I wrote recently about a new study showcasing the value of flexible working.  They recruited a number of volunteers to work in a variety of ways.  Some would work largely from home, with one day per week in the office, whilst others would work purely in the office.  The volunteers were tracked for two years, with a significant boost in performance found among the group working from home.

Despite the growing volume of evidence supporting flexible working, many managers remain skeptical about it.  Thankfully, a new study reveals that such perspectives are open to change, especially if flexible working can be shown to have strategic value to the organization.

“When managers gain experience with workers operating with flexible schedules, they tend to increase their confidence that schedule flexibility has positive effects on team performance and work-group behavior,” the authors say. “Even managers who are initially opposed to the idea can change their mind if they believe that their peers support such arrangements as beneficial to their organization.”

Managerial support

Flexible working remains on the margins of working life, in large part due to the limited support from managers.  The authors suggest that managers who oppose flexible working may do so in the belief that it will negatively impact productivity and commitment, not to mention the sharing of knowledge and wider team performance.

“Our interest is in thinking about how to expand support for flexible work, primarily because it can help workers manage the many demands they have off the job,” they say. “But freeing up time for an employee to handle their family affairs can also free up energy for them to be more effective on the job. And if an employee can work from home, that frees up expensive office space.”

Researchers monitored managers at a large financial services company over a year to examine their relationship with flexible working.  Eight months intot he study period, half oft he managers were given a report that highlighted how other managers were supporting flexible working within the organization.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was enough to trigger a change in mindset in the managers, who subsequently became more friendly towards flexible work arrangements in their own departments.

“Some managers have a jaundiced view of flexible work arrangements because they think it will make their own work harder and is not in their career interest,” the authors say. “Our research indicates that if a company has an effective communications strategy, where it can explain to managers not only in an abstract way that flexible work options are beneficial, but that their peers support these policies, it can transform manager sentiments toward embracing FWAs.”