too, Daniel, is I think that, you know, a lot of the early conversations around flexibility, I think you typically, and I'm thinking of kind of conversations coming out from, you know, those sort of immediate post pandemic months and years. You know, a lot of those conversations were around kind of a fear based approach in a sense that, you know, oh, you know, are employees asking for too much?
Are they, you know, are we gonna be able to give them what they're asking for? This sort of, the way it was framed in some publications and things like that that I've seen is very much you know, this is going to be something that employees benefit from, but maybe organisations don't. However, our research has shown that when, you know, employees have access to that flexibility, it actually benefits the organisation, in really big ways. Right?
You know, it benefits employees and organisations all around. So it's not just a one-sided relationship. It is something that, you know, when you extend that to employees, it's something the the organisation gets, reaps the benefits from, from those practices.
DANIEL: Yeah. And and, you know, building off that, another thing that was fascinating that we found, and this really bore out, not only--each year when we conduct our research for the Global Culture Report, we do numerous focus groups in a number of cities across the country. And one thing that continually kind of came out from the employee perspective, was that they actually had a very realistic view of what flexibility looked like.
I think to, Cristen, to your point, in some of those early sort of publications and things that came out was, not only a fear that, from leadership and kind of at the organisational level, that this would be kind of a one-sided sort of thing that's gonna benefit employees, but, also, there was a bit of skepticism that, you know, employees aren't gonna try to, they're gonna want everything.
They're gonna you know, essentially, they just don't wanna work. They wanna be at home and, you know, sit in their pajamas and get a paycheck. And the reality that we heard again and again was, you know, we, most employees, enjoy their work. They like what they do.
They're committed to their organisations, but they wanna feel like they're in a respected relationship with their organisation. And they recognise, you know, there are lots of different ways that we can approach, you know, the work that we do, and a lot of it's actually driven by how do we make our, how do we do our jobs better?
So, it was really it was fascinating and also very encouraging to see that extending flexibility and working with employees to kind of create that dynamic, not only is it gonna reap benefits for the organisation, but it's actually a very, it can be a very positive, healthy sort of thing that, you know, really reflects the best of what your employees are really looking for and interested in.
CRISTEN: Right. Yeah. And that really speaks to some of those great work statistics that we showed throughout the presentation as well. Right? When employees have access to flexibility, then the great work that they're doing for their organisations just increases, you know, several times over.
So with that being said, we do have some time for questions. If anybody has questions for us about the research or about anything that we talked about, we could go into something a little bit more in-depth.
DANIEL: I know, we've got Whitney's moderating the chat here. Anything popping up in the questions for us today?
MODERATOR: Yes. We have one from Consuelo, and they say, I see very clearly the effect of flexibility on talent, well-being, and satisfaction, but I would like to ask the relationship between flexibility and productivity and client satisfaction or results.
DANIEL: That's a great question.
We do have typically, what we look at productivity is going to be measured in a variety of different ways in organisations.
What we like to look at is, we have a metric that we use called great work, and it's a factor that is actually built from a number of different components that speak to aspects of productivity, but actually provides us a much more robust picture of employee motivation, employee desire to, you know, their commitment to work and projects.
So I would say that, what we really tend to look at because I think it gives a more holistic robust picture, is going to be what we call great work. And if you take a look at any of our Global Culture Reports, it'll actually kind of unpack that and give you a little bit more information. But I would say at a fundamental level, creating that, when you have a culture that embraces equitable flexibility, you will see an increase in productivity.
We typically, we look at on the the client satisfaction side, that's something that we've actually we can work with our clients. In addition to what we do in terms of the research for reports, we also do, you know, we work with clients to measure different sorts of outputs, outcomes for them.
And that's certainly something that we've looked at in the past in terms of client satisfaction, not something in this that we specifically looked at in part because our the emphasis of the Global Culture Report is really looking at the aspects of workplace culture specifically from the employee perspective. So not something that's that's highlighted in this report, but, I would definitely say that, you know, intuitively, it's going to have that positive impact, and it's definitely a measure that we study, you know, on a case by case basis for, you know, for clients.
Anything you would add to that, Cristen?
CRISTEN: Yeah. Daniel, I'm also thinking about our qualitative data from actually both this year's culture report, the 2024, and the report that we're working on, for next year with the 2025 report. And I think it also goes back to something that you said regarding, you know, employees being in essentially, you know, we're all in a relationship of some sort with our organisations, right, the organisation that we work. And we would hope that that would be a functioning relationship. Right?
And, you know, some of the quotes that I'm just thinking of from our qualitative research that speak to this are you know, we just heard time and time again that when employees feel like they are respected, when they feel like they're valued, when they feel like they're treated like adults, not like children, they respect the organisation in return. And they wanna bring their best selves in terms of, you know, putting their best efforts forward, doing the best work that they can. They wanna bring that to work for an organisation that respects them, respects their time and one way that this can manifest is through flexibility.
