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Flexible and Predictable Work

We know that children and communities thrive when parents have ample time to spend with their kids. We all want to live in communities in which families have access to good jobs and have the time that they need to care adequately for their children and aging or sick family members.

Workplace flexibility refers to practices that allow workers to schedule their work so that they can still provide for the day-to-day care needs of their children and families. Examples include the ability to work different hours on different days, have a predictable work schedule, work a compressed workweek, take time out of a day to meet with a child's teacher, or telecommute.

What do we have now, and why is it inadequate?

For the most part, our workplaces are structured around the outdated idea that for every person in the workforce, there is - literally - a wife at home taking care of children, aging parents, and the household. Traditional workplace practices, therefore, don't allow for a worker who also needs to take care of a sick child, or meet with a child's teacher, or provide care to an aging parent. But today, only 30% of families have a stay-at-home parent.

While the model is outdated, the need for care is not. Too many of today's workers are not able to rearrange their work schedule so that they can be available for their families during the day.

Fortunately, more and more employers are offering at least some flexibility to their employees.1 However, problems persist:

• Research has shown that lower-level, lower-income families need flexibility even more than high wage earners yet they tend to have less of it.2
• Workers in flexible jobs experience negative consequences in the form of job or career jeopardy.3
• Low-income workers are more likely than higher-earning workers to work irregular and non-daytime shifts.4 They also experience more mandatory, unscheduled overtime, which makes planning for childcare all the more challenging.5
• Lack of flexibility often leads women to quit their jobs and contributes to economic instability that can persist for decades.6

What do we need, and why do we need it?

Workplace practices that work for families, especially low-income ones, can take many forms. At their core is the general principle of allowing workers to schedule their work so that they can still provide for the day-to-day care needs of their children and families. Family-friendly workplace practices fall into two categories:

Flexibility: Examples of flexible workplace practices include the ability to work different hours on different days, work a compressed workweek, take time out of a day meet with a child's teacher and then make up the hours the next day, or telecommute.

Predictability: Predictability of work hours refers to workplace practices that allow workers some degree of control over their work schedule, without fear of reprimand or firing. It is a crucial issue because more and more people are working non-standard hours, often with long shifts and unpredictable hours. Not only do these jobs tend to be low-paying, but the nature of unpredictable shift work poses huge challenges for the care of children. Child care and after-school care are generally only available on fixed, predetermined schedules during the standard work-day and work-week.

Family-friendly workplaces that offer flexibility and predictability are especially crucial for families that do not have a stay-at-home parent who can attend to day-to-day needs as well as the unexpected needs of children and other family members. Family-friendly workplace policies would help these families because they:

• Prevent job loss and keeps people working7
• Have a dramatic impact on educational success8
• Increase people's capacity to provide day-to-day care to family members while also working9
• Increase long-term economic stability10

Employers, also benefit when policies are in place that help people juggle family and work successfully.11 Flexible and predictable workplace policies:

• significantly improve employee retention12
• lead to high levels of loyalty and willingness to work hard13
• reduce unplanned absences from work14
• improve engagement, job satisfaction, and employee well-being.15
• lead to better employee performance16
• keep mothers connected to workforce and thereby improves economic stability.17

Flexibility demands a workplace culture based on shared responsibility and support. While some employers insist that flexibility can not work because of the nature of their jobs, research has shown that the workplace changes that support flexibility also support a more effective workplace generally.18

Are there any current examples of flexible workplaces?

There are workplaces out there that offer at least some flexible workplace policies. One excellent source of information for this is the 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas For Making Work Work from the Families and Work Institute. Its bold ideas are based on the 2008 winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

Small companies (50-99 employees) are the most likely to offer flexibility. Many success stories happen when individual employers realize it's in their own best interest. Often the impetus comes from an individual who has a need, coupled with an open-minded manager.19 Currently, upper-level employees are the most likely to benefit from flexibility policies.20

To learn more:

• Families and Work Institute
• 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas For Making Work Work
• Sloan Work and Family Research Network
• The Motherhood Manifesto by Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
• "Solving the Flexibility Puzzle" by Arthur Emlen