Flexibility fuels workplace retention and productivity

The cliché phrase of "happy wife, happy life" can have a resoundingly positive impact on many marriages. To parallel this is a distinct new phrase circulating in the business world (or, at least, it will be as a consequence of this post). The new mantra, "Happy Employee, Equals Increased Productivity", opens the discussion of the importance of creating positive, grounded and motivated workers. Whilst there's no silver bullet towards creating this culture in a workplace, there is an increasing need for businesses to allow greater flexibility towards employees.

Workplaces can be very interesting eco-climates that exist with the vocational pockets of society. No two are quite the same. There is a uniqueness and fluidity within them all as one cannot determine the exact 'mix' and, consequent, culture that is created once you hire a diverse variety of people. So although there are many facets that are somewhat out of control, like a ninth grade Science experiment with far too many variables, there are factors and values that can be established to enhance a workplace culture. At the top of this list is the need that businesses and employers demonstrate pliability and agency towards their employees. Purposeful diction has been used to highlight this as a 'need'. It has shifted from a 'want' that, previously, employees filtered with and is now a competitive difference that will ultimately make or break which employees (and the quality of them) end up staying on long term in their chosen workplace environment.

It's a given that every business operates within its own context which can directly dictate just how much flexibility can be gifted towards employees. However, this is an excuse that needs to be wrestled with and reconceptualised. Having flexibility in a workplace allows for greater workplace satisfaction and wellbeing, increase in trust and supportive work culture, visibility and sense of autonomy, and (no surprise here) stronger retention of employees.

The average person spends over 90,000 hours of their life at work (Business Insider, 2011). If a sense of agency and autonomy is stripped from this gargantuan number of hours spent working, then you can guarantee that wellbeing and balance is the first pillar of individually to topple. We don't live in Pleasantville and know it's naïve to assume that those will all be positive moments; however, we also don't live in Huxley's 'Brave New World' or Orwell's realm where Big Brother is watching. Businesses must practise flexibility to ensure they are creating a healthy eco-climate where wellbeing and workplace satisfaction is high on the agenda of priorities.

You know that feeling when you haven't seen someone in a while and they instantly ask how's your new dog doing? The recent vacation? That new recipe you were going to try out? Well that feeling is memorable as it creates a feeling of visibility and personal value. One of the most fundamental of all human motives is the need for relational value (Henriques, 2012). In a nutshell, relational value is the extent in which one feels valued by others. By taking away flexibility within a workplace, one is severely damaging the relational value upon which they place with that person. It can harm a sense of trust, support and loyalty. While this can easily be applied and related to intimate relationships, the wider ramifications that it can have on professional relationships are profound. If a boss does not value staff, staff are not going to stick around. End of.

Flexibility and personalised approaches to work result in increased sense of ownership and motivation. When employees have set targets, their own goals to meet and a weekly agenda, allowing them to choose how they manage and structure this illustrates a strong sense of conviction for their job. Micro-management can be one of the most demoralising and harmful ways to structure a workplace. It is the metaphorical whip that slowly strips away the enthusiasm and enjoyment that employees may have once brought to the workplace. It destroys autonomy, creativity and equates to a loss of staff (Wallen, 2015). It's not rocket science that when there is a high turnover of staff, there is an economic crack in the concrete of revenue.

Flexibility looks different to us all. But it's time to make sure we are aware how our actions, support and personalisation within a workplace can drastically alter staff retention, success of a company and longevity within an industry- after all "happy employee, equals increased productivity"