The hard reality of flex

Overwhelmingly, HR practitioners love the concept of hybrid working. We understand its benefits for our people and organisations. But what are the shadow sides to flexible working, and what can we do about them? Editor Kathy Catton looks at what the New Zealand research is telling us and offers practical suggestions from local experts.

We are all aware of the many benefits of flexible working: the improved participation rates from groups often underrepresented (women, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities). The reduction in commute time for many means people find it easier to manage life’s diverse demands on their time and energy. Employers also know it’s critical for them to be able to attract and retain the right people, because it’s so highly valued by their workforce.

HYBRID IS HERE TO STAY

According to Stats NZ, four out of five employers in Aotearoa New Zealand offer flexible working hours. This number increases to 90 per cent for large businesses (with more than 100 employees). Part-time work was the secondmost popular offer relating to flexible work, and more than two out of five businesses offer their employees the option of working from home.

It’s clearly exploding in popularity and is here to stay. So it’s worth acknowledging the downsides or shadow sides. As Gillian Brookes, flexible working expert and author of Flex Perts: Getting the best from flex in a world that’s ever changing, states, “Perhaps we’re scared to acknowledge the downsides in case something we love gets taken away, as quickly as it arrived”.

One area that’s not currently operating well is on the home front. Hybrid work does have the potential for work–life conflict. A recent study, yet to be published, by the University of Auckland’s Dr Joanne Mutter and Massey University’s Professor Kaye Thorn looks into this idea. What does hybrid do to us at home if two partners are trying to make it work?

OUR STYLE OF WORKING FROM HOME

“Our study involved interviewing 16 hybridworking couples to learn about its impact and how they’re adapting to best manage it,” says Jo, Human Resource Management researcher. “What we found is that there are two types of people when it comes to managing boundaries between work and home.”

At one end of the spectrum are integrators and at the other are segregators. If you’re an integrator, you’ll be coping much better with the blurring of boundaries between work and home, as long as the way you’re managing it is within your control. For example, you’ll be happy answering emails at night and then going to the supermarket during the day.

“For those who have a preference for segregation, it’s much harder,” says Jo. “They like starting work at a certain time in the morning, finishing at a certain time, and switching off from checking their emails after work.”

“It helps to understand where your partner sits on the spectrum because, for example, one woman who was very much a segregator said in her interview, ‘He goes back to work at nights, so I may as well, too.’ But as experienced HR practitioners will know, this isn’t healthy from a work/ life balance, wellbeing, or life satisfaction perspective. The couple needed to talk about how to better manage the situation,” says Jo.

As a result of these differentiators, it is clear that issues need to be resolved, particularly amongst those workers who are pursuing a ‘dual career’, which is defined as people in a romantic partnership where both people are committed to their family and their career.

“What we’ve found is that hybrid couples have to get very disciplined about managing their boundaries and more deliberate about distributing the ‘life admin’ work,” says Jo. “It’s important that couples can plan and structure their flexibility. It would be useful to check in with your partner on what their integrator/ segregator style is and hence how you can both manage your boundaries. Neither is inherently better; it’s about understanding each other.”

WHERE’S THE OFF BUTTON?

Turning off from work was another issue the couples found themselves managing, according to the study. Jo says some people would write themselves a list of tasks for the next day. Others, when they were making dinner, would have an ‘end-of-workday’ catchup. Activities such as leaving the home office in the garage, walking around the block and re-entering the house served as the ‘circuit breaker’ that was once the commute.

“People need to harness these kinds of strategies, or else they won’t turn off. You might think, ‘Oh, I’ve got all this flexibility, so it’s good for my work-life balance, therefore it must be good for my wellbeing’. But if work-life flexibility means that someone is constantly thinking about work, then it’s having the opposite effect.”

As HR practitioners, we need to be aware of these dynamics so we can support employees not just in how they structure their work-from-home but also in how they switch off from work.

As Gillian says, “Just because we can work from home at any time of the day, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. The Flexibility Paradox – Why Flexible Working Leads to (Self-)Exploitation, by Heejung Chung, explores this idea. We don’t always make great choices for our own wellbeing, even when we have genuine choices about our work flexibility.”

