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Expert opinion

We are riding the flexibility rollercoaster in the US posted by Judi Casey - 19 December 2008

This summer when US gas prices were creeping over the four dollar per gallon mark (I know, outrageous to us in the US, but not to the rest of the world), there was a lot of movement towards alternative work arrangements. Many were advocating for a 4 day work week, telework, satellite offices and compressed work schedules. State and private employers began to consider alternative schedules as a way to lower commuting costs as well as to reduce pollution, traffic congestion and carbon footprints. An additional benefit would be savings on real estate space, as well as heating and electricity costs.

Some workers were delighted with a flexible or remote schedule, as it provided more time for personal pursuits or family commitments. However for others, this new arrangement was challenging. We heard about difficulties with finding expanded child care arrangements and attending classes that were scheduled after work. Some discovered it was isolating to be at home all day, while others found a 10 hour day to be oppressively long – all you could do was work and nothing else for 4 days straight. But even though a mandated compressed work schedule or a remote office would not work well for some employers and employees and the driver was environmental, it still felt to me like progress in the work-life arena as there was a lot of discussions about alternative and flexible ways to work (has flexibility gone too far). Some of the conversations grasped the critical concept that alternative work arrangements constitute a business strategy, in addition to the notion that employees with flexibility tend to be more productive, engaged and loyal.

Then a few months later, world markets took a global dive and it seems like there is a lot of buzz about how employers will not embrace flexibility in a down economy (work life flexibility and the recession core business strategy not an unaffordable perk ). With this global recession, it is anticipated that employers will view flexibility as a “perk” or “accommodation” rather than a business imperative. Some HR and work-life leaders have expressed that they are discouraged to be moving backwards, propelled by an economy where innovative ways of working can not be tolerated. But wait a minute. In an economy where retaining key talent is even more critical and most organizations are trying to do more with less, wouldn’t you want to create organizations with the most productive, motivated, happy and loyal employees? Couldn’t flexibility help with that?

Judi C. Casey, MSW
Principal Investigator and Director,
Sloan Work and Family Research Network
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

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