Why Leading Companies Are
Implementing Flexible Work and
Flexible Careers
Prof. Brad Harrington
Boston College Center for Work & Family
Johnson & Johnson, March 2012
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
CWF Mission
The Boston College Center for Work &
Family is the country's leading universitybased 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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
CWF Members include …
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Johnson & Johnson
Sodexo
Proctor & Gamble
Chevron
PwC
KPMG
Eli-Lilly
Kraft Foods
Deloitte-Touche
Intel
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IBM
Marriott
John Deere
Prudential Securities
UPS
Abbott Laboratories
Bristol-Myers Squib
Dell Computers
Merck
Raytheon
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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”
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Generational Diversity in U.S.
Generation Birth Years
% WF Work Perspectives
Veterans /
Ages: 67-90
Traditionalists born 19221945
7%
Company loyalty – Believed they’d
work for the same company their
entire career
BabyBoomers
Ages: 48-66
born 19461964
36%
“Live to work” – Believed in facetime at the office. Women enter
workforce in large numbers
Gen Xers
Ages: 32-47
born 19651980
31%
“Work to live” – Believed that work
should not define their lives. Dualearner couples became norm
Millennials /
Gen Y
Ages: 12-31
born 19812000
26%
“Work my way” – Devoted to their
careers, not their companies.
Strong desire for meaningful
work
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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.
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Family Changes
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
1975
2008
15
10
5
0
Married, traditional
Married, dual
earner
Married, both
parents
unemployed
Married, nontraditional
Single parent,
employed
Single parent,
unemployed
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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)
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
What’s happening with women...
 Women nearly 50% of US workforce
 In the United States, women earn:
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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…
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Young Women / Men Don’t Differ in Desire for
Jobs with More Responsibility (1992 – 2008)
90%
80%
72%
67%
66%
70%
61%
66%
54%
56%
50%
1992
1997
Men under 29 (Millennials in 2008)
2002
2008
Women under 29 (Millennials in 2008)
Sources: 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW), Families and Work Institute (FWI)
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Men feel more w-f conflict than women
(National Study of the Changing Workforce by Galinsky, Aumann, and Bond, 2008)
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Comparison of Education Levels
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Time off after most recent child
By contrast, most professional
mothers take 2-6 months leave
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Comparison of Workweeks
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Comparison of income levels
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
How Father’s see their role
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
How should / is care giving divided?
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Fathers flex, but not formally
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Flexibility as a Business Strategy:
Impact of flextime and flex-place
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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)
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Mass Career Customization
Flexibility and Careers
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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.
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
‘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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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 Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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 selfknowledge (goals, interests, skills, values, etc.)
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Deloitte’s Mass Career Customization
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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?”
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Employees also have concerns …
 Concerns
 Solutions
 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
 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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
What’s happening at …
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
Achieving Cultural Change
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011
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
Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011