Work Flexibility As A Reward?

In a recent publication of Time Magazine, there was an interesting article about workplace flexibility.  A statistic (not in the online version) from the Georgetown University Law Center states that 80% of employees would want work flexibility if it didn’t harm their careers.  I wonder if some companies are missing a key reward element here.  The article focuses on Deloitte and their eschewing of the traditional career ladder for a career lattice.  This idea of being able to work more or less at different stages in life; and the permission to explore different options without injuring long-term career aspirations is a very intriguing one.  It made me wonder if flexibility could be better leveraged as a reward?
 
As a mother of two young children, one of the things that I value most in my job is the ability to telecommute two days per week.  I am a firm believer (and have it written into the Flexible Work Approach policy that I created) that telecommuting should not take the place of daycare.  So my children are still at school and/or daycare on those days, but the difference is that we walk to and from school rather than riding in the car.  Something about the fresh air elicits an actual response, rather than just a shrug and mumbled “fine” when I ask about the day.  Although this was never presented to me as a reward, I did earn the ability to work from home by proving myself over the years.

Most of us have heard of the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) that got its start at Best Buy.  I had an opportunity once at a conference to hear Jody Thompson talk about the success of ROWE at Best Buy.  An analyst had just given a figure about how much above the median companies had to pay to prevent staff from leaving for a competitor (obviously when the job market was a bit stronger!).  Jody chimed in and said that they’ve found that by offering ROWE, no amount of money could entice their top performers to jump ship, and productivity had skyrocketed.  So flexibility also provides benefits to the employer in both commitment and results.  Could this be an option to reward our employees in the future?  Could our top performers be given flexibility in when, how, and what work they do as a reward for performance?  What do our readers think?  Chime in with your thoughts in the comments.

Darcy Dees works as the Compensation Manager for Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc., headquartered in Louisville, CO.  She has been working in Compensation for over 5 years now and recently attained her Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation.  She spends what little free time she has hiking and reading.

Creative Commons Image:  Aerial Flexibility by ScottieT812

Comments

[Productivity Guy]

Hey Darcy, good article. I definitely agree with you that flex work can be a reward. There are some good case studies backing this up in this article, about cutting costs and increasing productivity through telework: http://www.i4cp.com/trendwatchers/2009/03/06/can-telework-cut-costs-and-raise-productivity-in-todays-economy

I have some semi-recent survey results if you want them - just shoot me an email.

Erik

[working girl]

Absolutely. I commented on an earlier post that as a working mom, I earn a bit less than my colleagues in exchange for more flexibility. Everyone wins - I get time with my kids, the company incurs lower costs for me but still gets the work, not to mention my loyalty. It's a no brainer, not to mention being very environmental.