12 examples of flexibility at work and how to choose the right one(s)

Flexible work practices have become pivotal in employee attraction, retention, and engagement. The good news is that the examples of flexibility at work are (almost) endless. You can address this growing demand in many ways, from time to location and working model flexibility, and adjust it to your and your team members’ needs. 

When implemented effectively through a well-thought-out and ever-evolving flexible work policy, these modern approaches to work can do magic. Not only does it boost your employee experience and satisfaction, but it can also positively impact your finances and business growth.

Are you ready to explore these new ways of working and see which could match your organization and workforce’s requirements? Here are 12 examples of workplace flexibility and key recommendations to create a thriving, flexible work environment for your teams.

What are the different areas of workplace flexibility?

Many employees are no longer expected to be in the office daily. Therefore, the work location is the first area where you enable your staff to start testing flexible working. But this is far from the only flexibility you can give your teams. 

Time is also an important aspect. Why would you stick to the classic 9 to 5 model if some of your staff would instead work from 6 to 2 and perform better during this period? It’s a win-win for everyone. Your employees get more work done during peak productivity hours and can close their laptops earlier. You have a more productive and satisfied team to work with.

Lastly, many examples of workplace flexibility are based on working models. For instance, enabling part-time contracts, job sharing, or phased retirement are all flexible work practices. 

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, as your flexible work arrangements must answer your employees’ needs as much as your organization’s requirements. The good news is that you can mix and match different types of flexibility at work to create a perfect approach for your teams and your business!

👉 Discover how to manage a flexible workplace effectively with the deskbird app!

What are the best examples of flexibility at work?

1. Full remote work schedule

A fully remote work schedule enables employees to work from anywhere as long as they can access the Internet. This type of flexibility can be particularly attractive to job applicants who prefer to work from home, enjoy changing their work environment, or live in a different city or country from their employer.

The pros include better work-life balance, no commute, fewer costs for employees and organizations (transport, lunch, office rent, etc.), increased productivity, and a wider talent pool. 

The cons are isolation, lack of in-person interactions, blurry work-life boundaries, reduced workplace connection, and difficulties building team bonding and maintaining company culture.

2. Full office

The traditional office model involves employees coming to a physical office space daily. While it is not as flexible as other options, it still offers some advantages. It can also be completed with multiple flexible work practices, such as flexitime or phased retirement (keep reading to learn more about these two forms of flexibility at work).

The pros are better collaboration, clear work-life boundaries, easy access to resources, social connections, and in-person onboarding and mentorship.

Cons: daily commute, higher costs for employees and organizations (transport, lunch, office rent, etc.), office distractions, limited talent pool, poorer work-life balance, and outdated working model.

3. Hybrid work model

A hybrid work model is the perfect mix of remote and in-office models. This model allows people to work from home part of the time and come on-site for the rest. The schedule can be flexible, depending on the needs of the employee and the employer. This type of flexibility at work provides workers the best of both worlds. It can also help organizations get the most out of remote work with the advantages of traditional office space.

The pros are flexibility, better work-life balance, reduced commute, greater productivity (focus work at home vs. collaboration in the office), increased employee satisfaction, and lower costs. 

Cons: coordination, inequalities between home office and on-site employees, communication gaps, and real estate inefficiencies.

🎥 Watch our 2-minute video to discover how deskbird effectively helps you manage your hybrid workplace and workforce!

Examples of flexible working practices related to time

Time is another crucial factor in work flexibility. Many employees want to control their work hours to achieve a better work-life balance. Here are five examples of flexibility at work related to time.

4. Flexitime and staggered hours (aka asynchronous work)

Flexitime and staggered hours give employees more control over their working hours. Flextime allows team members to choose when they start and finish work as long as they work a set number of hours per day or week. Staggered hours, also known as asynchronous work, enable your staff to work at different times than their colleagues. This can be useful for people who need to accommodate personal commitments, such as picking up children from school.

The pros are increased productivity, improved work-life balance, reduced absenteeism, higher job satisfaction, a wider talent pool, and lower office costs.

Cons: coordination challenges, communication gaps, management complexity, and reduced team cohesion.

