OlmaYoma: How rigid flexible working should be?

Yoma: Olma, how rigid, you think, flexible working should be?

Olma: That sounds like an interesting question, Yoma! Could you please elaborate that a little further?

Yoma: When an organization implements a flexible working arrangement for its members, how rigidly it should define the DOs and DON’Ts of the arrangement and, kind of - if you like, impose those in the space of implementation?

Olma: Ok, thanks for the elaboration, Yoma. That makes it clearer. And, here are my thoughts on that.

More about people than a policy or law 

There should be ideally an arrangement in place, to begin with, whether or not the law of the land necessitates that. The arrangement should, at the minimum, cater to the requirements of the law of the land. However, the arrangement should be, if you like, more people centric than law centric or policy centric.

Driven by needs
And, you know Yoma, I am not a great believer of the work-life balance theory. I continue to very strongly believe that work is very much a part of life. And, one more thing, I believe that flexible working should never ever be imposed. It should always be a case in which a real need triggers the potential utilization of an available flexible working arrangement.

Collective well-being
The well-being of the members and that of the organization are interconnected and interdependent in certain ways. In more cases than not, the members of an organization do well when the organization does well. Because, every organization is more or less a unique composition of its members.

I believe, and it’s of course a very personal opinion, that Flexible Working shouldn’t ideally be looked at by the members of the organization as an entitlement. It should rather be looked at as an arrangement that helps the members help the organization in its sustainability, competitiveness and growth while the members can address different situations in their lives.

Supporting a sustainable win-win
A flexible working arrangement ensures that work is not harder than it needs to be. This arrangement enables the members support the organization while they are able to support their lives under different circumstances.

Good karma pays off
In those organizations where the members utilize the flexible working arrangements particularly responsibly, it further strengthens a culture of trust, attracts even stronger leadership and management support for flexible working, and more resources usually get invested in making flexible working arrangements further convenient and attractive for the members. In that sense, the members very strongly influence how and what type of flexible working arrangements thrive in an organization.

Agility and flexible working
Even though organizational culture has a huge impact on how flexible working works, in many cases, it has been observed that the agile way of working and flexible working coexist really well. Organizations that (1) build projects and products around motivated individuals, (2) give them the environment and support, including flexible working arrangements, they need and (3) trust them to get the job in question done, typically experience sustainable success around flexible working arrangements thanks to a high degree of ownership and self-organization demonstrated by such product and project teams.

Happy till it doesn’t hurt
Every organization should wholeheartedly support flexible working as along as it doesn’t hurt the business of the organization. In fact, every organization stands to only benefit from any responsibly used flexible working arrangement.

How to go about it?
There are a few things the members of an organization could do to ensure that flexible working arrangements within the organization lead to a sustainable win-win situation. The members of the organization should:

• Stay informed that flexible working arrangements are available supported by a specific policy in place.
• Discuss with the Line Manager or Supervisor or Team Leader (as applicable and appropriate) to understand what flexible working arrangements are available in a specific situation.
• Discuss with the team members and arrive at an agreement on what flexible working arrangements can practically be used in a specific situation in the context of the expectations, priorities, deliverable being worked on, nature of work, job role(s) in question, and dependencies etc.
• Acknowledge that one type of flexible working arrangement may not fit all the diverse situations and contexts.
• Appreciate that it’s not useful to compare the different manifestations of flexible working across teams and individuals.
• Understand that if a manager or leader or supervisor does not practice flexible working, it’s not appropriate to assume that the manager or leader or supervisor in question doesn’t support or appreciate flexible working.
• Feel free to seek help, support and information whenever required when it comes to supporting and authorizing or approving flexible working.
• Continuously learn from the experiences around flexible working and share what has been learnt, in the pursuit of continuous improvement and sustained success.

I think, that’s all I wanted to say on this topic, Yoma. And, I hope, it made some sense.

Yoma: Yes, Olma, it definitely did. And, I really appreciate. I am looking forward to seeing you again. Thank you. You take care and have a wonderful evening ahead.

Olma: Thanks Yoma. You too.