Tips

3 Outside-the-Box Ideas to Boost Workplace Flexibility

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Greta Cline, CFO
Greta Cline
Partner, CFO/COO
August 24, 2022
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Many of today’s workers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, want to find a company that places value on work-life balance. In order to boost workplace flexibility, we’ve got three unique tips for employers to help attract new talent. And with the assistance of That’s Good HR, we can promote these features on our job board to find you the best candidates for your open positions.

1. Consider a compressed workweek

A compressed workweek can be a great way to offer a more flexible schedule to your employees. Using a compressed work schedule, workers usually work longer days in order to have a half or full day off once a week. This might look like four 10-hour workdays rather than five eight-hour days. Companies will still see the same number of hours worked by each employee, but employees will enjoy having an extra day off for additional flexibility to run errands, schedule appointments, etc. 

Another similar workweek change is “summer Fridays” or “half-day Fridays.” Said to have started with New York advertising agencies in the 1960s, this practice allows employees to take a half-day off of work each Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or for at least one of the summer months. The practice grew by 43% from 2012 to 2019, with more than half of organizations offering this benefit in 2019. Half-day Fridays have been shown to boost morale, and at least two-thirds of employees who use them report that the practice increases productivity.

2. Set flexible company communication standards

If you are beginning to use a compressed workweek, flexible work schedules, or half-day Fridays, it may be advantageous to set a new company standard for communication. Even without an “official” flexible work schedule, there may be times when someone pulls a late night with overtime. But with a new standard for company communication, coworkers won’t be pressured to reply (or work) outside of their typical hours just because someone else is. 

One way that companies can encourage flexible communication is with Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat. Employees can indicate whether they are fully offline, in flex (near their computer/phone but doing other tasks), or fully available. This will help others know whether to expect an immediate response in the chat or on email, and reduces the pressure for employees to check their email or other communication at all hours. Scheduling emails to send the next day or during regular work hours (especially as someone in leadership) is another great way to reduce the perceived need for an immediate reply.

3. Offer synchronous vacations to boost workplace flexibility

Providing generous paid time off is a good step in the right direction to boost workplace flexibility, but an even better consideration is synchronous vacation. When a whole company closes and its employees are off of work at the same time, it means that the same pressure some people feel to keep working during an individual vacation doesn’t exist. With synchronous vacations, the entire company can return feeling more refreshed, which can improve productivity and employee morale. Many companies use existing holidays to create a synchronous vacation, such as Christmas to New Year’s, or the Fourth of July holiday. 

If you are an employer searching for more ways to boost workplace flexibility at your organization, the client partnership team at That’s Good HR would be happy to help! Reach out to us today so that we can help deliver strategic staffing solutions that work for your company.

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