Why Leading Companies Are Implementing Flexible Work and Flexible Careers Prof. Brad Harrington Boston College Center for Work & Family Johnson & Johnson, March 2012

CWF Mission The Boston College Center for Work & Family is the country's leading university-based center that assists employers in their efforts to improve the lives of working people and their families. Key differentiators: - Bridge research & practice - Cultural change perspective

CWF Members include … Johnson & Johnson Sodexo Proctor & Gamble Chevron PwC KPMG Eli-Lilly Kraft Foods Deloitte-Touche Intel IBM Marriott John Deere Prudential Securities UPS Abbott Laboratories Bristol-Myers Squib Dell Computers Merck Raytheon

Some Critical US Workforce Trends Demographics: Aging Boomers and Millennials Changing family structures Dramatic rise in women’s prospects and the changing roles for men / fathers Explosive growth & impact of technology Increased workload, pace, stress, & dramatic increase in health care costs Globalization, working across cultures, the 24x7 workplace Changing nature of “careers”

Generational Diversity in U.S. Birth Years % WF Work Perspectives Veterans / Traditionalists Ages: 67-90 born 1922-1945 7% Company loyalty – Believed they’d work for the same company their entire career Baby-Boomers Ages: 48-66 born 1946-1964 36% “Live to work” – Believed in face-time at the office. Women enter workforce in large numbers Gen Xers Ages: 32-47 born 1965-1980 31% “Work to live” – Believed that work should not define their lives. Dual-earner couples became norm Millennials / Gen Y Ages: 12-31 born 1981-2000 26% “Work my way” – Devoted to their careers, not their companies. Strong desire for meaningful work

Challenge from Millennials In four years, Millennials will account nearly half the employees in the world… Millennials view work as a key part of life, not a separate activity that needs to be balanced by it. For that reason they put a strong emphasis on finding work that’s personally fulfilling. They want work to connect them to a larger purpose. That sense of purpose is a key factor in their job satisfaction. According to our research they are the most socially conscious generation since the1960’s. Meister and Willyard, Mentoring Millennials Harvard Business Review, May 2010

Millennial Differences Perspectives on Work & Careers Do not believe that loyalty to single employer is sound or profitable strategy Do not assume they will be in single-earner couple, assume spouse will want and need to work Pervasive Technology: A means for working, communicating, connecting. It is pervasive and makes time, place, distance irrelevant (workplace) The world is diverse and small Meaningful work … and a life: Millennials have always known prosperity and downsizing. They want to succeed and have a life.

Family Changes Women now make up 50% of the workforce (Shriver Report, 2009) Caregiving responsibilities (child and elder) present a major stressor for both men and women, especially when both are working. Changing family demographics: 75% of married couples with children under 15 are dual-career couples (US Census, 2008) 25% of women in dual-career couples earn more than spouse (BLS, 2007) 29% of families are headed by a single parent (US Census, 2008) 35% of employees have significant elder care responsibilities (FWI, 2002) These factors have brought increased attention to employee needs for flexibility as the “traditional” family structure of stay at home caretaker is no longer the norm Millions of Baby boomers will retire/phase into retirement in the next 10 years Gen X and Gen Y not large enough to fill their roles, skilled talent will be more difficult to find. Employees are interacting with colleagues around the globe in a 24/7 environment. Technology enables us to work anywhere, any time. Both employees and organizations are demonstrating a commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 8

Changes in working families… 75% married couples with children <15 are dual-career couples (US Census, 2008) 25% of women in dual-career couples earn more than their spouse Today, 29% of families are headed by a single parent (US Census, 2008) Women are primary breadwinners in 38% of American households (BLS, 2007) Men experienced ¾ of job losses in US in recession (6 of 8 million US jobs)

What’s happening with women... Women nearly 50% of US workforce In the United States, women earn: 62% of associates degrees 57% of bachelor’s degrees 60% of master’s degrees ~50% of professional degrees and PhD’s In 1970 women earned <10% of professional degrees & PhD’s Of 15 jobs with greatest growth rate in next decade, 12 are dominated by women So gender roles are changing in the workplace…

Young Women / Men Don’t Differ in Desire for Jobs with More Responsibility (1992 – 2008) Sources: 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW), Families and Work Institute (FWI) 11

