Flexing Your Approach To Flexibility
"All roles flex" may not be appropriate for every organisation, but there are many best practice principles transcending industries and workplaces.
Speed Read
- Companies who make flexible work practices part of their culture attract and retain talent, lift job satisfaction and increase productivity
- If your company is developing or refreshing flexible work policies, there’s a number of factors that distinguish successful companies who have adopted effective arrangements
- Best practice includes defining flexibility broadly, having a consistent approach, investing in leadership capability and ensuring decisions are made on a case-by-case and “reason-neutral” basis
Many companies are working hard to making flexibility a cultural norm, as more Australians use technology to work in an agile and flexible way. Telstra, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Origin Energy, and ANZ among others promote “all roles flex” to shake up long-held assumptions that jobs need to be full-time and based in an office. Telstra promotes “all roles flex” as “something we’re open to discussing for all jobs”. These companies recognise flexible work practices help attract and keep talent, while contributing to greater job satisfaction and increased productivity.
Bain & Company released a report with Chief Executive Women in 2016 that showed Australian organisations are realising that to retain talent and remain relevant, they need to prepare for a future where flexible work is standard in any role. With flexible working not just being a women’s issue, the need for successful flexible working role models (particular in senior roles) is equally relevant for men. That same research also emphasised the value of flexibility if you want employees to achieve their potential; “Our research also debunked the myth that women seeking flexible options have checked out of their careers. We found that women who work flexibly are equally, if not more, committed to reaching their full career potential than those who don’t.”
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