Frontline flex: it’s about time!
Our workforce is divided. We have an almost straight 50/50 split in New Zealand and many similar economies between those who are able to work from home, at least some of the time, versus those who cannot. We have a workforce of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.
Over recent years, more and more people have had access to greater flexibility, while those in frontline roles have not benefited in the same way. Yet, life’s demands on people’s time and energy do not neatly fit around the nature of their work. Those working in our hospitals have kids’ assemblies to attend, trades people needed to fix their broken washing machines, dogs to walk and elderly parents to look out for. 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.
One senior leader I spoke to recently told me that the split in their workforce between frontline and others was actually holding back flexibility for everyone. Because their frontline had little to no flexibility, the senior leadership team had deliberately minimised the flexible work options available to everyone, purely because they don’t want to create an ‘us and them’ culture. While this is a pragmatic and understandable approach for unity’s sake, holding back flexible choices is like trying to hold back a rising tide. You might manage it in the short term, but it’s not a long term strategy. Ultimately, people deeply value flexibility, which has been measured at around eight percent of their pay. People will often move to a new job, for no additional pay, and value that job more, if it gives them the flexibility they’re looking for.
It's time for us to turn our attention to creating more flexibility in our frontline. The industries that need this most are the health and construction sectors. They need it and we need them. We all depend on these critical sectors for our own health and wellbeing, whether it's directly through medical care, or indirectly through building and maintaining the healthy homes and public buildings we so desperately need.
These workforces need new ways of working, which are already making progress overseas. If we are to keep up with what our highly mobile workforce can have elsewhere, 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 UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has flexible work as an important part of its workforce plan and they’re already making progress. There has also been success in the UK 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 benefits possible with no detrimental impact on performance or quality outcomes.
For a couple of years now, I’ve been looking for a compelling way to create more flexibility in our frontline, which is why I am so excited to be in partnership with Timewise, as their lead for Australia and New Zealand. Timewise have almost two decades of experience in the UK, predominantly focused on creating flexibility in frontline roles, where it’s hardest to achieve. They've worked in sectors such as health, construction, retail, transport and education. I’m so excited about bringing their knowledge and experience right into the heart of our frontline workforce too, complementing what I already offer with my Flexperts work.
I can now offer organisations across the Tasman this all-important frontline flex capability and I’ve already begun. If you need some expert support from me and the Timewise team to create more choice for your frontline workforce, so you no longer have the stark contrast between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, get in touch.
This 50/50 split, dividing our workforce is unsustainable. It’s bad for business, bad for productivity and bad for sustaining a healthy workforce. There is so much more we can do to enable more choices for more people, regardless of where their skills lie and the nature of their work. Let’s turn our attention to frontline flexibility and lead for a better future of work. It’s about time!