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Overextended Workers Find Relief in Workplace Flexibility
Workplace Options’ Survey Shows Employees Enjoy Flexibility, but Don’t Expect the Government to Mandate it in the Workplace
Contact:
Christine Hall
chall@capstrat.com
919-882-1998
18 May 2010 – Raleigh – Many factors lend themselves to a healthy work-life balance, and the results of a recent poll of American workers indicate that workplace flexibility is a much appreciated benefit. A recent survey commissioned by Workplace Options found that while 83 percent of workers feel they have achieved a healthy work-life balance, there is still room for improvement.
The tendency to juggle many things in life: personal happiness and well being, family needs and our jobs, is a constant struggle for many workers. And almost two-thirds of survey respondents (63 percent) said that all were equally important in terms of priority. While many occupations must adhere to a stricter nine-to-five schedule, the opportunities for flexibility in work hours and time away from work to take care of personal needs have become more mainstream.
"In recent weeks, President Obama’s administration has made a push toward more flexible workplaces – something that highlights our desire to not only work hard, but maintain a healthy work-life balance," said Dean Debnam, CEO of Workplace Options. "Although people may disagree on the government’s role in maintaining that work-life balance, I think we call all agree that anything that can be done to ease the stresses of life is a worthwhile endeavor."
An interesting observation from the poll is that although flexibility is a welcomed benefit to workers, more Americans (48 percent) feel that they themselves are responsible for their own work-life balance. They do not place that responsibility on the organization for which they work (17 percent), the organization’s industry association or union (8 percent) or even the government (6 percent).
And although one of every five workers (21 percent) were still undecided on whether or not the government should set minimum standards for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave, nearly half (48 percent) said the government should not.
Since 69 percent of workers would have more loyalty to their employers if they offered greater flexibility in managing time and schedules, employers can capitalize on this opportunity to provide such a benefit to employees while gaining their trust and improving morale.
On the list of benefits desired by employees is the ability to telecommute in order to do work from home when needed. A staggering 86 percent of workers said they would take advantage of that benefit if offered by their companies, however for many that is not an option. And it is clear why that benefit may not be more standard – 62 percent of workers polled did not feel they could either effectively do their jobs via telecommuting or were unsure whether or not telecommuting would allow them to effectively do their jobs.
"With continuous advancements in technology it may soon be possible for more and more organizations to allow workers the opportunity to work remotely, as opposed to physically being at the office," said Alan King, president and COO of Workplace Options. "Employees may end up needing to take less time off to tend to personal matters if they are occasionally allowed to work from home – and that leads to increased productivity and less time lost for the company."
Something employers can consider in the meantime when it comes to offering more flexibility to workers is the option of Personal Time Off (PTO) in lieu of the traditionally allocated time for either vacation or sick days. PTO, offered as a bank of personal time employees accrue throughout the year, offers flexibility in taking time to run personal errands, attend doctors’ appointments or even see a special event at their child’s school. Nearly half of workers (43 percent) either do not currently receive this benefit or are unaware of it.
The national survey was conducted by the North Carolina firm of Public Policy Polling, April 9-11, 2010. The survey polled 997 working Americans and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent. Full survey results can be viewed at www.workplaceoptions.com/polls.asp.
About Workplace Options
Workplace Options helps employees balance their work, family and personal life in order to make their lives healthier, easier and more productive. The company's world-class employee support and work-life services provide information, resources, referrals and consultation on a variety of issues ranging from dependent care, legal and financial issues to stress management and wellness.
Drawing from an international network of credentialed providers and professionals, Workplace Options is the world's largest integrated employee support services and work-life provider. Service centers in Raleigh. N.C., London, Toronto and Dublin support more than 32 million employees in 20,000 organizations, across 170 countries. To learn more, visit www.workplaceoptions.com.
© 2012 Workplace Options, Inc. All rights reserved.
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