Knowledge Workers Aren’t the Only Ones Who Want Flexibility

Image credit: iStockphoto/YakobchukOlena

Employees could soon head for the door if you deny them flexibility over where, when, and how they work, as well as what they work on and who they work with. It’s easy to think that mostly means you’re at risk of losing “knowledge workers” — which Gartner defines as those whose jobs involve handling or using information — but data shows they aren’t the only employees who want flexibility.

The Gartner 2021 EVP Employee Survey of 5,000 employees and 77 HR leaders revealed that nearly half of employees who are not knowledge workers want their organization to provide them with greater control over when, where, and how much they work. Right now, less than a third of this group reports having flexibility in any area of their work.

The desire for flexibility in work isn’t only important for white-collar workers. It’s also important for workers whose jobs don’t meet that description, such as retail employees, on-site essential personnel, or IT field technicians. Successful organizations in today’s volatile labor market will attract and retain talent by providing more choices, embracing radical flexibility, and adjusting their understanding of flexible work to align with employee priorities.

Call center employees, for instance, could be given objectives (tasks and outcomes) but offered flexibility over the number of days they have to accomplish their goals and the team of employees available to contribute. This is a big shift from focusing solely on assigning work within rigid schedules and at specific locations.

HR leaders can facilitate manager and employee conversations about flexibility by equipping managers with questions about the type of work styles that meet business objectives and how these can be adjusted to support more flexibility.

2. Determine the activities within roles that can be flexed

Even when roles seem to offer no room for flexibility, ask whether activities within a role can be flexible. This approach can surface hidden opportunities to provide employees with the wiggle room and autonomy they’re hoping for, and it improves the employee value proposition overall.

HR leaders can help managers map out employees’ activities for flexible work options. For example, while the role of IT and tech support might be considered inflexible due to the need to be on call, some tasks, like answering queries can still be done successfully under more flexible work arrangements.

3. Source manager-tested best practices

Traditionally, most organizations lean on HR leaders to identify solutions to improve flexible work environments. However, HR leaders’ direct reports and associates are typically knowledge employees who lack firsthand experience managing non-knowledge workers.

HR leaders must leverage insights from frontline managers to further understand best practices that work in the context of their employees’ real experiences. Also, take note of which managers are outperforming to uncover flexible work options already being unofficially piloted within the organization.

4. Work with cross-functional partners

Enact cross-functional tiger teams to better understand how to extend flexibility to all employees. This approach allows HR and business leaders to share wisdom, expertise, and understanding of the opportunities, and it drives organizational alignment and collaboration.

Leading organizations can improve performance by providing flexibility on all aspects of their work and recognizing their workforce is composed of people, not just employees.

The original article by Emily Strother, Gartner's senior principal for research, is here.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of DigitalWorkforceTrends. Image credit: iStockphoto/YakobchukOlena