Flexible Work Arrangement?

The 10D Voice Blog: week of February 27 

  

The Facts and Figures of Flexible Work Arrangements

In business today, mobility is taken for granted. More and more employees have jobs that can be done anywhere. But are businesses enjoying real bottom-line benefits from this new world of mobility? Various sources suggest that the answer is “yes.”

Executive survey: In a report on mobile collaboration for Avaya, Frost and Sullivan surveyed 200 CXOs and found that of those that have deployed mobile collaboration technologies, the vast majority (86%) report improved innovation within the organization. (To read the full Frost and Sullivan report, Mobile Collaboration and the Small & Midsize Market, go to Small & Midsize mobile collaboration 

More productive “sick days:” A health insurer analyzed the cost of requiring people to come into work when they are feeling sick or stressed and found that it doesn’t just make bad human relations sense. It makes bad economic sense: on average about $2000 per year, per employee. (Source: Cigna Behavioral Health, April 26, 2004)

Employee loyalty and morale: A flexible work environment is high on the list of things that employees want, according to a top recruitment firm. In one survey (The Hudson Group, 2/12/2008, In the Game of Hiring, Flexible Employers Win, http://us.hudson.com/node.asp?kwd=survey-021208), nearly a third (29 percent) of workers cite work-life balance and flexibility to be the most important factor in considering job offers, above compensation.

The Telework Research Network regularly compiles data on the bottom-line impact of flexible work arrangements. Here are some of its findings:

• A better environment: Remote working can save approximately 300 gallons of gas a year per employee, and over 6,000 pounds of carbons.
• Salary boost: Working at home can save up to $8400 per year in gas, tolls, wear/tear on car, meals, dry cleaning = $11,340 salary boost.
• Less commuting: A 52-minute in-the-car average commute to and from work is equivalent to 4-6 weeks a year. Even if you realized a fraction of that (2 weeks’ worth) – that’s a significant uptick in productivity for that employee.

Source: Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line, TeleworkResearchNetwork.com / Kate Lister / May 2010)

Learn more about mobile collaboration technologies in the full Frost and Sullivan report, Mobile Collaboration and the Small & Midsize Market (www.10dvoice.com)