Trends and Future challenges in work flexibility demand

 

 

Following the covid epidemic, majority of companies shifted to the broad use of remote work from traditional work arrangements. Many businesses claim to have switched to virtual working to cut costs and recruit and retain top employees. In other words, virtual working is portrayed as both a by-product of information and communication technology and a method of resolving corporate issues (Bailey & Kurland, 2002).

True flexibility, on the other hand, involves much more than the ability to work from home, yet many businesses still not practicing. Many organizations' Updated policies on remote work are insufficient to meet the expectations of the future workforce. It can be seen that many employees are being pushed out from their employments due to HR professionals' narrow focus on the issues.

 

It's the right time for corporations to reconsider their flexibility of policies. Whether it's work-life balance, physical and emotional wellness, or family caregiving, today's employees require flexibility tailored to their own needs (Smite, et. al., 2022). HR professionals are responsible for generating unique, creative solutions for their employees as personalizing flexibility is critical for them.

Losing employees and failing to attract important talent are the most serious HR issues. Workplace flexibility is a major motivator for bringing back employees who have left the organization for a short time (Gilch and Sieweke, 2021). As a result, the value of flexibility is clear and leaders should consider the three flexibility questions below if they truly want to meet their employees' expectations and deal with labor issues:

1.    Where can employees do their work?

This is the factor that has the greatest influence on how companies view flexibility. Controlling where work could be done was not an important factor for majority of companies after the covid pandemic. A survey revealed that employees who left, returned to work when the company allow the employee to decide whether the role should in person, remote, or hybrid (Deal and Levenson, 2021). As a result, management should figure out how to give employees the most control over where they work. Hybrid work models with fixed office days are not 100% flexible. With the current technological advancements, there is no need to do all parts of an in-person job physically. For example, Apple is trying a ‘retail flex’ Retail employees who are transitioning from a traditional store employment to a remote role can participate in a work-from-home program. This is a substantial shift occurred as a result of the outbreak.

2.    When can employees complete their work?

Employees may be permitted to set their own working days and hours, receive proper notice of overtime and schedule adjustments, and take time off as needed. Controlling when they work, whether in person, hybrid, or remotely, was mentioned by three out of four employees is a crucial factor in their decision to choose their job (Chung and Van der Horst, 2020). To retain employees, Organizations must also find strategies to shift employee expectations away from 24-hour availability and imposing inflexible work hours (Chen and Fulmer, 2018). Organizations must make sure that the task will be done within office hours and that employees will have adequate time and energy to attend to their own responsibilities and well-being. Some companies make email blackout periods by deactivating work emails receiving and sending facility on weekends and holidays.

  3.    How can employees complete their work?

This third aspect of flexibility is putting employees in command of their daily work activities by allowing them to select how to perform tasks. Employers determine their day today work status, as well as how work is completed. Employees at a technology, media, and telecommunications company are rewarded for increasing productivity (Babapour Chafi et. al., 2021). When a tech-savvy employee automates a time-consuming task and saves four hours per week, HR's role is to encourage that employee to spend the "extra" four hours in creative and development work as the employer chooses, rather than having him occupied with additional responsibilities to fill the time he saved. It will help to develop a strong connection with the Management.

 

 The time has come for HR professionals to think of trends and demand for future work flexibility in a broad understanding in order to resolve HR challenges and gain competitive advantages. Accurately determine where, when, and how flexibility works is the key for gaining a competitive advantage in attracting fresh talent.

   

References

Babapour Chafi, M., Hultberg, A. and Bozic Yams, N., 2021. Post-pandemic office work: Perceived challenges and opportunities for a sustainable work environment. Sustainability, 14(1), p.294.

Banning out-of-hours email 'could harm employee wellbeing 2018 [Online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50073107 [Accessed: 30 April 2022].

Chen, Y. and Fulmer, I.S., 2018. Fine‐tuning what we know about employees' experience with flexible work arrangements and their job attitudes. Human Resource Management, 57(1), pp.381-395.

Chung, H. and Van der Horst, M., 2020. Flexible working and unpaid overtime in the UK: The role of gender, parental and occupational status. Social Indicators Research, 151(2), pp.495-520.

Deal, J.J. and Levenson, A., 2021. Figuring Out Social Capital Is Critical for the Future of Hybrid Work. MIT Sloan Management Review, 62(4), pp.1-4.

Gilch, P.M. and Sieweke, J., 2021. Recruiting digital talent: The strategic role of recruitment in organisations’ digital transformation. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 35(1), pp.53-82.

McKinsey Organization Blog [Online]. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/its-not-about-the-office-its-about-belonging [Accessed: 2 May 2022].

Smite, D., Moe, N.B., Hildrum, J., Huerta, J.G. and Mendez, D., 2022. Work-From-Home is Here to Stay: Call for Flexibility in Post-Pandemic Work Policies. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.11136.

Your return-to-office announcements are missing the mark: Here’s how to get them right (n.d.) [Online]. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/your-return-to-office-announcement-missed-the-mark-heres-how-to-get-it-right [Accessed: 22 April 2022].