Striving to Strike a Balance with Flexible Working Models

Covid-19 has flipped countless systems, processes, structures, and even beliefs and perspectives on their heads. One of the most significant disruptions it brought about is that it both necessitated and popularized ‘remote working’ for millions of workers across the globe. A practice which was once common amongst perhaps only a handful of IT and consulting firms, had now become almost all-pervasive. In a matter of weeks, corporates worldwide spent both time and money to scramble up the necessary infrastructure, tools, and processes to support the necessary and massive shift towards remote working.

Although it took some time, but both organizations as well as employees (and even their families) finally took the shift in their strides. Desks and chairs propped up in homes, fast internet connections shot through the roof, household schedules were re-drawn – an entire ‘work from home’ ecosystem sprung to life in almost all corners of the working world.

Contrary to popular expectation, this shift actually brought in a host of positive outcomes for all sides at the table. A NASSCOM survey published in Nov 2021 found almost two-thirds of companies reporting higher employee satisfaction from remote working. Employees were saving time and money on office commute which could now be spent with their families, or a hobby, or to take care of their general wellbeing instead. Employers, on the other hand, reported higher staff productivity, savings on office rentals, and transportation.

As everything from recruitment and employee onboarding to team meetings and client calls swung to the virtual mode, companies began to slowly realize the permanence of this shift. In affirmation, amidst the multiple waves of the pandemic, several large and small corporates including Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Spotify, and Tata Steel decided to adopt an agile working model by offering a permanent Work from Home (WfH) option to their employees. The global corporate world had not witnessed a greater testament to a shifting paradigm since perhaps the internet.

But several isolated voices about the benefits of human face-to-face interactions and concerns of mental health issues from prolonged social isolation also started gathering steam. As more data started flowing in and the intensity of the pandemic began to ebb, many companies announced plans over the last few months to have their workforce back in office again. But having tasted the benefits and ease of remote working and having woven their lives around their new ‘normal’, employees now seem to be looking for choices where earlier there were none.

Several organizations which asked their employees to come back to office without any survey, flexibility, or choice, faced employee pushback in some form or another. Ian Goodfellow, Apple’s Director of Machine Learning, resigned because of Apple’s return to work policy, and touched upon the lack of flexibility in the memo he wrote to his team. Over 800 employees resigned over a period of two months from WhiteHat Jr, the Byju’s-owned edtech startup, after being asked to return to work. They were given only a month to relocate back to their offices – a duration they felt was too inadequate and lacked any choice.

As a contrarian view, over the last several months most organizations, and many employee groups, have come to realize the sheer significance of working from office as well. Right from fostering real relationships and imbibing an organization’s work culture to maintaining a better work-life balance, working from office is a real practice to reckon by. But the events of the last couple of years have necessitated a rethink on the working locations, and the hybrid model is slowly emerging as the predominant model of choice. A recent Microsoft survey of more than 31,000 employees revealed about 50% of leaders want workers back in office 5 days a week. US-based investment firm TIAA, which has about 12,000 employees, announced a return to work in March this year. American Express, Meta, and Ford Motor have all announced plans to give a stipulated time to employees to adopt working preferences with their managers so rosters and processes can be built accordingly. Even news houses like The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Washington Post plan a gradual return to office, albeit with a combination of in-person and remote work. Perhaps on the other end of the spectrum is Tesla CEO Elon Musk telling workers to show up for at least 40 hours per week in a main Tesla office or leave the company.

The desire to switch back to pre-pandemic normalcy is also demonstrated by the fact that business related travel has steadily picked up over the last few months. Although current business travel volumes remain a far cry from pre-pandemic levels, the pickup is evident. The midweek and urban hotel demand across the UK, US, and Europe has been rising steadily since February 2022, pointing towards a definite uptick in work related travel. The urge to get back to working from office also gets evidenced in the fact that most big corporates have retained their office spaces throughout the lockdowns and remote working sprees. Instances where organizations have given up office real estate in favour of a fully remote working model are rare.

In this global debate, location is not the only factor under the scanner here. Employees seem to be getting keener to abandon the 9-5 work schedule too. A recent report by Adobe suggests 51% of enterprise employees would prefer to have complete flexibility in their work schedule. The survey which spanned the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Japan also reveals 73% of millennials are willing to switch jobs in favour of the one which offers greater flexibility in work schedule.

‘Choice’ and ‘flexibility’ have emerged as the catchwords garnering steam across global corporate echelons today. Expectations, attitudes, and perspectives have undergone a sea change in these last couple of years. The more flexibility and choice that companies knit into their work locations and schedules, the more likely that they’ll witness happy employees with higher productivity. In fact, flexible work schedules can even drive gender equality, as parents can share the burden of childcare and other chores. Many companies are opting for the hybrid working model – a blend of work from office and remotely – while even governments (e.g., Ireland) are planning to imbibe flexible work arrangements.

This isn’t an easy balance to strike – either for employers or for employees. And perhaps the need of the hour is a clear view of priorities, defined requirements for return to office, a fair amount of flexibility and choice, and an open-minded approach on both sides of the table.

What is your company doing to build flexibility in work locations and schedules?

Author: Prithwijeet Mukherjee

Sr. Consultant, Strategy Consulting

Image credit: Nelly Antoniadou on Unsplash