Data Watch

Executives See Flexible Work Strategies as Having Positive Impact

They Nevertheless Use the Approach in Limited Ways

More than 75 percent of business executives define flexible work strategies as an alternate time or location arrangement, finds a new poll of 150 such industry leaders at Fortune 1000 firms. But a majority of these companies view flexible work strategies not as par for the course, but as a way to accommodate individuals on a case-by-case basis.

Many see flexible work as a nonstandard 40-hour workweek or working from home, reveals this survey conducted by Corporate Voices for Working Families and sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. By a ratio of nearly 9-to-1, respondents report that flexible work strategies have a positive effect on helping organizations reach business goals.

Despite this, many firms provide flexible work arrangements only for limited reasons. Executives report an overwhelmingly positive experience with flexible work strategies, according to the survey; in practice, however, the primary reason their organizations provide flexibility is to help employees achieve a better balance between work and family, these executives say.

Furthermore, executives' innate understanding of what defines flexible work strategies varies. While the largest percentage (45%) define it as pertaining to time, 31% view it as something to do with an employee's location, and another 23% see flexible work arrangements as something other than time or location.

From the standpoint of their organizations, those interviewed say flexible work strategies are not recognized as being the most important contributor to attracting and retaining qualified employees or for being the most effective option for driving business results. Very few of the businesses represented in the survey offer flexible work strategies as a recruiting tool; none view flexibility as a way to save money.