Embrace the fear of flexible work chaos - you’ll not regret it!

The legislation we have in New Zealand creates a reactive, or at best responsive, culture around flexible work arrangements. 

Typically, managers wait for a flexible work request to arrive and then consider it before making a decision. This often creates a defensive starting point for the conversation. Managers are concerned about fairness within the team, or opening the floodgates, if they accept one person’s request for flexibility but can’t realistically offer the same positive response to subsequent employees. The uncertainty of what might follow can lead managers to make very conservative decisions, stifling the levels of flexibility we see in our workplaces.

What if managers front-footed the flexible work conversation? Managers inviting everyone in the team to share with each other what their ideal flexible work arrangement would be. Is this simply inviting in the chaos? As a manager, does it fill you with a fear of raising expectations only to deliver nothing in return?

Let me share a couple of stories that might reframe it.

I was talking to a former trade union rep this week about flexible work. He recalled a time when he was negotiating with an employer on behalf of a rostered workforce. The managers and union could not agree on a roster pattern and they’d reached a deadlock. The union rep suggested an experiment, “What if we give the staff three weeks to come up with a roster between them?” The managers were sceptical, but reluctantly agreed to give it a try. After a little more than a week the team had all signed up to a roster that met the needs of the business and gave them all a bit more of what they wanted to manage their life-demands outside of work. The managers were surprised to see what some individuals had agreed to. Those who were known for night shifts had opted for other arrangements. These people’s lives had moved on but they hadn’t spoken up, so were tied to a shift pattern that no longer worked for them and their families. This gave them that opportunity to reset without having to single themselves out among their colleagues.

Another example is the Ctrip remote working experiment run by Stanford University. They found that the randomised selection of people who were directed to work from home for the 9-month experiment produced a 13.5% productivity boost for the company, which was a great result. After the experiment the take-up of remote working was on the basis of employees deciding for themselves. Some who had been working from home gladly came back to the office, while others opted for the chance to finally do some work from home. This led to an even stronger productivity gain of 24% and shows that people know how to get the best from themselves at work when they’re given the choice.

There is some great practice emerging in New Zealand that gives teams the ability to decide how to meet their flexible work needs. Perpetual Guardian took this team-approach to their 4 Day Week, which has been an enormous success with productivity gains and staff who are more engaged and less stressed. This week I heard of a recruitment firm taking a team-based approach to flexible work too, so this idea is gaining traction, without doubt.

How does it work?

Part of the move towards creating a more flexible workplace is for managers to facilitate and participate in, rather than be at the centre of, the team discussion about flexibility. Managers can regularly check in with the team about how the arrangements are working and open up space for new ideas to be tried and tested. When teams share their perspectives and make the decisions, trust will build, compromises will be made and the benefits of flexible work are there for the taking. Managers no longer need to second guess what future requests they might have to plan for, freeing up their time and headspace. 

With regular team-based discussions inside all our workplaces we’ll have happier employees and enjoy a strong productivity boost too. That’s got to be a win-win!

Gillian Brookes is a flexible work specialist. Get in touch if you would like support to make flexible work the new normal in your workplace.