Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Action - from Corporate Voices for Working Families
With support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Expansion" examines the internal research from 28 large American businesses that have implemented broad scale workplace flexibility. The data across companies demonstrates that flexible workplaces have a positive impact on financial performance, human capital management and talent management. In fact, we believe the data to be compelling enough to be a turning point in the national dialogue on flexibility.
Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Expansion represents for the first time the weight of evidence companies themselves have collected about the positive business impacts of flexibility. Drawing on internal organizational research and information from 28 American firms, this report provides evidence that employers can gain tremendous benefit from providing flexibility in when and how work gets done.
DOT - Transportation Implications of Telecommuting
"Productivity increases reported from various studies average around 10 percent to 20 percent .although some reports are as high as 40 percent. The literature reports productivity gains ranging from 15-25 percent found in a wide variety of telecommuting situations, even where researchers (or workers or managers) had not expected them, and better quality work was also reported throughout. Indeed, it is hard to find a report or study that does not report this."
Workplace Flexibility Effectiveness Demonstration Project released July 18, 2005
A pilot program involving 10 major U.S. companies shows a measurable, direct link between flexible work arrangements and improved performance and increased productivity, according to findings."
Chubb.set or exceeded the goals they set for an overall 5% improvement in performance
Frito Lay.saw "on call" days reduced from 104 days to 12.absent employees decreased from 18.7 days to 6.8 days.
Commuter Transportation Services, Inc. Effects of Variable Work Hour Programs on Ridesharing and Organizational Effectiveness: A Case Study, Ventura County
"The results of the present study indicate a positive relationship between participation on variable work hours (VWH) schedules and increases in productivity than did those not on the VWH schedules."
Source: commuter Transportation Services, Inc. Transportation Research Record 1321
Intercity Transit - Other Commute Options
"Employers generally report a reduction in tardiness and absenteeism for employees on compressed workweeks and flextime. This is attributed to their ability to commute outside of the rush hour and their increased flexibility for appointments and errands."
KNOWLEDGE BASE ECONOMY - QUALITY OF PLACE Stephen Klinberg (Rice University)
"As Houston moves from a "resource economy" to a "knowledge base" economy, there is a new importance of "quality-of-place" considerations. Talented individuals and leading corporations are freer today than ever before to choose where they would like to live. A city's well being will increasingly depend upon its ability to nurture, attract, and retain the nation's most skilled creative "knowledge workers" and high-tech companies. Houston's success in the new economy will be shaped by the city's ability to develop into a more appealing urban destination."
Significant and sustained improvements in mobility and traffic congestion is one area identified as necessary to make Houston a more appealing urban destination
Source: Presentation to Houston Organizational Development Network meeting October 2005
MORALE Thurston Commutes - Commute Options
Compressed Work Schedule
During a six-month pilot program, 205 employees worked a compressed workweek schedule, which eliminated 238 commute roundtrips each two-week period. Eighty-three percent of the participants reported an increase in morale, and 94% of their supervisors said they would like to continue the programs after the pilot."
Saving Time Number of cars removed to see difference - For each 200 cars per lane per hour reduction there is an increase speed of over 5 MPH. That same 200 cars/lane/hour would translate to 50 cars per each 15 minutes.
Source:
Houston's Flexible Workplace Initiative - Mobility Subcommittee using the Highway Capacity Manual 2000 - http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/
telecommute.html - Generalized interpretation of chart on page 13-3
USE OF FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES
Use of flexible schedule declining ".full-time U.S. wage and salary workers age 16 and older on flexible schedules dropped from 29 million in May 2001 to 27.4 million workers 3 years later."
Source: U.S. Department of Labor's May 2004 Current Population Survey
Flexibility is the road less traveled Flexibility has yet to arrive in most companies, says a survey of visitors to Work & Family Connection's Website. Despite the fact that it's clearly what employees want most, nearly 60% of respondents gave a negative response when asked about flexibility at their company.
Just 42% said their company is flexible and supportive; 22% said they are currently working a flex schedule and it's working well and 20% said they're not doing so currently, but could easily arrange it if they wished. But 30% said they're either paying the price for their flexible work schedule or feel singularly lucky to be doing so in their company. And 43% said their company does not see the value of flexibility. If they asked to work a flex arrangement they would be seen by their employer as not fully committed.
Flexible work schedules top the list of most wanted benefits for mothers, fathers and unionized workers, and workplace flexibility has been shown to increase shareholder returns, boost productivity, and have a significant impact on organizational commitment.
But if companies are serious about implementing it, employees don't seem to be getting the message.
Companies help employees bear commuting costs
Most companies could do a better job of easing traffic congestion and helping to clean the air, said an informal poll by work-life information expert Work & Family Connection.
Less than one-third of the 42 companies responding say they're encouraging alternative work schedules and just slightly more than a fourth are organizing carpools or encouraging biking or walking to work. And only 15% of the 40 companies responding are offering public transportation discounts. Most say they're choosing to help employees handle costs by subsidizing parking (42%) and offering mileage reimbursement (45%); 42% said they've recently increased the mileage reimbursement they offer.
Only 15% of companies responding report working with local transportation authorities to improve public transportation, or helping employees learn how to improve fuel efficiency.
The IRS allows employers to subsidize employees' cost of commuting to work by public transit, and employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for any kind of publicly or privately owned transit services, including bus, trains, subways, ferries, etc. Eight out of 10 American workers believe commuter assistance is a valuable benefit, says a poll by HarrisInteractive.
