Flex Jobs Benefit Employees
Employees with flex jobs (Click here) are simply happier and healthier than those without.
A recent study from two psychologists - Ellen Ernst Kossek, who teaches HR management and organizational behavior at Michigan State University, and Leslie Hammer, director of the Occupational Health Psychology program at Portland State University - found there is a strong case for working a more flexible schedule or telecommuting to your job.
During the four-year study, the researchers evaluated how supportive managers in 12 Midwestern grocery stores were of their employees' lives outside work, including everything from family responsibilities to personal pursuits. As part of the study, half of the managers were trained to "work with employees to reduce scheduling conflicts between work and family obligations."
The results, not surprisingly, found that employees with managers who offer a flexible workplace are more satisfied with their jobs and in better physical health. In addition, those employees have a lower turnover rate than workers under managers who don't offer flexibility.
"You can support someone to do their job," Kossek told The Seattle Times. "But it is also important for managers to support work and family integration, and to support all the other aspects of employees' lives outside the workplace."
Aside from offering a flexible schedule, the study found that employees also appreciate managers who offer emotional support, which can greatly increase a worker's happiness on the job. As another part of the study, store managers were trained to be emotionally supportive of employees.
For example, supervisors were trained to acknowledge the after-hours responsibilities and pursuits of their staff, including things involving family and school, and to understand the conflicts that can occur between an employees' work life and personal life.
"Emotional support is important," Kossek added. "In some of the stores we studied, managers weren't even saying 'hello' to their employees."