I recently had the opportunity to review a study performed in May, 1996 on the flexible workplace performed by the Halifax YWCA, The Maritime Life Assurance Company and the Status of Women Canada.
The study is an analysis of Maritime Life Assurance Company which has been using flexible workplace strategies for the past 15 years. The goal of the study was to examine the environment of an organization that has successfully implemented these concepts to raise awareness of the mutual benefits of a flexible workplace, both for improved corporate competitiveness and for improved employee well-being.
The study was performed by sending surveys to 212 of the 550 Maritime Life head office employees. The findings are based on the return of 111 surveys (52%) which makes the results statistically significant.
Almost 78% of the respondents share a dual full-time income household so balancing work and family is a major issue. There is a high level of employee satisfaction and 81% of the employees feel that Maritime Life is doing a good job overall in accommodating the needs of employees with multiple responsibilities.
There are a broad range of flexible work options available to employees. Flextime is used by almost all employees (98%) followed by maternity/paternity leave by 36%, telework by 21%, compressed work week by 19% and on-site child care by 12% (these percentages do not add up to 100% since employees can utilize more than one). Other options such as part-time, job sharing, leave without pay, etc. are used by less than 10% of the employees. The employees were asked about the future (next five years)uses of flexible arrangements. In almost all cases the percentages were increased. The most significant increases were for telework (49%) and compressed work week (41%).
The study confirmed some information which is already widely known. It confirmed that women carry more responsibility for household work than men. It was, however, interesting to note that men are much more likely to take on educational courses outside of work (72% of males versus 30% of females).
The majority of respondents (78%) find it challenging/very challenging to balance their multiple responsibilities. This challenge is not limited to only employees with families but also to those without dependents (67% of which find it challenging/very challenging to balance their multiple responsibilities).
Questions were asked about the balance or work, family, community and education, time for family, stress/anxiety level, amount of time for self and level of leisure activity. The results were somewhat predictable in that there were still large percentages of employees who were dissatisfied. To Maritime Life's credit, the percentages in this area appeared to be lower than those that you would expect in an organization that did not offer flexible working arrangements. However, the data in this area did show an interesting trend. The managers where, in most categories, more negative about the balance and conflict questions than the employees. Further reading of the study shows that many of the arrangements are not available to managers so they are not as satisfied as their employees with the flexible work options.
Employees were asked about how flexible work options impacted corporate performance. 89% of the respondents stated that the primary business benefit was to enhance the organization's ability to attract and retain talented employees.
The study also showed that the typical concerns about flexible work options even exist at a company like Maritime Life which is considered a leader in this area. For example, 51% agreed/strongly agreed that they worry about job security when requesting a formal alternative work arrangement. They also were worried about not being considered for promotions and advancement (44%).
The study shows that even industry leaders must continue to work on implementing their alternative work arrangement programs. The key message I received from this study was the importance of having managers and executives using the flexible arrangements. It is not appropriate to offer these arrangements for staff based on what you believe to be solid business justification if you are not prepared to implement the same concepts at the management and executive level.
CONTACT
Dawn Rae Downton
Executive Director
Halifax YWCA
Phone: (902) 423-6162
Fax: (902) 423-7761
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