1. Flexible Work Arrangements:
A Strategic Business Imperative in Any Economy
February 2009
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Judi C. Casey
Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network
at Boston College

2. Agenda
Why a strategic business imperative?
Definition
Common Current
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Common
Flexible Work
Arrangements
Business
Benefits
Current
Economic
Climate
Resources

3. Why a strategic business imperative?
• Constant change is the norm
• Resilience is a differentiator
• Must be nimble and responsive in any economy
• How individuals, leaders and organizations contribute
• FWA are a strategic business imperative in any economy
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Down Economy
•Alternative to Layoffs
and Rehiring
•No/Low-Cost Strategy
•Support Employees
•Reduce Stress
Up Economy
•Recruitment
•Retention
•Employer of
Choice

4. What are flexible work arrangements?
“Flexible Work Arrangements alter the time and/or place
that work is conducted. FWA provide flexibility in the:
• Scheduling of hours worked and arrangements
regarding overtime, predictable scheduling, and shift
and break schedules;
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and break schedules;
• Amount of hours worked; and
• Place of work.”
Workplace Flexibility 2010

5. What are flexible work arrangements?
“The Sloan National Initiative also
includes in their definition of
workplace flexibility:
• The ability to have career
flexibility with multiple points
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flexibility with multiple points
for entry, exit and reentry into
the workforce; and
• The ability to address
unexpected and ongoing
personal and family needs.”
Workplace Flexibility 2010

6. Common flexible work arrangements
• “Compressed Work Week: A work schedule that condenses one or more
standard workweeks into fewer, longer days. (9/80)
• Flextime: A work schedule with variable starting and ending times, within
limits set by one’s manager. Employees still work the same number of
scheduled hours as they would under a traditional arrangement. (7 am-3pm or
10 am-6pm)
• Job-Sharing: An arrangement in which two or more part-time (or occasional)
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• Job-Sharing: An arrangement in which two or more part-time (or occasional)
employees share the responsibilities of one full-time job at a pro-rated salary.
• Part-time Work: A work schedule that is less than full-time but is at least half
of the regularly scheduled full-time workweek.
• Personal or Family Leaves: A block of time off while retaining one’s job. These
leaves may be paid or unpaid.
• Telecommuting: …regularly work at home or at an alternative worksite during
part or all of a work schedule (in office M/W/F, remote work T/Th).”
MIT

7. FWA Metrics and Statistics
Everyone wants FWA
• Nearly 80% of workers say they would
like to have more flexible work options
and would use them if there were no
negative consequences at work.
Families and Work Institute, 2004
• 79% of companies allow some
employees to use FWA
20%
30%
% of Workforce doing FWA
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• 37% of companies allow all or most
employees to use FWA
(Galinsky, Bond, & Sakai, 2008)
Not for every job or employee
• Must meet business needs
• More common among professional staff
• Must achieve performance expectations
0%
10%
1985 1997 2004
Beers, Thomas. (2000). Flexible schedules and
shift work: replacing the ‘9 to 5’ workday? Monthly
Labor Review 123(6), p. 33.

8. Business benefits of FWA
• Offers a no-cost or low-cost initiative with high ROI
• Impacts ability to recruit and retain
• Reduces unplanned absenteeism
• Enhances reputation as an employer of choice
• Lowers overhead and real estate costs
• Provides greater coverage in a 24/7 global economy
Employer
Benefits
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• Provides greater coverage in a 24/7 global economy
• Increases job satisfaction, loyalty and engagement
• Improves productivity and performance
• Lowers stress and health care costs
• Minimizes the impact of environmental issues
Employer
&
Employee
Benefits

9. Business benefits of FWA: Data
96% report that flexibility influences their
decision to stay at the company; 73% say that
flexibility is “very important” in that decision,
and 23% say that it’s “somewhat important.”
Employees who use flexible work
arrangements scored, on average, 30% lower
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arrangements scored, on average, 30% lower
on stress and burnout.
Bank branches with flexible work
arrangements had retention rates 50% higher
than other branches.
Corporate Voices for Working Families with WFD Consulting

10. Business benefits of FWA: Data
• 73% of employees with high availability of
flexible work arrangements reported that there
was a high likelihood that they would stay with
their current employer for the next year.
Bond, J.T., Thompson, C., Galinsky, E. & Prottas,D. (2003). Highlights of the 2002
national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute.
Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202
• Studies indicate that the availability and use of
flexibility and other work-family policies is
associated with higher commitment, job
satisfaction, loyalty, and lower intention to
turnover.
Kossek, E., Lautsch, B., & Eaton, S. (2006). Telecommuting, control, and boundary
management: Correlates of policy use and practice, job control, and work-family
effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 68(2), 347-367.

11. Business benefits of FWA: Data
• Organizations with higher employee satisfaction report
larger than average annual returns to investors.
“…with respect to flexibility programs that enable workers to work
from home, if the proportion of employees working from home
increases by one percentage point, the firm’s profit rate increases
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increases by one percentage point, the firm’s profit rate increases
by an additional six-tenths of one percent. For the average firm
included in this sample, this equates to a profit increase of
approximately $84 million.”
Meyer, C.S., Mukerjee, S., & Sestero, A. (2001). Work-family benefits: Which ones maximize
profits? Journal of Managerial Issues 13(1), p. 40.

