‘Flexibility’ – does it mean what we think it means?

In this article, Jane Pimm from J2People looks at some of the issues around the concept of ‘flexibility’, and what this means for employers when attracting and retaining the best talent in their organisation.

Flexibility. Rabbit or Duck?

I’ve always been fascinated by the requirement for ‘flexibility’ in job specs. For someone who’s never been able to touch their toes, I wondered if I would be ruled out on the first pass? Jokes aside, it’s like one of those ‘perspective’ drawings where someone sees a rabbit and someone sees a duck.

From an Employer’s perspective, flexibility was often seen as an employee who didn’t mind staying late, would put work first and be rewarded for their presenteeism. While this may have previously been the case, the reality is that Millennial and Gen-Z talent do not see it in the same way.

Accepting there are jobs where you absolutely need to be there for set times (nobody wants their Dentist to break for a walk during a tooth extraction), we need to rethink the concept of flexibility and how giving more freedom to and placing more trust in employees to flex their time can be to the benefit of everyone. Flexibility can be given in a range of ways. Here’s an example from my personal life ..

My twin daughters are sitting their GCSEs this summer and at a recent parents’ evening on ‘How to Help Them Revise’ although I was breaking out in a cold sweat assimilating the multiple opportunities I could get this wrong – one point that really struck home was the sliding scale of productivity for extended revision sessions without breaks or disruption. Coming home and enthusiastically telling the girls to put down their books and dance around the kitchen, it made me think of why in the workplace we do the exact opposite and being at your workstation for long periods is seen as dedication. Now, I’m not (necessarily!) suggesting that you break into a conga round the office but encouraging you (as a role model) and your team to use their judgment on when they need to take 5 or down tools may see an improvement in their productivity, engagement and wellbeing.

What can you do to be a more flexible employer?

There are many ways you can be a more flexible employer, here are 5 to start with:
• Actively promote flexibility as part of your employee value proposition
• Ask candidates how they like to work and be open-minded to different ideas
• Trust in your team – let them tell you how they can be at their best and work together to enable reciprocal flexibility
• Praise productivity not presenteeism
• Ensure that meetings are necessary, focused and productive to maximise ‘on’ time and enable ‘down’ time

At J2People, we embody these principles in our Positive People Framework and work with HR teams and line managers on how to get the best out of their teams.

How does flexibility impact effort? My experience..

Thinking of when I’ve been ‘at my best’ at work, it’s always been when I’ve been trusted to deliver and given the flexibility on how and when I do this. A few years back I was struggling with the demands of my job and my ever-growing family I approached my boss to apply for flexible working. His reaction was completely unexpected. Instead of presenting me with the forms and negotiating my hours, he said ‘no’ immediately followed by ‘what would work best for you to enable you to deliver in your role as it is?’.
What followed was a discussion on being able to accommodate school drop-offs, plays, sports days etc., without having to clock watch or ‘make up hours’ or reduce my salary – I simply put in my diary when I was in or out of work. Trust was the key – he trusted that I would deliver, did not expect me to routinely work at evenings or weekends but to be as productive as possible in the time available. It worked – I maximized my effort when I was available and felt far more present at work knowing I could also be present with my family. I was happy and my performance was at a high. Wouldn’t it be great to join a company who offered this upfront?

How are you going to define flexibility for your company?

Right, off to my yoga class!

J2People are an HR Consultancy, we are passionate about supporting businesses to enable their employees to thrive in the workplace. If you would like to know more about adopting flexible practices in the workplace as part of our Positive People agenda, please get in touch at hello@j2people.co.uk