Companies in today’s job market have to work hard to attract and keep top talent. That means not only paying competitive salaries but also providing solid benefits and a favorable work environment. For many, this last part includes flexible hours and the ability to work remotely some or even all of the time.
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Workplace Flexibility in Demand
Workplace flexibility is seen by many as the key to employee retention, and many companies are starting to offer it as part of their official corporate policies.
Still, there are many other companies that are wary of implementing these flexible policies. This hesitation often comes from the fear that employees will abuse them—i.e., work from home means log in to show you’re online and then back to bed for a couple of hours—or that the policies could cause issues if they are offered to some employees and not others.
Regardless of your company’s official policy, however, you may be seeing greater flexibility in practice anyway. We know younger employees—Millennials and Gen Z—in particular, tend to prefer such policies, and Upwork’s third annual “Future Workforce Report” notes that as these younger employees continue to enter management roles, they are using their authority and discretion to support these arrangements.
Millennials Value Flexibility
These younger generations are more willing to allow remote working arrangements, as well as hire more “flexible talent” like freelancers and temporary workers.
Additionally, they are often more comfortable with the kinds of technology that support that ability to work remotely. It’s already estimated that Millennials alone will account for 75% of the global workforce by 2025.
As the younger generations continue to take on more and more authority in management roles, they are likely to continue the trend toward flexibility, even in the absence of an official corporate policy supporting it.