Dr Sarah Kieran on why companies that don’t embrace hybrid work are in danger of losing strong employees to companies that do.
KPMG’s 10th annual CEO Outlook survey has shown that globally there is a belief among CEOs that working life has the potential to return to pre-pandemic systems in the next three years, with 90pc of responding leadership in the Republic of Ireland saying so.
By now, many of us will have heard of Amazon’s plans to end remote or flexible working, with a return to the office order to come into effect from 2025 onwards. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has stated that the move is an effort to strengthen Amazon’s culture and teams, but with more and more people favouring jobs that offer less rigid schedules, are companies failing to recognise that flexible working is the new social norm?
For Dr Sarah Kieran, an associate professor of work and employment studies in the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick, businesses that refuse to engage with flexible working will likely have issues attracting and retaining employees in the future.
“Most organisations today offer a range of flexible working practices where they can still meet the needs of the operation,” Kieran told SiliconRepublic.com. “This is not and should not be confined to working from home but also more remote working, part-time options, flexible working times, taking school term time off or compressed working weeks.”
She warned of the potential implications associated with forcing employees back into an office, such as decreased job satisfaction, lower levels of commitment, increased attrition rates, presenteeism and eventually, quiet quitting until that employee finds a more flexible workplace.
What rights do employees have?
As it stands in Ireland and indeed in many countries around the world, employees have a legal right to request remote working options. You have to have at least six months under your belt before the arrangement can come into effect and you will likely work the same hours as you would have in an in-person capacity.
“However, currently this is only a right to request, not a right to be accommodated. While these arrangements have been evidenced to show positive outcomes for all stakeholders – the employee and the organisation – many organisations still disregard this evidence in favour of older, more traditional ‘command and control’ models of management.”
For Kieran, the employee/employer relationship is built on a foundation of mutual trust and when organisations enforce working standards that are in conflict with modern lifestyles, particularly when they fail to acknowledge issues such as commuting times and carer duties, they are in breach of that trust.
“When two partners need to both work, flexible work policies provide families with options to maintain this successfully. Too many women are still exiting the workforce or remaining at lower skilled jobs because of a lack of flexible work policies available to them or their partner.
“Organisations have an important contribution to make to society, work-life balance and the wellbeing of families by offering flexible work policies and making the necessary internal adjustments to ensure a successful transition.”
Maintaining employee wellbeing
Kieran agrees that, when forcibly compelling people back into in-person work, fair and equitable implementation of policy is crucial to avoid mass disruption. However, she would argue that “nothing forced has employee wellbeing in mind”, regardless of how it is approached.
“Enforcing full on-site presence goes against today’s norms so I cannot envisage a climate where it would be well received no matter how well it is implemented. Employees are reasonable, they know when they need to be on-site to do their job,” she said.
Whereas on-site work can have its benefits, for example improved collaboration and culture building, Kieran is of the opinion that employees know when they are capable of working effectively from home, with many finding themselves to be far more productive than if they were to engage fully with in-person work.
“Forcing them in when they can be more effective at home, while also mitigating some of the life challenges mentioned above, will not lead to any positive outcomes for the organisation. They will have lower levels of employee motivation and satisfaction and eventually find it harder to attract and retain their staff.”
Ultimately, for Kieran, progressive organisations understand how flexible and remote working practices are a key aspect of the modern-day workplace. While it may not be an easy transition for organisations to make, a careful approach with significant investment and consideration of employee wellbeing is vital.
In some cases, entire company models may need to be reassessed, but the organisations that make an effort and listen to their employees are the ones who will likely come out on top, ahead of those who don’t.
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