The work flexibility options onsite employees want

Gallup first asked 150 chief human resources officers (CHROs) what types of flexibility options they were considering for onsite employees. The CHROs offered 11 options:

• Work remotely some of the time
• Work at multiple locations
• Four 10-hour-day work weeks
• Three 12-hour-day work weeks
• Flexible start and end times
• Choice over which days they work per week
• Choice over which hours they work per day
• Flextime, or some choice over the hours they work
• Shorter shift lengths
• Increased paid time off or vacation timeRelaxed dress code

Gallup then asked the more than 5,700 fully onsite U.S. employees in their poll about whether their organizations were offering these options and found the three most common responses were:

• Relaxed dress code (55%)
• Flexible start and end times (33%)
• Choice over which hours they work (31%)

Gallup also asked the employees which of the 11 options they would change their jobs in order to get. The two most popular answers were increased paid time off or vacation time (57%) and four-day work weeks (44%).

After controlling for other factors, including income, Harter explains that research from Gallup has found that employees with more vacation time report a higher well-being. However, Gallup has also found that people with engaging work and just one week of vacation reported 25% higher well-being than actively disengaged employees with at least six weeks of vacation.

Meanwhile, Gallup research has found that, among fully onsite employees, those with a four-day workweek reported lower active disengagement and higher overall well-being. According to Harter, this suggests that a four-day workweek could provide some advantages to onsite employees. While it doesn't improve their chances of being engaged at work, it does reduce the chances "that work will be perceived as miserable, which increases the opportunity for thriving," Harter writes.

Flexibility alone isn't the solution

Harter notes that, while perks and benefits can often attract new employees, they don't guarantee high engagement and productivity. These traits are mostly inspired by great managers working closely with employees to set clear goals and priorities, providing frequent and meaningful feedback, focusing on employee development, and building a culture of high accountability.

Leaders can decide on which work flexibility options work best for their onsite employees by involving those employees in thinking about which options could help improve their lives, Harter writes.

"Regardless of whether jobs are done on-site or remotely, it's important that work is individually productive, collaborative, of high value to customers, and improves employees' overall lives," Harter writes. "These outcomes are the ultimate measure of whether flexibility options work." (Harter, Harvard Business Review, 5/29)

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