Jo agrees, urging organisations to have a policy and protocol that supports employees’ flexibility, by making sure their culture is open to diverse work styles while protecting people’s wellbeing. “I think in New Zealand, it’s not about enforcing when people can and can’t send emails (as is already a legislated right in, for example, France, Italy and Spain, and now in Australia) but more about recognising that although people may send emails at the weekend, because it works for their flexibility, they do not expect a reply.”

Practically speaking, Gillian says, “Have an inclusive approach to when work gets done from home and encourage people to put healthy boundaries in place, so they’re in control about switching off.”

SUPPORTING LEADERS WITH HYBRID

Another area that still needs our attention is how we train our managers and teams to get the most out of hybrid work. As Gillian says, “We haven’t built our fluency at making shared decisions about who will work from where, why, which days and for what purpose. It’s potentially harming our productivity and certainly our collaboration and cohesion.”

Gillian suggests the following three areas of focus for HR professionals to support their managers.

1. Know what type of work to prioritise and from where

Support your people to get clear on what type of work works well when done from home and what work requires more face-to-face interaction.

“Collaborative or complex work often requires people to actually be in the same room together, around a white board, for example, whereas other work that requires more concentrated effort can more easily be done from home,” says Gillian.

2. Make flex work, with the right decisions being made by the right people

It’s crucial to get clear on how decisions are made and what the expectations are around face-to-face meetings. “There’s nothing more annoying than people coming into the office with the specific aim of nutting out crucial work or decisions with others, only to have a team member decide to dial into the meeting,” says Gillian. Get clarity on how decisions are made, whether that’s in-person or via Teams, for example.

3. Use more asynchronistic ways of working

Technology offers many ways for us to communicate and complete tasks. But are we using these methods to maximum benefit? “I think we need to get much more comfortable with voice notes, video content, and other technological resources that then free up more time for other work. These technologies really can improve our productivity,” says Gillian.

WHAT ABOUT FRONTLINE WORKERS?

Another hard reality of flex is that it’s not for everyone. In particular, those in frontline roles have not benefited in the same way. “Those working in our hospitals have kids’ assemblies to attend, tradespeople needed to fix their broken washing machines, dogs to walk and elderly parents to look out for,” says Gillian. “If they don’t have any flexibility, how do they manage those demands? It’s not as easy to do when you compare their experience to a typical hybrid worker.”

Gillian believes these workforces need new ways of working. “If we are to keep up with what our highly mobile workforce can have overseas, then we need to offer flexibility to more people so they can continue to work here, doing the work they’re good at with meaningful choices on offer.”

In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) has flexible work as an important part of its workforce plan and it’s already making progress. Success has also been achieved in the United Kingdom in the construction sector, creating more flexibility for on-site roles while achieving great results, such as almost halving the staff turnover rate and dramatic reductions in sickness absence. These are just some of the possible benefits with no detrimental impact on performance or quality outcomes.

In conclusion, while hybrid working presents significant advantages for employees and employers, it’s crucial we address its inherent challenges. Understanding individual preferences is essential for individuals to be effective. Moreover, supporting managers in decision-making and fostering inclusive workplaces are pivotal for maximising productivity and collaboration. As we navigate this evolving landscape, HR professionals need to proactively address these complexities to ensure sustainable, equitable and supportive work environments for all.

WHAT ABOUT FRONTLINE ROLES AND FLEXIBILTY?

Gillian Brookes works with Timewise, a United Kingdom-based social enterprise that focuses on creating more inclusive workplaces and flexibility in frontline roles. She has been working with New Zealand-based organisations predominantly in the construction and service industries, running focus groups from senior leadership level to on-site workers.

“The conclusion of this work is that people want more input into the hours they have and how they get the job done. They want certainty and they want to have pride in their work. Onsite workers can see the patterns that would lift productivity and want to be involved in the scheduling of that work. This, in turn, would lead to them feeling more valued and that their needs for flexibility are being considered.”

Gillian has recently produced a flexible working guide for Waihanga Ara Rau the Workforce Development Council that focuses on what organisations can do not what they can’t.

“I would encourage HR leaders and managers to pilot different arrangements. Test and learn. And be clear about the conditions for success – not just for the staff but also for the business.”