The more we have, the more we want

“We’re all doing flexible work anyway now, aren’t we?”

This is a direct quote from a manager I was talking to about flexibility. My response to her (perhaps rhetoric) question?

Yes and no.

The appetite for flexibility is far from sated for most people, despite the fact that we are more flexible than ever before.

The more we have, the more we want.

Massey University published some research recently to show that two-thirds of us kiwis are looking for even more flexibility, even though we acknowledge how much things have changed compared to pre-pandemic times. 

The main driver for most of us is our personal wellbeing. We want more choices about how work fits into our lives, which is no surprise when you take a peek at our burnout risk. It’s not that we don’t care about our work anymore, we just want to change the way we engage with it.

Another flex factor pushing some of us beyond our comfort zone, is the recent success story of Unilever’s four day week trial here in New Zealand. The reduced work hours resulted in strong financial performance for the company while simultaneously lowering stress levels and work-life conflict for employees. The trial is now heading across the ditch to Australia, gaining momentum and interest as it grows. 

How do we respond to this apparently insatiable appetite for flexibility? 

We can choose to draw a line and say, “enough is enough”. The risk with that is within a short few years we will have lost our people to the leaders that had a different perspective.

If this makes you a little uncomfortable, you’re not alone.  The pace of change in how we work has accelerated dramatically and it’s tough to keep up, especially when there’s no respite likely for some time to come.

Here is something you can do. Try exploring these questions, designed to help keep you and your team moving:

• What could be next for us when it comes to flexibility?

• What have we said no to in the past that we could revisit?

• What would it take to create more flex opportunities for people? 

  • Can we adjust the design of some roles to give people more flex options?

  • Can we upgrade some of our systems so more work can be delivered online?

  • How can we give our operational teams more choice over their hours, days and place of work?