To better compete, companies need to offer customized solutions
If Canadian companies want to attract and retain top talent, they will have to start paying attention to what companies in other countries are offering in terms of flexible work options, according to a work-life balance expert.
“Because of globalization, because of technology, because of the ability and ease to go around the world, we’re not just competing with our traditional competitors for talent, we’re competing globally for talent,” says Nora Spinks, president of Work-Life Harmony Enterprises in Toronto.
Canada currently lags the United States in terms of reduced workweeks and telework, says Spinks. Events such as the San Francisco earthquake in 1989 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made many companies realize the benefits of having employees work from home. Also, U.S. legislation to reduce air pollution prompted many employers to permit employees to work from home to reduce carbon emissions.
However, Canada is ahead of the U.S. in terms of job sharing, she says. But only about five per cent of the workforce works part-time or job share in Canada, says Sharif Khan, vice-president of HR at Microsoft Canada, which is far behind the 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the European workforce.
According to Statistics Canada, employment grew by 2.5 per cent from September 2006 to September 2007, with growth in part-time employment (3.3 per cent) outpacing growth in full-time employment (2.3 per cent).
The push toward more part-time work is becoming apparent in Canada, says Khan.
There are many reasons people want to work part-time or job share, he says. This includes going back to school, a personal preference and caring for children.
Canada’s parental leave coverage, which allows fathers and mothers to take an average of 36 weeks off work (some provinces offer up to 52 weeks) following the birth of a child, has opened up the idea of flexible work arrangements for men, says Spinks.
“In the U.S., it’s pretty much still a women’s issue,” she says.
Since the 1990s, flexible work arrangements have tended to fall into one of five compartments: telework, compressed workweek, reduced workweek, flextime and job share. But going forward, successful companies will offer customized work arrangements, says Spinks.
Instead of choosing only one option, an employee could do a combination of alternative work offerings. A woman could work from home and either do a compressed workweek or a reduced workweek, depending on what suited her needs.
“It’s actually creating what best works for an employee so they can maximize their contribution to a workplace,” she says.
“Customization means that between the employer and the employee, within certain boundaries, there is going to be some room for negotiation about how, where and when work gets done.”
This move toward customization is a global phenomenon driven by two demographic realities, the aging baby boomers and the emergence of generation X and Y in the workplace, says Spinks.
Baby boomers will be looking for more flexibility as they move toward retirement and employers will have to offer them alternative work arrangements, reduced workloads and job share in order to hold on to their knowledge.
The younger generation is entering the workforce with a different set of expectations than previous generations. Whereas their parents were work-centric, most generation X and Y put their personal life first or want to balance work and family, says Spinks.
“The Gen X and Gen Y are coming into the workplace with the expectation that they’re going to be treated as individuals,” she says. They want to be “able to fit their life and their work together comfortably, as opposed to focusing on work and dealing with life after the fact.”
Flexibility isn’t just about appealing to the younger generation, it can also fill a business need, especially in customer-centric organizations that want to be available around the clock, says Khan.
“Flexible work arrangements can actually help a company fulfill its shift requirements,” he says.
With all of the options available to employers and employees, there’s no job or industry where flexibility isn’t an option, says Spinks
The gruelling manual labour required in the Alberta oil patch traditionally made this sector one that was dismissive of flexible work options, she says. Employees were expected to work hard for 30 years and then retire. But the younger generations began asking for something more. They wanted to work for six months and then have six months off, says Spinks.
Initially employers rejected this option, telling employees if they wanted six months off, they would have to quit. So many of them did and after six months they would get another job.
“Employers realized that rehiring or taking employees from other companies was costing them a lot of money,” says Spinks.
Soon employers decided it made more sense to allow employees to take an unpaid six-month sabbatical, with the guarantee they would return to their old jobs. Those employers didn’t have to spend a lot of money recruiting and training new employees, they just had to do a quick reorientation with the returning ones.
“They realized the cost savings, to say nothing of the fact that they’ve established this reputation that you can have a life and work in the oil patch,” says Spinks.
The notion of unpaid leaves or sabbaticals is one Khan predicts will gain popularity among many employers in the next few years as more employees are willing to walk away from a job to fulfil personal goals.
Savvy companies will be looking for ways to ensure they’re the employer of choice when these people return to work, he says.
It’s flex time
Prevalence of flexible work arrangements
Even though many HR experts espouse the benefits of flexible work, there has been little change in the prevalence of employees doing some form of flexible work arrangement from 2001 to 2004, as seen in data from Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Surveys.
