Millennials Lead Desire for Workplace Flexibility

Flexible work options are not the effusive HR conversations saved for moms who need to pick their kids up from school. We are well past that, and members of Generation Y are advancing the dialogue with new fervor as they grow in numbers within the U.S. workforce.

Gen Y comes to the workplace with a different mind-set—yes, just like every generation before it. In particular, they grew up with 24-hour information access and connectivity on the go. Why should work be constrained to 9 to 5 in a single location when it can just as easily and effectively be done on a flexible schedule? As our entire economy shifts from blue-collar manufacturing to white-collar service and technology, our idea of a traditional worday is shifting as well. Because Gen Y doesn’t know any different, they are the early adopters.

Our firm, Mom Corps, just released the results of a national survey on attitudes around workplace flexibility, which we found to be informative on the state of our national workforce. Among them are key findings as they relate to the youngest professionals. By significantly higher percentages than the other age groups, professionals 18 to 34 years old agree with the following:

• I would stay with a company longer if it offered flexible work options. (81 percent)
• Flexibility is one of the most important factors I consider when looking for a new job/deciding what company to work for. (68 percent)
• I plan to look for a new job at an employer who offers flexible work options within the next three years. (55 percent)
• I would be willing to take a pay cut in order to have more flexibility at work. (37 percent)

Specifically on the last point, the 18-to-34 age group is up to three times more likely than older peers to give up more than 10 percent of their salary, even though the unemployment rate for young workers is at its worst since 1948 and the highest among all age groups, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Workplace flexibility can take on many forms, and it doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing scenario. To help ensure effective adoption, organizations should test and implement programs as it makes sense for their particular industry, work structure, and overall company culture. Be completely transparent with your workforce. If you are launching a test, for example, be clear on that fact to avoid disastrous morale issues down the line.

Here are some ideas for implementing flexible work options:

• Ask employees their opinion—you will likely find they aren’t asking for much. Learn what works best for them to accomplish their work goals. Before HR launches into full program development, provide a forum for your teams to discuss and offer suggestions based on their needs and those required of the jobs they do. Lead the dialogue with questions about maintaining high productivity levels, challenges they face with work/life balance, and the best way to work as a team.
• Define regular office hours for both in the office and off site. For off-site days, identify when each team member is available by phone or email. Utilize online calendars to schedule meetings to alleviate some of the back-and-forth. Set core hours when all staff works at the office for a set amount of time on a specific day. This can alleviate some anxiety around flextime for managers who know they can plan around those times to physically see their team.
• Review company compensation models and policies to reflect flexible work options and ensure that employees who participate are not unfairly and inadvertently penalized. Adjust evaluations and performance critiques to acknowledge part-time, job-share, or telecommuting schedules so that these practices do not negatively affect an employee’s career trajectory.
• Don’t just offer the program to employees, encourage it. When you talk about a culture or mind-set shift, no one wants to be the first person taking the leap. Senior leadership and managers need to participate in some capacity, whether they have a need for it or not. It demonstrates that there won’t be an unspoken consequence (or “scarlet F”) associated with those taking advantage of the program.

Workplace flexibility is integral to the fundamental shift in how businesses operate. Here’s the dilemma for organizations not offering at least some element of alternative work options—there are enough companies and other options available to employees today that finding another job matching their lifestyle is no longer an insurmountable obstacle. While still far behind societal shifts in its proliferation, workplace flexibility has the attention of Gen Y—noted to be the largest workforce to date—as they look for a new way to work.

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Allison O’Kelly, a CPA, Harvard MBA and working mother of three boys, is founder and CEO of Mom Corps, a national flexible staffing firm specializing in matching leading companies with high caliber professionals looking for alternative work arrangements. She may be reached at allison@momcorps.com.