Employees are placing a high premium on
It’s an ever-evolving conversation, says Suzanne Rohan Jones, a professor in Maryville's bachelor of psychology program. While employers want to help employees take
“Without enough business productivity, you’re not going to have a business,” Jones says. “Employees want the flexibility to get work done on their own time, but they need to frame it in a way of, for me to be the most productive as possible, this is what I need.”
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Employees and employers have struggled with the definition of flexible work during the pandemic, which has been detrimental for both sides. Sixty-five percent of employees say they are working longer hours and on weekends now than pre-pandemic, according to data from SHRM. And employers are dealing with unprecedented labor shortages and resignations as employees look elsewhere for a work environment that works for them.
To bridge this gap, Jones spoke with Employee Benefit News on how employers can shift to a quality versus quantity approach, and why employees may need to adjust their expectations for their work time.
Why is it still so difficult for employees to set boundaries with their work and home time?
I think it’s a natural tendency to think, “If I’m working, I should be doing as many hours, if not more, when I'm away from the office, because if my supervisor or my director can't see that I’m working, I need to make sure that my job is secure.” And when we were initially locked down, people got into the mindset that this was just going to be for a short amount of time, so they thought, let me work around the clock so I can fit in this other time where I’m not purely working.
But that mindset for many employees has really shifted, right?
It's really frowned upon if there is work going on after hours, especially in the last year or so as people put more of a focus on mental health. And employers are realizing that during the great resignation, people are looking for better pastures and it’s been an incentive for them to say, we’re not going to ask you to do work in the off hours. As long as the work is being done, then directors don't need to micromanage their direct reports. They don't need to sit there and count over the number of hours that they're putting in. They need to focus on the quality of work that's being done versus the quantity.
What are some of the challenges that employers have dealt with during this shift? It seems to be a little harder for them to make this transition to quality for quantity.
I think that shifted mindset has been coming for a long time, in terms of looking at quality versus quantity, but some employers are much better at doing it than others, right? But it excites me to see employers realizing that showing respect for employees is a good way to attract and also retain the good employees as well.
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Employers do need to make sure the work gets done, because without enough business productivity, you’re not going to have a business. But it’s important to recognize that you may not get a response if you send an email message at 8:30 at night — it’s OK if there’s not a response until business hours the next day. There also has to be trust that's built, but that’s not something that happens instantaneously.
How can employers and employees begin to build that trust?
As an employee, I think it's important initially to remind the employer of how they can be productive, because it's the employer's main responsibility to make sure that the bottom line is met. So tell them, this is what I’m doing, this is how I work best. Provide documentation to prove that being productive in this way is helpful. The employer can also approach that conversation in the same way. Every three months at a minimum, check in and see what is working well for your employees. Ask them, what can we offer you, how are you feeling about your position?
There has to be the idea of trust and respect and keeping the bottom line in mind before asking for additional demands, on both sides. And I think employees who approach it simply — “this is what I need” — without thinking about how it could affect the organization are going to be missing out, both for their own career opportunities, but also in terms of what will make the best work environment. On the other side, an employer who is able to offer that flexibility will lead to greater trust and respect, which will lead to people wanting to continue to grow with the organization.
What should employees understand about flexibility before they go off searching for a job where they want total control over their work and home hours?
When someone is hired at an organization, they usually have to put in enough effort and sort of prove themselves, no matter what level of the organization they're working from. So I think employees who expect to find that instantly are going to be sorely disappointed. I think they need to realize that they do have to show that they are capable, even if they are fully remote.
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This is not something that works for every type of job out there. I work full-time at an organization that is part of a supply chain business. And if you don't have people in the warehouses, then you can't be productive. There's some work that still has to be done during specific hours of the day. So the idea of trying to be flexible and trying to respect differences in terms of what people are looking at for their mental health and well-being, what works for family, is only going to work for certain types of jobs, too.