Percentage of employees working flexible hours in 2001 versus 2004
Source: Statistics Canada
“Because of globalization, because of technology, because of the ability and ease to go around the world, we’re not just competing with our traditional competitors for talent, we’re competing globally for talent,” says Nora Spinks, president of Work-Life Harmony Enterprises in Toronto.
Canada currently lags the United States in terms of reduced workweeks and telework, says Spinks. Events such as the San Francisco earthquake in 1989 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made many companies realize the benefits of having employees work from home. Also, U.S. legislation to reduce air pollution prompted many employers to permit employees to work from home to reduce carbon emissions.
However, Canada is ahead of the U.S. in terms of job sharing, she says. But only about five per cent of the workforce works part-time or job share in Canada, says Sharif Khan, vice-president of HR at Microsoft Canada, which is far behind the 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the European workforce.
According to Statistics Canada, employment grew by 2.5 per cent from September 2006 to September 2007, with growth in part-time employment (3.3 per cent) outpacing growth in full-time employment (2.3 per cent).
The push toward more part-time work is becoming apparent in Canada, says Khan.
There are many reasons people want to work part-time or job share, he says. This includes going back to school, a personal preference and caring for children.
Canada’s parental leave coverage, which allows fathers and mothers to take an average of 36 weeks off work (some provinces offer up to 52 weeks) following the birth of a child, has opened up the idea of flexible work arrangements for men, says Spinks.
“In the U.S., it’s pretty much still a women’s issue,” she says.
Since the 1990s, flexible work arrangements have tended to fall into one of five compartments: telework, compressed workweek, reduced workweek, flextime and job share. But going forward, successful companies will offer customized work arrangements, says Spinks.
Instead of choosing only one option, an employee could do a combination of alternative work offerings. A woman could work from home and either do a compressed workweek or a reduced workweek, depending on what suited her needs.
“It’s actually creating what best works for an employee so they can maximize their contribution to a workplace,” she says.
“Customization means that between the employer and the employee, within certain boundaries, there is going to be some room for negotiation about how, where and when work gets done.”
This move toward customization is a global phenomenon driven by two demographic realities, the aging baby boomers and the emergence of generation X and Y in the workplace, says Spinks.
Baby boomers will be looking for more flexibility as they move toward retirement and employers will have to offer them alternative work arrangements, reduced workloads and job share in order to hold on to their knowledge.
The younger generation is entering the workforce with a different set of expectations than previous generations. Whereas their parents were work-centric, most generation X and Y put their personal life first or want to balance work and family, says Spinks.
“The Gen X and Gen Y are coming into the workplace with the expectation that they’re going to be treated as individuals,” she says. They want to be “able to fit their life and their work together comfortably, as opposed to focusing on work and dealing with life after the fact.”
Flexibility isn’t just about appealing to the younger generation, it can also fill a business need, especially in customer-centric organizations that want to be available around the clock, says Khan.
“Flexible work arrangements can actually help a company fulfill its shift requirements,” he says.
With all of the options available to employers and employees, there’s no job or industry where flexibility isn’t an option, says Spinks
The gruelling manual labour required in the Alberta oil patch traditionally made this sector one that was dismissive of flexible work options, she says. Employees were expected to work hard for 30 years and then retire. But the younger generations began asking for something more. They wanted to work for six months and then have six months off, says Spinks.
Initially employers rejected this option, telling employees if they wanted six months off, they would have to quit. So many of them did and after six months they would get another job.
“Employers realized that rehiring or taking employees from other companies was costing them a lot of money,” says Spinks.
Soon employers decided it made more sense to allow employees to take an unpaid six-month sabbatical, with the guarantee they would return to their old jobs. Those employers didn’t have to spend a lot of money recruiting and training new employees, they just had to do a quick reorientation with the returning ones.
“They realized the cost savings, to say nothing of the fact that they’ve established this reputation that you can have a life and work in the oil patch,” says Spinks.
The notion of unpaid leaves or sabbaticals is one Khan predicts will gain popularity among many employers in the next few years as more employees are willing to walk away from a job to fulfil personal goals.
Savvy companies will be looking for ways to ensure they’re the employer of choice when these people return to work, he says.
It’s flex time
Prevalence of flexible work arrangements
Even though many HR experts espouse the benefits of flexible work, there has been little change in the prevalence of employees doing some form of flexible work arrangement from 2001 to 2004, as seen in data from Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Surveys.
Percentage of employees working flexible hours in 2001 versus 2004
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Source: Statistics Canada
