Balancing Employees' Flexible Work Expectations with Productivity Goals

31 July 2023 / Report

As companies pursue their business and productivity goals, they are actively exploring strategies to keep employees satisfied in a competitive labor market. These strategies include implementing hybrid and remote work options, and even experimenting with pilots of a four-day workweek. However, in addition to prioritizing employee happiness, companies need to identify work models that effectively foster innovation, creativity, efficiency, and value creation. It is essential to strike a balance between promoting employee satisfaction/ engagement and achieving broader organizational objectives. Our latest Multicultural Consumer Survey of 2,000 US people, including workers in a range of professions, highlights some emerging trends.

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Most respondents believe that fully remote work is best for their own productivity but that a hybrid model best supports their company’s productivity. To address any concerns about reduced flexibility, organizations can emphasize the advantages of working on-site, such as increased networking opportunities, relationship building, collaboration, and personal growth.
Employees under age 35 were most likely (43 percent) among all age groups to say they would quit if called back to fully in-person work, highlighting the importance of multigenerational work policies, including flexible scheduling and remote work, especially for companies seeking to attract and retain younger talent.
A four-day workweek, currently being piloted by a small number of companies globally, would require significant work reorganization and coordination to offer continuous service for customers and manage emerging crises. Employees would need to show considerable flexibility. Right now, less than a quarter of respondents say they would accept lower compensation for less time worked, and only 30 percent say they would be willing to give up some work location flexibility in exchange for a four-day workweek. Younger employees, especially those under 35, are most open to sacrificing some compensation for a shorter workweek.
Almost half of respondents (44 percent) say qualifying in a trade will become more important over the next five years, compared to 25 percent who see a four-year college/university degree rising in importance for job seekers. In a tight labor market and amid demographic challenges, accepting alternative credentials opens the door for organizations to consider a wider, more diverse range of candidates and for employees to consider roles that were previously unavailable to them.