1. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in
the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements
January 10, 2013

2. Introduction
• This is part two of a series of SHRM surveys examining the state of employee benefits in the
workplace.
• The following topics are included in this six-part series:
Part 1: Wellness initiatives
Part 2: Flexible work arrangements
Part 3: Health care
Part 4: Leveraging benefits to retain employees
Part 5: Leveraging benefits to recruit employees
Part 6: Communicating benefits
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 2

3. Definition
• For the purpose of this survey, flexible work arrangements may include full- or part-time
telecommuting, flexible scheduling, compressed workweek, etc.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 3

4. Key Findings
• Do organizations offer flexible work arrangements to their employees? Approximately
one-half (53%) of organizations provide their employees with the option to use flexible
work arrangements. Among organizations that offer flexible work arrangements, only
one-third (34%) reported the majority of their employees were allowed to take
advantage of this benefit.
• In 2011, did employee participation in flexible work arrangements increase?
Yes, approximately one-third (36%) reported employee participation increased since
2010; 58% indicated employee participation remained the same; and only 6% reported
participation decreased.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 4

5. Does your organization provide employees with the option to
use flexible work arrangements?
Yes 53%
No 47%
Note: n = 414. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 5

6. Are the majority (more than half) of employees at your organization
allowed to use flexible work arrangements?
Yes 34%
No 66%
Note: n = 210. Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question.
Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 6

7. In 2011, did employee participation in your organization’s
flexible work arrangements increase, decrease or remain the
same when compared with 2010?
Increased in
2011 36%
Decreased
6%
in 2011
Remained
the same in 58%
2011
Note: n = 192. Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question.
Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 7

8. Does your organization monitor participation rates for the
flexible work arrangements it offers?
Yes 38%
No 62%
Note: n = 198. Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question.
Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 8

9. Organization Demographics
9

10. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
1 to 99
23%
employees
100 to 499
employees 39%
500 to 2,499 22%
employees
2,500 to
24,999 13%
employees
25,000 or
more 3%
employees
n = 447
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 10

11. Demographics: Organization Profit Sector
Privately
owned for- 51%
profit
Nonprofit
organization 22%
Publicly
owned for- 19%
profit
Government
agency 8%
n = 440
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 11

12. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Health care and social assistance 19%
Manufacturing 19%
Professional, scientific and technical services 17%
Finance and insurance 11%
Government agencies 9%
Educational services 7%
Retail trade 5%
Accommodation and food services 4%
Construction 4%
Information 4%
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 4%
Transportation and warehousing 4%
Whole trade 4%
Administrative support and waste management and remediation services 3%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%
Repair and maintenance 3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%
Mining 2%
Real estate and rental and leasing 2%
Utilities 2%
Personal and laundry services 1%
Note: n = 447. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 12

13. Demographics: Other
Does your organization have U.S.- Is your organization a single-unit organization or
based operations (business units) a multi-unit organization?
only, or does it operate Single-unit organization: An organization in which
multinationally? the location and the organization are one and 39%
U.S.-based operations only 77% the same.
Multinational operations 23% Multi-unit organization: An organization that has
61%
more than one location.
n = 447 n = 447
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and
What is the HR department/function for practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters,
which you responded throughout this by each work location or by both?
survey?
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
62%
and practices.
Corporate (company-wide) 75%
Each work location determines HR policies and
Business unit/division 13% 5%
practices.
Facility/location 12% A combination of both the work location and the
multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies 34%
n = 286
and practices.
Note: n = 286. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 13

14. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in
the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements
Survey Methodology
• Response rate = 12%
• 447 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s
membership participated in this survey
• Margin of error +/- 4%
• Survey fielded March 1, 2012 to April 6, 2012
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 14

15. About SHRM Research
• For more survey/poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys
• For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit
www.shrm.org/customizedresearch
• Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research
Project leaders:
Shawn Fegley, SPHR, survey research analyst, SHRM Research
Christina Lee, intern, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Mark Schmit, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research
Evren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM 2012 15