You know, if the organisation is working, or leadership is working with employees to get them access to the flexibility that they want and that they need in many cases, then there that makes employees kinda feel that much more, sort of, that that makes them feel a sense of, well, you know, they're sort of respecting me, so I also wanna respect them by bringing my best self to the work that I do. Right? And so, you know, we've seen that play out in our quantitative data, but we heard a lot of stories to that effect in our qualitative. And on the flip side, you know, if employees feel like they're not respected, then they're much more likely to say, oh, you know, I go to work and I do what I need to do, but I don't go above and beyond.
Right? And to get back to Daniel's point about our great work metric, that's how we kinda measure that quantitatively. You know, if employees feel like they're part of a culture that, you know, they feel a sense of belonging, they feel like they're thriving, they feel like they're part of an organisation that respects them, then they're much more likely to bring themselves, bring a version of themselves to work that produces great work as opposed to just, you know, the work that, they see as sort of a transactional exchange where, okay. I'll give you, you know, I'll give you what I can, but I'm not, I don't necessarily feel the need to, you know, bring my best self, if that makes sense.
So, you know, we see, to Daniel's point, you know, we measure productivity, so to speak, a little bit differently. But, you know, ultimately, the great work metric that we measure also looks at things like innovation.
Right? And, you know, another example is, you know, does this worker, if they have a problem, do they try to look for creative solutions to that problem? Do they kinda go out of their comfort zone to figure out how to solve this problem? And if employees are motivated to do great work, they're doing those things. And if they're not, then, you know, they're not in the work. The sort of end product isn't as, isn't as great, so to speak, as it could be. So that's kind of how we look at that if that is helpful.
Yeah.
Yes. I think we have time for maybe one more quick question if there's any other ones.
MODERATOR: Yeah. We have a lot come in, but this one is, what are your thoughts regarding approaching the c suite to get them to buy into equitable flexibility? Would you frame that discussion differently than approaching eighty percent managers for buy in?
DANIEL: My first thoughts, I mean, the simplest way I think is, you know, at a c suite level, well, there's a variety of ways, I should say. First and foremost, you know, we've done extensive, both qualitative and quantitative research. We have data. We have findings in the Global Culture Report that really demonstrate that, you know, if you want employees that are going to be thriving, that are going to be doing their best work, that are going to be, you know and this is an important one, especially in this current climate.
We shared a number of data points here today. There's more in the Global Culture Report that really emphasized that, there's a dramatic increase in the odds that employees are gonna wanna stay within an organisation.
Those are powerful sort of, you know, measures that really say, okay. This is more than just like a warm fuzzy nice idea that actually, you know, when employees have this culture of flexibility, you're going to see positive business outcomes, across the board. So there's a business argument that could be made.
But, also, I think for those, you know, in the c suite, that are looking, you know, most often we'll give a benefit of the doubt here. Most of the leaders in the c suite, they're, part of their role, part of why they're in the c suite is they're taking a big picture look at the organisation. And what, you know, flexibility is really contributing to that kind of holistic view of what does it mean to have a thriving workplace culture. And this is one more component that when that's in place, you're gonna see greater connection between your leaders and your employees.
You're going to see greater productivity. You're gonna see greater sense of engagement, a sense of belonging. All those things that, you know, as a leader of an organisation, you want to have that thriving culture. So I think there's kind of that holistic culture approach, and there's just a real, you know, there's some real concrete data that says it's good for business.
CRISTEN: Yeah. And, I mean, just to add to that really quick, I don't necessarily think that the communication approach would be different depending on ranking as opposed to personality. Right? So if you've got a leader who is more, wants to see the bottom line, and again, to kinda plug the larger report, I think we have evidence for the business case and for the sort of more holistic cultural case in there if you're looking for data points. But, you know, some people, the business case is what they're looking for, and some people are more interested in that.
Okay. I wanna build a thriving culture. You know? How do we, how do we approach this so that, you know, people feel like this is a great place to work and where they wanna be? And I think that, you know, just depending on who you're talking to, luckily, I think that we have evidence, strong evidence that supporting something like equitable flexibility leads to better outcomes in both of those cases.
So, yeah, so that's we're just about out of time, but, for those of you who need those codes, there they are right there. I think Raven also sent a message, but there's the SHRM and the HRCI codes. And, again, you know, this was recorded, so you should be receiving the recording very soon. And thank you everyone for attending today.
Hopefully, you found it interesting. And, you know, if you wanna read more, again, we write all about equitable flexibility as well as a bunch of other topics, in this year's Global Culture Report. So thanks, everyone.
