Flexibility isn't the point, it's the path

By itself, flexibility is actually pretty boring. Talking about our hours, days and place of work isn’t likely to be the most riveting discussion.

The reason flexibility matters and is so highly valued is because of what it enables. It is a means to a much more significant end.

A construction worker I talked to wants to be able to coach his son’s rugby team, but he is working long and unpredictable hours right now, putting the coaching role beyond reach. His son is nine years old and won’t want his dad as his coach forever. Once he’s a teenager, he will grunt and head off to play, hoping that his dad, if he insists on watching, at least won’t draw attention to himself.

If the construction job can’t offer him that flexibility soon, the window of opportunity to coach his son’s rugby team will have closed. The fleeting moment will be gone, forever lost. He will never have been that coach for his kid and that team. They won’t have those shared memories.

If we can’t adapt and offer more flexibility to more people, more quickly, then our businesses suffer too. We can’t run a business on empty, whether that’s a lack of people willing to work for us in our rigid ways, or people feeling empty because they can’t access what they truly value in their time beyond work.

If you want to find the path to a better business driven by healthier people, let’s talk.