Employers are giving employees more options when it comes to managing when and where they work while also reducing some options that impact how much they work, according to the most recent edition of the National Study of Employers released jointly by the Families and Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management.
This 2012 study reveals that more employers are open to workplace flexibility since 2005. In fact, 77 percent of respondents are allowing employees to use flex time and periodically change starting and quitting times within some range of hours as opposed to 66 percent of respondents in 2005.
Eighty-seven percent of employers give employees the option to take off time during the workday to attend to important family or personal needs without loss of pay while only 77 percent of respondents allowed this in 2005. Another 63 percent of respondents provide employees with the chance to work some of their regular paid hours at home occasionally compared to 34 percent of respondents in 2005.
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Despite this increased flexibility, opportunities to work a reduced schedule or take extended leaves have fallen. Among the significant decreases are 73 percent of respondents in 2012 allowing employees to return to work gradually after childbirth or adoption in comparison to 86 percent of respondents in 2005.
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In 2012, 52 percent of respondents offer a career break to employees attending to personal or family responsibilities as opposed to 73 percent in 2005, and 41 percent of respondents allow employees to move from full-time to part-time work and back while keeping the same position or level compared to 54 percent in 2005.
"It seems that employers are dealing with the lingering economic instability by trying to accomplish more with fewer people," says Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of FWI and an author of the study. "Most of the gains allow employees to work longer hours or adjust those hours to care for their personal and family responsibilities while getting their work done. Although some may have expected employers to cut back on flexibility entirely during this economic downturn, we are seeing employers leverage flexibility as they look toward the future."
"Employers continue to find ways to offer flexibility to their employees, despite economic challenges they may face," says Henry G. Jackson, president and CEO of SHRM. "As we look ahead, it is clear that in order to remain competitive, employers must find ways to offer flexible work options if they want to attract and retain top talent."
Although the maximum length of care-giving leaves has been cut, the study shows that more respondents are offering at least some replacement pay for maternity leave during their time of disability. Still, fewer respondents are likely to pay employees their full replacement salaries than in 2005.
Respondents are also more likely to provide full-time employees with health insurance coverage than in 2005; however, 41 percent of respondents are asking employees to pay a more of the premium for personal health insurance over the past year.
"It is clear that employers continue to struggle with fewer resources for benefits that incur a direct cost," says Ken Matos, senior director of employment research and practice at FWI and the lead author of the report. "However, they have made it a priority to grant employees access to a wider variety of benefits that fit their individual and family needs and that improve their health and well-being."
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