SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements December 18, 2013

This is part two of a series of SHRM survey findings examining employee benefits in the workplace. The following topics are included in the six-part series titled State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace:  Part 1: Wellness initiatives  Part 2: Flexible work arrangements  Part 3: Health care  Part 4: Leveraging benefits to retain employees  Part 5: Leveraging benefits to recruit employees  Part 6: Communicating benefits State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Introduction

For the purpose of this survey, flexible work arrangements or flex work may include full- or part-time telecommuting, flexible scheduling, compressed workweek, etc. State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Definition

Do organizations offer flexible work arrangements to their employees? Nearly three-fifths (57%) of organizations offer these benefits. Among those organizations, almost one-half (45%) indicated that the majority of their employees are allowed to use flex work. This figure has increased 11 percentage points since In 2012, did employee participation in flexible work arrangements increase? Yes, approximately one-third (33%) reported employee participation increased since 2011, 61% indicated employee participation remained the same, and only 6% reported that participation in these benefit decreased. State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Key Findings

The numbers are rising for flexible work arrangements—the percentage of employers that participate in this benefit increased from 2012, and more organizations offer flex work to a broader scope of their payroll. This trend is in line with workers’ increased desire to manage their own time and better balance their work with their responsibilities out of the office. Separate SHRM studies have shown that many workers rate “the balance of work/life issues” as an integral factor in job satisfaction, and flexible work arrangements can offer a cost-effective means of delivering that balance. Other research by the Families and Work Institute revealed that an increasing number of men have expressed a need for flexible work to better balance their jobs and family responsibilities—proof that demand for such arrangements spans a broad segment of the workforce. State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM What do these findings mean to the HR profession?

Does your organization provide employees with the option to use flexible work arrangements? State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Are the majority (more than half) of employees at your organization allowed to use flexible work arrangements? State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

How did employee participation in your organization’s flexible work change last year compared with the year before? State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Does your organization monitor employee participation rates in its flexible work arrangements? State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Organization Demographics

Demographics: Organization Staff Size State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM n = 363

Demographics: Organization Sector State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM n = 377

Demographics: Organization Industry State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Note: n = 375. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options. Percentage Professional, scientific and technical services 21% Health care and social assistance 17% Manufacturing 15% Government agencies 12% Finance and insurance 10% Educational services 9% Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 5% Accommodation and food services 4% Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4% Construction 4% Mining 4% Transportation and warehousing 4% Arts, entertainment and recreation 3% Information 3% Retail trade 3% Real estate and rental and leasing 2% Repair and maintenance 2% Utilities 2% Whole trade 2% Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1% Personal and laundry services 1% Other 7%

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM U.S.-based operations only80% Multinational operations20% Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same. 39% Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location. 61% Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices. 59% Each work location determines HR policies and practices. 4% A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices. 37% Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization? For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both? Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally? n = 381 n = 244 Corporate (company-wide)73% Business unit/division16% Facility/location11% n = 244 What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey? Demographics: Other

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements Response rate = 11% 441 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey Margin of error +/- 5% Survey fielded May 3-22, 2013 Survey Methodology

Workplace Flexibility Resource Page Work Life Fit Resource Page Alternative Work Schedules Resource Page Creating an Effective Flexible Work Environment State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM Additional SHRM Resources

For more survey/poll findings, visit For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit Follow us on Twitter State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM About SHRM Research Project leaders: Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research Project contributors: Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research Evren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research Copy editor: Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements ©SHRM About SHRM