5. Compressed hours

Compressed hours, also called “condensed work week,” involve working the same number of hours in fewer days than usual. For example, an employee might work 10 hours a day over four days instead of five days of 8 hours to complete a 40-hour workweek. The main advantage of this example of flexibility at work is gaining an extra day off every week. 

The pros are more extended weekends, a reduced commute, better work-life balance, lower absenteeism, and office cost savings.

The cons are longer workdays, childcare challenges, low flexibility on working days, and potential health issues (extended hours of standing, sitting, or watching a screen). 

6. Part-time jobs

Part-time jobs involve working fewer hours than a full-time job. This can be an excellent option for employees who wish to work part-time due to private commitments or activities, such as caring for children, creating a side business, or volunteering for a cause. Part-time jobs can also be helpful for people who want to transition into retirement gradually.

The pros are cost savings, access to wider talent diversity, skill sharing, increased employee retention, operational efficiency, and reduced absenteeism.

The cons are reduced task continuity, lower commitment, higher training costs, and coordination challenges.

7. Unlimited time-off

Unlimited time-off policies allow team members to take as much time off as they want as long as they complete their work responsibilities. This can be a valuable option for workers who need some time off for personal reasons, such as new training or employee burnout.

The pros include better talent attraction, increased trust, higher motivation and loyalty, reduced burnout, a stronger company culture, and greater employee satisfaction and experience. 

The cons are work coverage challenges, potential for abuse, risk of underutilization, inequity concerns, and impact on team dynamics and productivity.

8. Annual hours

Annual hours involve setting a total number of hours that need to be reached yearly rather than a fixed amount per week or month. Team members have more control over when they work. The only rule is to meet the required volume of hours by the end of the year. This can be useful for organizations as much as employees as people can decide to work more during busy seasons and take time off in slower periods.

The pros are smarter resource allocation, reduced overtime costs, lower absenteeism, higher productivity, balanced workloads, adaptability, and enhanced employee autonomy and trust. 

The cons are complex scheduling, potential burnout during peak periods, communication challenges, an impact on team cohesion, and work surge management.

9. Job-sharing

Job-sharing is a flexible work arrangement where two employees share one full-time job. Each person typically works part-time, with their schedules overlapping to ensure continuity of work. This arrangement can benefit workers who need more flexibility in their agendas and companies looking to retain valuable talent who may be unable to work full-time hours.

Pros: improved DEI&B in the workplace, skill and knowledge sharing, ensured continuity, and talent retention.

The cons are coordination challenges, risks of miscommunication, inconsistent work styles, higher training costs, potential unequal workload, and compensation and benefits complexity.

10. Distributed work

Distributed work involves employees working from outside the traditional office. This can include working from home, a co-working space, or any other location with an Internet connection. Distributed teams have greater flexibility in their work environment. It is a valuable strategy for companies to save money on office space and related expenses.

The pros include access to a global pool of talent, cost savings, higher productivity, 24/7 operations (if employees work in different time zones), and reduced geographical constraints.

The cons are the risks of isolation, communication and coordination complexity, blurry work-life boundaries, challenges to creating workplace connection and team cohesion, and risks of inequity.

👉 Read our article about distributed teams to understand better the difference between this concept and remote work!

11. Shift swapping

Shift swapping involves employees trading shifts with one another to accommodate their schedules better. This can be a helpful option for companies outside of traditional business hours, such as those in the hospitality or healthcare industries. It can also be a valuable tool for team members with personal obligations requiring them to work non-standard hours.

The pros include better work-life balance, reduced absenteeism, increased employee satisfaction, lower stress, operational continuity, responsive staffing, fewer scheduling conflicts, and employee empowerment and trust.

Cons: scheduling complexity, communication gaps, risks of favoritism, workload imbalance, and potential abuse.

12. Phased retirement

Phased retirement is a flexible work arrangement that allows people to reduce their working hours as they gradually approach retirement age. This can benefit employees who wish to ease into retirement and companies who want to retain team members who may otherwise choose to retire. Phased retirement can also offer an excellent opportunity for knowledge transfer from older staff to younger ones.

Pros: knowledge and skill transfer, retention of expertise, improved succession planning, reduced turnover costs.

