Workplace flexibility is a big focus for many companies as we move towards more modern workplaces. Employees have a huge desire for flexibility, and many organizations are focused on giving it to them. We live in a hyperconnected global world where work-life balance has been obliterated and replaced by work-life integration. This means we take our personal lives to work and our work lives home. To continue to work in this type of environment, we have to abandon the notion of the 9 to 5 workday and instead shift toward allowing employees to work anytime from locations of their choosing whenever possible. Granted, this type of work environment is not suited for or available for every type of role, such as manufacturing. Still, employees should have as much flexibility and choice as possible.
Consider the following statistics from Global Workplace Analytics:
• Half of the U.S. workforce has jobs in which at least partial telework is possible, and one-quarter to one-fifth of the workforce works remotely with some frequency.
• 80%-90% of U.S. employees would like to telework part time at minimum. Two or three days per week appears to be the right amount, allowing enough time for on-site collaborate work and off-site concentrative work.
• Because studies show employees are away from their desk as much as 60% of their workdays, Fortune 1000 companies worldwide are entirely redesigning their spaces.