Men feel more w-f conflict than women (National Study of the Changing Workforce by Galinsky, Aumann, and Bond, 2008)

Fatherhood Study: Our sample 963 respondents, 4 large companies, national sample “White collar” group: 60% were managers, 37% salaried workers, 3% were paid hourly Virtually all work full-time and well educated: 87% held at least an Associates-level degree, 77% at least bachelor’s, 35% master’s degree or more. 76% earned more than $75,000, 44% over $100,000. 87% were married or living with partner, 69% worked Average age: 42.6, range from 25-65. 81% White, 7% Black, 5% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 1% NA

Comparison of Education Levels

Time off after most recent child By contrast, most professional mothers take 2-6 months leave

Comparison of Workweeks

Comparison of income levels

How Father’s see their role

How should / is care giving divided?

Fathers flex, but not formally

Objectives of the Flexibility Study Understand there is a significant disconnect between corporate policy and implementation when it comes to flexibility This is known as the “implementation gap” The Center explored how 20 leading employers overcome this gap Researched how these leaders implemented one of their best practice flexibilty programs

Business Case for Flexibility Global Organizations: Meet 24/7 worldwide demands Technology: Anytime, anywhere workplace attractive to Gen Y and most others Productivity: Reduces absenteeism, improve morale Branding and Attraction: Enhances reputation as “employer of choice”, especially for Gen Y Corporate Social Responsibility: Green approach Workload: Greater control over time reduces employee stress (will discuss later) Cost: Retain employees, reduce real estate costs, diminish no value commuting time

Types of Flexibility Flexibility of Time (when) Flexible hours and compressed work weeks Flexibility of Place (where) Telecommuting, work from home Working from remote sites, virtual workplaces Flexibility of Work Load (how much) Part-time, phased retirement Flexibility of Careers More customized approaches to careers

Flexibility as a Business Strategy: Impact of flextime and flex-place

Workload / Overwork One of the main issues flexibility is intended to address is workload / overwork which has become an even more pronounced issue since the economic downturn and lay-offs. “The hot button” resilience issue is managing workload – less than 10% of organizations say that they are doing well at managing workload and close to 50% surveyed rate their organizations low.” Report by WFD Consulting

IBM Flexibility Research Flexibility is “the ability of workers to make choices influencing, where, when, and how long to engage in work related tasks” Flex has saved over $ billions in real estate costs Based on 2007 WW W-L survey (N = 24,436) 13% of employees with high scheduling flexibility reported w-l conflict vs. 35% of those with low scheduling flexibility Employees who worked from home and had scheduling flexibility hit high levels of conflict at 57 hours vs. 38 hours (those with low flex) Includes a critical analysis of the culture, including the idea of “face time” in which employees are rewarded for how long they work and how visibly busy they are rather than what they actually accomplish. In addition to employees describing the current culture and envisioning how things could be different within the company, the trainers provide a critical analysis of everyday language such as offhand comments like “Just getting in?” and praising those “turn on the lights in the morning and turn them off at night” to make the point this language undermines a focus on getting the work done (Results Only). Most importantly, ROWE is implemented through work teams going through training together. The whole team is creating a “ROWE environment” even if some people choose to continue working fairly stable hours and only work at the office. The idea is that they are changing their culture – expectations, norms, and everyday practices – as a team. This is important because FWA are usually administered as an individual “accommodation” (terminology singles out the person working differently) and these changes often result in career penalties or more neutrally “trade offs” between getting to work differently and getting ahead. ANALYTICALLY: ALSO AVOIDS SELECTION ISSUES BECAUSE IT IS NOT INDIVIDUALS BUT WHOLE DEPARTMENTS THAT MAKE THIS TRANSITION. VP OR SVP WHO MAKES THE DECISION. 4) All of this happens in highly participatory and interactive training and then in a period of experimentation in which individuals and teams change their work patterns and figure out how to set clearer goals and to coordinate their work when people are coming and going in the ways that work for them and their families. The fact that this is a participatory change means teams take ownership of it and customize it to match their job demands and customers’ needs. Of course, it also means that THERE IS SIGNIFICANT VARIATION IN HOW ROWE IS IMPLEMENTED ACROSS TEAMS AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT AND ANALYZE WITH BOTH OUR QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA.

