Perhaps disconnects are what allow some businesses to pat themselves on the back for a job well done, just before they go under. The disconnects between human resources and their main constituents — C-Suite residents and the troops — has been well documented. Now, CareerArc sheds light on yet another big one between HR and the troops in the field.
In its “2015 Workplace Flexibility Study,” featuring input from more than 1,000 employees and HR professionals, CareerArc found that the folks in human resources are wearing rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to work-life balance. In other words, many more HR managers believe they offer workers a healthy work-life balance than do the workers themselves.
According to the survey, 67 percent of HR professionals think that their employees have a balanced work-life, but 45 percent of employees feel that they don't have enough time each week to do personal activities.
Additionally, 20 percent of employees surveyed spent over 20 hours working outside of the office on their personal time per week. That's half a work week's worth of time. And that does not make for happy campers, CareerArc said.
“Technology has expanded the 9-to-5 workday into the 24/7 workday, which has made it extremely difficult for employees to have personal time,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of WorkplaceTrends.com, which partnered with CareerArc on the survey. “Companies are being forced to react to this work life dilemma by investing more in their programs in 2015. In the future, every company will have a flexibility program and those that don't will lose the battle for the top talent.”
The study pointed out that technology now gives workers the “option” to do more work outside of work hours, which may not be such a positive trend.
“The majority of workers — 65 percent — say that their manager expects them to be reachable outside of the office,” the study reported. Here's the breakdown on how these respondents are expected to stay tethered to the job:
- 33 percent by email and phone
- 23 percent by phone
- 9 percent by email
“From the HR perspective, 64 percent expect their employees to be reachable outside of the office on their personal time, 18 percent by email, 3 percent by phone and 26 percent by both email and phone,” the study said.
What works better, CareerArc said, is a workplace flexibility policy that allows employees to work from home during regular business hours. In fact, the study revealed a major disconnect between how employees value workplace flexibility and how employers think they perceive it. Three-quarters of employees said it was the most important benefit to them, but only half of employers ranked it No. 1 in employees' benefits priorities.
“Formal workplace flexibility programs — wherein employees have the option to periodically work from home without coming into the office — seem to be benefiting both employees and employers,” the study said.
“Eighty-seven percent of HR leaders believe that workplace flexibility programs lead to employee satisfaction, while nearly 7 out of 10 HR leaders use workplace flexibility programs as a recruiting and retention tool.”
The survey found that companies are cautiously investing more in workplace flexibility options, but these investments are tempered by concerns about abuse of the program.
“The biggest concern for employers who establish flexibility programs is potential employee abuse of the system (42 percent), followed by it not being part of their culture (40 percent) and concerns about employee fairness (34 percent),” the study found.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
