Work flexibility can address employee burnout

This is according to a recent study by Future Forum, which showed that flexible work policies are not just about the location of work. While 80% of workers said they want flexibility in where they work, 94% indicated they want flexibility in when they work.

Employees with schedule flexibility showed the highest scores across the board, including 53% having a greater ability to focus and three times better work-life balance, the study showed. On the other end of the spectrum, employees with no schedule flexibility are more than twice as likely to look for a new job in the coming year, compared with employees with moderate schedule flexibility.

Leaders can provide schedule flexibility by adopting practices like core work hours and team-level agreements. In addition, using digital tools can help teams collaborate more asynchronously so that individuals have greater flexibility to structure their days.

READ: Young workers in China prefer flexible work arrangements

The payoff for this investment in new ways of working is better business outcomes. Employees who work for companies they describe as innovators or early adopters of technology report 1.5 times greater productivity, 2.2 times higher sense of belonging, and 27% less burnout than those who work for “digital laggards”.

Future Forum is a consortium launched by Slack with founding partners Boston Consulting Group, MillerKnoll and MLT, and is focused on building a way of working that is flexible, inclusive, and connected.