Mass Career Customization Flexibility and Careers

Greatest Challenge for Leaders “The evolution of the Internet, social media, the global economy, the Gen-Y generation coming of age all create a situation where you can no longer just think, that you have an opening and recruit an employee. The company used to be in the drivers seat: ‘Here’s the job I have, here’s how much I want to pay you to do this work. Come work under my terms as the employer.’ These days are fading. I think it will evolve almost to the point that you will have a marketplace like eBay where someone will put themselves out to bid.

‘Here I am. Here’s what I am willing to do and here’s how much I’m willing to make. And here’s the hours and my location and what I can do for you.’ It’s going to be that person in the driver’s seat. Employers are going to have to learn how to have an individual work arrangement with each employee. I’m not saying this will be the case for all jobs … but it’s going to be the case for your top talent.” Libby Sartain, VP of HR Southwest, Yahoo

Challenges Engaging Top Talent Attributes that define rising stars: Ability: Intellectual, technical, & emotional skills to handle increasingly complex challenges Engagement: Level of connection & commitment employee feels toward the firm and its mission Aspiration: Degree to which employee’s desires align with what the company wants for him or her Too much emphasis placed on employees’ ability Must engage employees in process to ensure engagement, align individual & organizational aspirations Martin and Schmidt, How to Keep Your Top Talent Harvard Business Review, May 2010

What is a Protean Career? Proteus: a Greek God who was able to change form in order adapt to threats A Protean Career is one that is: Driven by individual’s goals, aspirations Shifts, changes in order to adapt to changing professional & personal circumstances Sees career in a work-life context Develops career plan based on deep level of self-knowledge (goals, interests, skills, values, etc.)

Traditional vs. Protean Career Issue Traditional Career Protean Career Who’s in charge? Organization Person Core values Advancement Freedom and growth Work-life integration Degree of mobility Lower High Key attitudes Commitment to organization Commitment to profession Work satisfaction Work to live not live to work Success criteria Position level and title Salary Psychological success Meaningful work

Deloitte’s Mass Career Customization

Managing Flexibly Each organization needs to assess how flexibility will be applied in their situation Each also must determine eligibility criteria and process for approval (results not reason based) Flexibility requires letting go of rigid definitions of job design, work schedules, and face-time Flexibility requires an objectives-results approach to managing – this is critical Organization need to determine if flex is a benefit, a reward, or simply the way we work

Management concerns on Flexibility Nature of work: “What forms of flexibility will work?” Client issues: “How do we ensure this will not adversely impact our clients?” Work team issues: “Could it diminish teamwork?” Equity issues: “Are all jobs amenable to FWAs?” “What if everyone wants it?” Are some reasons employees ask for flex more “valid” than others? Management issues: “Will it be difficult to schedule meetings, monitor employees, measure output?”

Some potential solutions Tailor appropriate flexible options to fit the jobs Involve team in creatively planning how to mitigate client and teamwork issues Make approval of FWA “reason blind” – it just needs to be workable Use outcome-based performance management to measure contribution Recognize initial fears and complexity will exist - they will diminish with experience Train managers on how to implement and use flex

Employees also have concerns … Fear request suggests low organizational commitment Perception by peers Blurring of lines between work and home Potential negative implications for career advancement In difficult times, fear they will be more dispensable Solutions Communicate organization’s stance on flexibility clearly Highlight success cases Train employees on flex: Assess if it is right for them How to set boundaries Recognize thee positive & negatives sides to using flex Understand their contribution to organization is based on their results, not face-time

Flex organizations not business as usual Moving to a flexible culture is challenging Requires organization moves away from status quo and everyone works in same fashion Relies on managers who think openly about how and when work gets done Requires thoughtful planning regarding goal setting, responding to customer needs, performance management, and equity issues Built on a foundation of mutual honesty & trust

What’s happening at …

Achieving Cultural Change

Summary Changes in society, organizations, families, & technology have changed how we work and how we live These dynamics have caused organizations to strive to be more agile and flexible Also means employees are looking for greater flexibility and can use flexibility and technology to work where and when they are most productive Flexibility is not an employee-focused perk, it’s a strategic way to do business Recognize it is also a major cultural change