Employers embracing flex-work options — to a point: Study
Given the pressure employees are putting on their employers to provide a little more freedom in how everyday work is performed, it looks like more and more companies are offering workers some sort of flexible job arrangements.
That’s the indication from the recently released report conducted by Families and Work Institute (FWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
A couple of trends jump out immediately: The percentage of employees allowed to work remotely occasionally (telecommuting), saw an increase to 67% from 50% percent in 2008, and control over overtime rose to 45% from 27% over that period.
There were some areas where flexibility levels dropped, however. Provisions allowing extended time away from work largely saw declines, including practices such as job-sharing, down to 18%from 29%, and career breaks for personal and family responsibilities were down to 52% from 64%.
Here are some additional highlights of the 2014 National Study of Employers:
The most common forms of flexibility are control over taking breaks, time off for important family and personal needs, and flex time.
- Of the 18 options for working flexibly considered in the report, employers with 50 or more employees most frequently allow at least some groups of workers to have control over when they take breaks (92%), take time off for important family and personal needs without loss of pay (82%), and periodically change their starting and quitting times within some range of hours (81%). They are next most likely to allow at least some groups of employees to return to work gradually after leaves for childbirth and adoption (74%) and occasionally work some of their regular paid hours at home (67%).
- On the other hand, the least common forms of flexibility offered to at least some employees are working part year (18%), receiving special consideration when returning after an extended career break (20%), taking sabbaticals (28%) and sharing jobs (29%).
Small employers are leaders in providing flexibility.
- In 2014, small employers are more likely than large employers to allow employees to change starting and quitting times within some range of hours (33% small and 20% large employers), work some regular paid hours at home occasionally (11% small and 4% large employers), have control over when to take breaks (66% small and 52% large employers), return to work gradually after childbirth or adoption (53% small and 37% large employers), and take time off during the workday to attend to important family or personal needs without loss of pay (52% small and 36% large employers).
As the economy recovers, small employers may once again be assuming the lead in the provision of workplace flexibility.
Flexibility for full-time employees over where and when they work is rising.
Overall, the report observed two broad trends in the provision of flexible work options from 2008 to 2014.
- Employers have continued to increase their provision of options that allow at least some employees to better manage the times and places in which they work. These include occasional flex place (from 50% to 67%); control over breaks (from 84% to 92%); control over overtime hours (from 27% to 45%) and time off during the workday when important needs arise (from 73% to 82%).
- Flexibility that involves time away from full-time work is declining. Employers have reduced their provision of options that involve employees spending significant amounts of time away from full-time work. These include sharing jobs (29% to 18%); working part year on an annual basis (27% to 18%); and flex career options such as sabbaticals (38% to 28%) and career breaks for personal or family responsibilities (from 64% to 52%).
12 weeks of leave for many categories of employees continues to become the norm.
When the researchers compared the provision of caregiving leaves in 2008 and 2014 among all employers (those that report they meet the requirements for coverage for the FMLA and those that report they don’t), they found that more employers are now offering at least 12 weeks of leave for:
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