The Traditional Work Model is Broken, So Now What?
When I read the recent New York Times article, “Young People are Going to Save Us All from Office Life,” I had two reactions. First, I thought it clearly outlined why the traditional work model, under disruptive pressure for years, is broken as employers grapple with the next generation’s inherently flexible approach to work and life. […]
Leveling Up Intention in How, When and Where Work is Done
Initially, when I talk to a leader about reimagining how, when and where their people work, they’ll often say, “oh, they already have work flexibility.” They aren’t wrong. According to our 2018 research, 98% of full-time U.S. workers said they had some degree of flexibility in the way they work and manage their lives. What’s missing […]
Beyond 4-Day Workweeks and 5-Hour Workdays: Flexible, Dynamic Guardrails
Last week multiple people have asked me, “What do you think about Microsoft’s 4-Day Workweek.” Whenever this happens, I’m reminded why these stories strike a chord. People respond enthusiastically to this and other “work reimagined” successes, including one in which a German company instituted 5-Hour Workdays, because it’s inspiring to see an organization try something new, even […]
The Floodgates Fear
Recently, I met with a forward-thinking leader who recognized his organization had reached a tipping point. He knew the current approach to flexibility in the way work is done was too random, inconsistent, and organic. It needed to be more coordinated and strategic to address a variety of business challenges, including attracting and retaining the diverse, knowledgeable talent required […]
Delivering on the Promise of Work Flexibility
Recently, I was interviewed for an insightful article in USA Today entitled “More Employers Offer Flexible Hours, but Many Grapple with How to Make It Succeed” reporting the results of a national survey of hiring managers. After that interview, I re-read the recent article in the New York Times, “Young People are Going to Save […]
Open Office Spaces May Be “the Worst,” Now What?
Thank you CBS Sunday Morning’s Faith Salie for your commentary, “An Open Secret: Open Office Plans Are the Worst.” The segment was important because it reported the results of a Harvard Business School study that, because it was released over the summer, didn’t get as much coverage as it should have given what it found–open office workspaces (as currently implemented) don’t achieve the […]
Resolve the Clash Between Flexibility and Traditional Work Practices
Does it feel like the clash between the flexible work expectations of younger employees and your organization’s traditional work practices has escalated? If it does, you are not alone. Even employers on every “best of” work flexibility list face the challenge. Recently, I had lunch with a leader from a “best of” company. At one […]
The Tornado and My Rapid Reset
How prepared are you and your organization to flexibly, and rapidly reset the way work is done in response to an unexpected event (e.g. weather, cyber-attack, transit strike)? I experienced a dramatic and unexpected work+life fit reset on Halloween when an EF1 tornado roared through our New Jersey town in the middle of the night. No one […]
“Flex” Your Business Model to Seize Market Opportunities and Address Challenges
Several segment leaders across different industries made headlines for “flexing” their traditional business models to seize market opportunities and address operating challenges. These nimble businesses reimagined how, when and where work could be done. In the process, they showed that work flexibility is much more than an HR perk, digital app or workspace redesign. Instead these savvy […]
Secrets of the Work+Life Fit “Naturals”
This week, to celebrate “15 Years of Work+Life Fit”, I am sharing one of my favorite excerpts from my book, Tweak It. Where we were: When I wrote Tweak It, I wanted to share what I learned studying the people I call the Work+Life Fit “Naturals”. Individuals who just seemed to take control of how […]
15 Years of Work+Life Fit
A colleague recently surprised me when she said, “Did you know your first book, “Work+Life” came out fifteen years ago?” After recovering from the initial shock of how quickly a decade and a half flew by, I realized this anniversary was an excellent opportunity to do three things: Reflect on where we were back then […]
It’s July 5th. How Many People Need to Be Physically in the Office?