12. General obstacles to implementation
• Nature of work
• Managers perceptions and abilities
• Culture of workplace and how work is done
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• Employee concerns

13. Economic obstacles to implementation
In today’s economic climate, FWA present new challenges:
• Stock market rewards job cuts
─ Creates a culture that reinforces layoffs
• Inflexible systems make it difficult to integrate FWA
• Groundwork not created to integrate FWA within the
organization
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organization
• Not comfortable with FWA as a way to do business

14. Overcoming the obstacles
Effective steps to reduce obstacles at your organization:
• Make managers accountable (raise-dependent) for creating a
work environment where employees can thrive at work/home
• Help managers to measure important business outcomes
• Try a “pilot” program
• Train managers and co-workers about how flexibility can help
them to achieve their business goals
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•
them to achieve their business goals
• Train managers and co-workers about how to implement and
sustain FWA
• Encourage communication about how work will get done and
the “rules of the game”
• Use metrics and evaluation to demonstrate impacts, make
improvements and re-measure

15. Overcoming the economic obstacles
Effective steps to reduce obstacles in current economic climate:
• Examine how FWA could help the organization to achieve
business goals
• Reward performance versus face time
• Ask employees and work teams how they could integrate FWA
into their jobs/teams
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into their jobs/teams
• Offer FWA as a way to support employees and provide relief
from heavy workloads and stress
• Remember: even if there have already been layoffs, it’s never to
late to embrace FWA

16. Best practices and examples
KPMG UK, German and Swiss firms: Flexible Futures.
Asked staff to volunteer to work either a four-day week
with a proportionate pay cut or take a sabbatical for up to
three months.
“We learnt some painful lessons from the last downturn when we
made redundancies and lost some real talent. When the upturn
Goal: Reduce workforce costs without severing ties to employees
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made redundancies and lost some real talent. When the upturn
came, we were not positioned as well as we could be. So this time
the challenge was clear. Could we create sufficient flexibility in our
cost base that would allow us to react quickly to future events while
retaining our people for the moment the market picks up?”
People Management
Dell asked employees to take up to 5 days off without pay
during the next 3 months. Although the leave is not
mandatory, the company has indicated that layoffs may
be necessary if not enough workers participate in this
reduction of hours/pay.

17. Best practices and examples
FedEx cut salaries of senior executives and
salaried-exempt employees by 5 to 20%, a $600
million savings.
Brandeis University requested that faculty
members give up 1% of their salary, and 30%
have volunteered.
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have volunteered.
Cisco ordered a four-day year-end shutdown.
Instead of a severance package, Cisco Systems
offered the 8,500 employees it laid off in April, a
third of their salaries, all benefits, and stock-
option awards while working for one year at a
not-for-profit group already associated with the
company.

18. Best practices and examples
In Atlanta, an expected budget shortfall of $60
million meant that 4,600 city employees had
their weekly hours and pay cut by 10%.
During their layoffs, founder Charles Schwab
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During their layoffs, founder Charles Schwab
and his wife created a $10 million educational
fund for these workers. The fund covers as
much as $20,000 worth of tuition over two
years at accredited academic institutions for
re-training and new skill development.

19. Best practices and examples
• Megavolt (Springfield, MO) moved to a "shared work program" of three
10-hour days a week. While workers keep their jobs, the lost 10 hours
each week is enough for them to be eligible for state unemployment
benefits in Missouri.
• In 1984, the Maryland General Assembly established the Work Sharing
Unemployment Insurance Program. This voluntary program provides
employers with an alternative to layoffs. The principle behind Work
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Unemployment Insurance Program. This voluntary program provides
employers with an alternative to layoffs. The principle behind Work
Sharing is simple; instead of laying off a percentage of the work force to
cut costs, an employer can reduce workers' hours by the same percentage
and keep the entire work force on the job.
• 16 states allow workers with reduced schedules to collect unemployment

20. One last thing
Carefully consider the impact of your recession driven
strategies on employee morale, productivity and
loyalty in the long run.
“So, as recession-inspired actions
cross your desk, be sure to
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cross your desk, be sure to
evaluate them not only for their
bottom line impact today, but also
know their impact on your
employees and their level of
engagement for tomorrow.”
Allbusiness.com

21. Conclusion
• FWA can help you to achieve
your business goals
• FWA offer a wide range of
business benefits
• FWA provide an alternative
Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202
• FWA provide an alternative
to layoffs
• Research data documents
the significant ROI of FWA
• Obstacles exist but can be
overcome

22. Conclusion
• FWA can help you to achieve your business goals
• FWA offer a wide range of business benefits
• FWA provide an alternative to layoffs
• Research data documents the significant ROI of FWA
Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202
• Obstacles exist but can be overcome

23. Resources
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http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/template.php?name=shrm

24. Resources
1. Articles
• As Layoffs Spread, Innovative Alternatives May Soften the Blow
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2106
• Alternatives to Layoffs
http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/LayoffAlternate.htm
2. Free monthly newsletter on work-family issues from the Sloan Network
Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202
2. Free monthly newsletter on work-family issues from the Sloan Network
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/join_form.php
3. The Sloan Network Work and Family blog
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/blog/

25. Need more information?
Questions?
Online: www.bc.edu/wfnetwork E-mail: wfnetwork@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1708 Fax: 617-552-9202
Contact: Judi C. Casey, Director
617-552-2866
caseyjt@bc.edu
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu