What Is Workplace Flexibility? 

Flexibility in the workplace is a strategy which responds to changing circumstances and expectations. Workers performing their jobs with a flexible attitude are usually more respected by employers. Likewise, employers fostering a flexible work environment are appealing to workers.

Learn more about flexibility in the workplace, its benefits, and the skills employees and employers use in order to remain flexible.

What Is Workplace Flexibility?

Flexibility in the workplace emphasizes the willingness and ability to adapt to change, especially as regards how and when work is done.

The interests of both employee and employer are met in a versatile place of work. Flexibility in the workforce is also used as a tool for attracting and recruiting workers. Due to increased efficiency, it can also help a company achieve its goals.

Alternate names: Flexible work arrangement, work-life balance

How Does Workplace Flexibility Work?

There are a variety of ways that workplace flexibility can be implemented by workers and employers.

Flexible Employees

Flexibility oriented workers don't say, "It's not my job" or "Do I have to?" when asked to take on a new job. Alternatively, versatile workers alter their approach to tasks based on stakeholder expectations and specific criteria of each case.

A worker's flexibility may be to change the hours they work — coming in early, staying late, or working on an off-day — to suit the company's needs.

Here are some examples of the ways workers can demonstrate flexibility.

• Learning new, sophisticated technologies to improve productivity
• Listening carefully to constructive criticism as part of a performance review
• Offering to cover a colleague's responsibilities while they're ill or on holiday
• Offering additional hours of service at the end of the year
• Pushing aside the job planned for the day to address an emerging question
• Overtime job to help a client reach a deadline

Employees with a flexible attitude keep in mind the company's goals and work towards achieving them, tailoring their efforts to the mission at hand.

Flexible Employers

Flexibility competencies are often important to the management approach to employee handling. Flexible supervisors view workers as individuals and aim to fit specific preferences and needs.

For example, one employee may need more structure in their job duties and another would work better independently. Managers will also have to change the schedules and delegate routine tasks while they concentrate on hitting the goals of the company.

Some examples of workplace flexibility on the part of a manager include:

• Analyzing human subordinate types and expectations
• Praising a good employee's job more often because he/ she expects for a feedback
• Providing parents with the opportunity to attend school programs
• Rewarding subordinates who make suggestions impactful

Flexible Schedules

Flexibility in the workplace may also specifically refer to regular work arrangements that promote work-life balance, as opposed to one-off accommodations for special circumstances. Typically these work arrangements include flexible schedules outside traditional 9-to-5 schedules.

Flextime: Employers with a flextime policy allow their workers to stagger arrival and departure times as necessary.

Telecommuting: Not every employee needs (or wants) to work in an office; telecommuting enables them to work from another location, such as a home office or a coworking room. They may telecommute on a daily basis or during special conditions, such as inclement weather.

Condensed schedules: Instead of a five-day workweek, a condensed schedule fits the same amount of work over a shorter period of time, like three or four days, giving the employee an extra day or two off during the week.