Bend Me, Shape Me, Any Way You Want Me…

Has Flexible Working Got You Round The Twist? 

Flexible Working. It's always high-up on a job description alongside ‘competitive salary’; ‘take your birthday as a bonus holiday’; and ‘fully-stocked staff canteen’.

But what does it mean? And how flexible is it, really?

Flexibility vs. Autonomy

In many work settings, Flexible Working allows a degree of choice. Perhaps it's some wriggle room on your start and finish times or whether you work from home or in the office on a particular day. But it isn't a free choice; it's a list of options within a strict set of parameters set by your employer. You might think you have freedom to decide your own schedule, but you’re probably just choosing between Nine-til-Five and Eight-til-Four. You might think you have freedom to decide your working location, but if you work from home today that's your weekly allowance used up and it's only Tuesday. You’d better save it in case you need it later in the week...  

The problem with Flexible Working is that it's externally-imposed. It still requires us to fit within a schedule designed and decided by others and applied to everyone, rather than tailoring that flexibility to specific tasks or people. Sometimes those traditional parameters are appropriate. Sometimes we need to collaborate with colleagues or external parties in real-time (see our blog on synchronous working). But not always, and not even often...

A search for the ordinary English meaning of the word ‘flexibility’ throws up ‘bending easily without breaking’ and ‘a willingness to change or compromise’. 

However, as noted as early as 2007, whereas flexibility alone improves satisfaction and reduces stress, autonomy is more strongly linked to performance and engagement (Gajendran & Harrison). In fact, 2020 research by the Harvard Business Review found that employees with autonomy over their time, priorities, and methods report higher job satisfaction and lower burnout than those with only flexibility in hours or location.

True flexibility at work, therefore, requires autonomy. Autonomous Working values the individual's decision-making authority on how they work, when they work and the goals they prioritise. Provided that this autonomy is practised within an overarching framework of openness, good communication and transparency when it comes to deadlines, milestones and work-product expectations, there's no reason why it shouldn't work better. If individuals can elect their own workstyles, they will invariably choose ways which suit their personality traits, productivity and wellbeing as well as in a way which maximises their efficiency and the performance of their team.

Which is better?

Though many employers vouch for Flexible Working as a high watermark of a progressive culture, they're not thinking about the benefits of Autonomous Working.  According to Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), autonomy is a fundamental psychological need, and when fulfilled, it leads to greater motivation, creativity, and well-being.

It's all about who is the decision-maker. If an organisation employs someone it has invested time and money in recruiting, training and paying a salary, then that should come with a degree of trust that the employee will do their job to its specifications and timescales.

At Workstyle Revolution, we advocate for Autonomous Working. Rather than setting arbitrary parameters first and enforcing them through inefficient micro-management, employers should let the nature of the work determine whether autonomy would be better than flexibility. That means showing a willingness to change or compromise in the knowledge that the system won't break if someone is allowed to work to their own workstyle. It also means moving away from outdated notions that finishing any earlier than 5pm is tantamount to a ‘half day’; that working from home is ‘shirking from home’ and that if someone's workload and the way they choose to tackle it allows them some time back to pick-up the kids and get the ironing done then that will only improve the wellbeing of the employee and the relationship of mutual trust and respect with their employer.

If we don’t embrace autonomy at work, we risk becoming automatons at work, and we've all answered I AM NOT A ROBOT enough times online to backtrack now.

If you’re interested in us helping your team embrace autonomy at work, improving wellbeing and maximising productivity,  do get in touch at lizzie@workstyle.org.uk

This blog was written by one of our team of fantastic volunteers,Jordan Frazer, on behalf of the Workstyle Revolution.