As we get closer to the July 4th holiday, if you are a leader, you will likely face the question, “How many people need to be physically in the office on Friday, July 5th?” Many employees will want to work remotely on Friday from wherever they celebrated the day before. But, for you as the […]
5 Ways Employers Unlock the Strategic Power of Vacation
It’s no secret that employers are waging a talent war. Vacation or paid time off (PTO) can be one of the most powerful tools in an organization’s recruitment and engagement arsenal but is significantly underutilized. That’s according to an article for which The Washington Post recently interviewed me, “The one benefit workers want more than anything […]
Tips to Manage Accessibility and Responsiveness at Work
From the extremes of Millennial/Gen-Z #hustle culture to the pending “Right to Disconnect” legislation in New York City, we continue to grapple with how to set better boundaries around, and within, our jobs. Clocks and walls no longer tell us where work ends, and the other parts of life begin. Back in the day, we didn’t need to be […]
Putting Work Flexibility on the Board’s Radar: Q&A with Eve Tahmincioglu, Executive Editor, Directors & Boards
When Directors & Boards published my article, “Boards Can’t Ignore the Lure of the Flexible Workplace,” it positioned work flexibility as a strategic imperative that board level leaders needed to understand, pay attention to and support. The insight to put work flexibility more clearly on the radar of directors belongs to Eve Tahmincioglu, the Executive […]
Radical Changes in the Way We Work Require a New Approach to Public Policy
At 12 noon today, the 116th United States Congress will convene. This changing-of-the-guard marks a historic opportunity to bring the policy debate related to healthcare, retirement, education, income stability and taxation into the 21st Century and acknowledge radical changes in the way we work. And that doesn’t even include paid family leave, on which I’ve […]
Boards Can’t Ignore the Lure of a Flexible Workplace
“Boards can’t ignore the lure of a flexible workplace.” That’s the headline of an article I authored in the latest issue of Directors & Boards, a quarterly journal dedicated to the topics of leadership and corporate governance. The article’s publication is an important milestone in the evolution of work flexibility from an optional “nice to […]
Building High Performing, Flexible Work Cultures
Grateful to Jen Arnold, host of the Redesigning Wellness podcast, for the opportunity to discuss the important, and too often overlooked, link between wellness and work flexibility. When you encourage and teach people how to leverage work flexibility, they are able to fit all of those important wellness-related activities that companies pay handsomely to promote […]
Strategizing the Flexible Workplace
Traditionally, work flexibility has been the sole domain of HR. But, increasingly, I see Facilities teams in organizations, and the vendors that serve them, initiate the flexible work culture change process because transforming the workspace can be a great opportunity to rethink how, when and where work is done more broadly. Check out the insightful questions […]
Jeff Bezos is Right about Work-Life Balance, But…
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn. “Word! Halleluiah! Amen!” That was my reaction when I heard Jeff Bezos dropped an important truth bomb we all needed to hear—“work-life balance” IS indeed a debilitating phrase. Not necessarily because there is a strict trade-off as Bezos implied, but because balance does not exist! This is an argument I’ve been […]
NEW Research: Discontinue Remote Work and Flexibility, Undercut Productivity and Collaboration Gains
New national research suggests lack of strategy and training is to blame, not the flexibility Flexibility in where, when and how you work – including remote work – leads to innovation, as well as communication, creativity, productivity and engagement, according to new national research from the Flex+Strategy Group (FSG). This is among the key findings […]
Sometimes Remote Work Policies Must Die for Flexible Work Cultures to Thrive
Every time I read a headline like “IBM Ends Remote Work” I do two things. First, I dig deeper to find out what’s really happening. Usually, it’s not that “remote work” is ending. It’s that a specific formal policy has been discontinued or scaled back. In the case of IBM, it was a full-time work-from-home policy. The second thing […]
NYTimes Mag Gets It Right–“Work-Life” a Top Business Trend
This past Sunday, The New York Times Magazine ran a special “Work” issue. We’re honored that the article featured our research and the innovative flexible work culture initiatives of two of our clients, BDO USA and CECP. But, what really matters is that The New York Times got it right: “Work-Life” is a top business trend. […]
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