Flexible Work Policies: What's in It for Employers?

June 29, 2012

A lot, it turns out — if it’s done correctly.

Fast Company had a great piece recently that should help companies that are thinking of implementing a flexible work policy. (Most companies offer at least some kind of informal flexibility, according to a recent study by Familes and Work Institute.)

The goal, of course, is to get something strategic out of letting employees work from home, or at odd hours. Because it’s all well and good to be a swell guy, but in these tough economic times ™, everything has to do double-duty, including work-from-home policies.

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The article was contributed by Cali Williams Yost, author of “Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You.” Among other things, Yost suggests that businesses look at flexible schedules as a way to address business challenges. She offers several examples of how this could work:

Companies that do business across several time zones could use a flexible schedule to make sure someone is available when clients are awake in another time zone — and also to prevent burnout. If you’re working all night, in other words, you shouldn’t have to be in the office bright and early the next morning.

Instead of laying people off outright, organizations can reduce schedules, offering more flexibility while lowering labor costs. This also enables them to hold onto talent for the next boom.

Flexible schedules enable companies to keep workers who need to leave the physical office for personal reasons. (The example Yost offers is that of an employee who has to care for his mother in another state.)

Our main takeaway from all of this? Flexible work schedules are awesome for companies and employees alike.

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