Cons: complex administration, benefits, and compensation adjustments, resistance to change.

How do you make flexible work practices work, regardless of the examples of flexibility at work you adopt?

Take advantage of technology to support your flexible work model

Workplace technology is transforming our work environment by making it more productive, employee-centric, and safer. Regarding adopting flexible work practices, many tools are available to help you transition into these new ways of working effectively. 

deskbird, for example, is a complete software that enables your staff to enjoy the best hybrid work experience. They book the workspace they need when coming on-site, manage their weekly planning within a few clicks, stay up-to-date about upcoming office events, etc. 

From a company point of view, we provide you with crucial workplace analytics to optimize your office space and save costs. You can also design your hybrid work policy, use deskbird with all your tools thanks to seamless integrations, assign spaces, create events, quickly know who is working where and when, and much more.

📆 Start a free trial of the deskbird app to discover how easy hybrid work can be and how to provide the best workplace experience!

Be aware of your competitors’ flexible work practices, but don’t copy them mindlessly

Being aware of your competitors’ practices in this regard is crucial, but it is equally essential to create your own unique flexible work policy. 

First, each organization and workforce is unique. So, how other companies enable flexibility for their employees might not work in your workplace. Second, you must differentiate yourself from your competitors. Third, including your team members in the process is highly recommended. They will tell you their expectations and give you relevant feedback about what works and what doesn’t. 

You can determine the best flexible work practices for your workforce and business with their input. Doing so undoubtedly increases your chances of making it suitable and initiating a thriving work environment.

Train your managers about flexible team leadership

Managers can have difficulties adapting and doing their jobs effectively with a more forward-thinking approach if they don’t get guidelines about how to lead their teams. Offering them leadership training for flexible teams enables them to understand better how to supervise people working in multiple locations and at different times.

This is even more important as the biggest challenges with these modern ways of working are the loss of workplace connection and culture, feelings of isolation, and difficulties in maintaining team bonding and coordination. Moreover, signs of micromanagement often arise with more flexible work practices. While allowing flexible work arrangements boosts employee morale, satisfaction, and engagement, the psychological effects of micromanagement cancel out all these benefits.

Develop a culture of autonomy and trust

Whether you decide to adopt remote work, flexitime, phased retirement, or any of the other examples of flexibility at work listed above, promoting autonomy and trust in the workplace should be among your top priorities. Without them, micromanagement, conflicts, and an unhealthy work atmosphere are more likely to arise.

Trust means managers don’t doubt how their team members work, especially when they are not around. Leaders should encourage their coworkers to be autonomous while supporting them when needed. Annual hours model, hybrid-at-will policies, and flexitime schedules are perfect examples of how to give more autonomy to your staff and trust them. However, trust also implies that employees rely on each other and don’t question their colleagues’ timetables and ways of working.

Regularly check with your team for improvements

Finally, as your organization grows and evolves, so does your workforce. What seemed to be the perfect flexible work model last year might not have been so ideal after all. Deciding on one solution and never reviewing it again is very risky. Regular checks are important to make sure the forms of flexibility at work that are in place still match your employees’ expectations and help you remain competitive in the tough job market.

Ask managers to collect feedback from their team members. Organize meetings and discuss the current policies. Send specific employee satisfaction questionnaires to cover this topic. Create a feedback box (virtual and physical) where workers can drop their ideas and opinions anonymously whenever they want. Once or twice a year, sit around the table, analyze if your flexible work arrangements are still effective, and answer your staff’s needs. If not, look at other options and consider their input to adjust accordingly. 

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing work environment, offering flexibility is no longer a luxury but a necessity. By allowing one or a mix of the above examples of flexibility at work, you can attract and retain top talent, boost satisfaction and productivity, and create a positive and employee-centric corporate culture.

At deskbird, we understand the importance of flexible work practices and the challenges that go with them. We’re here to help you manage your hybrid workplace effectively while developing the best employee experience.

So, are you ready to become a forward-thinking company and level up your game?

‍Request a free demo of the deskbird app to embrace flexible office solutions and take the first step towards a more productive, satisfied, and engaged workforce.