CONSCIOUS CAPITAL COACHING
Founder's Article
Flexible working is the only way to offer truely inclusive workspaces.
I just read a great article from the brilliant Anna Whitehouse, providing a robust and sensible argument to the flexible working naysayers and doom merchants.
I particularly enjoyed her observation around where the more negative argument is coming from: “I see this as one fairly binary view layered with a nannying, chauffeuring, helicoptering and financially abundant subtext.”
The truth is this: flexible working is the only way to offer true accessibility in the workplace. I think the major problem with this debate is the misunderstanding of what to be flexible means by leadership in business.
There is no one size fits all.
Flexible working does not mean everyone working from home, or everyone working to a hybrid model, or shift the 8 hours from 8am-10am starts or dropping a day pro rata…it means what it says. Flexible working.
My personal interpretation of what this means is a contract tailored to get the most productive and safe employee based on their individual needs for flexibility, that also reasonably meets the work set out in JD with clear and fair contractual performance obligations.
In Anna's report, I believe they only found one type of role that couldn't have flexibility of this kind.
There is a need for strong empathetic leadership.
Of course, this will require very strong leadership that is clear and cares about their employee's welfare, even perhaps transparent business practices and some level of trust that an adult can behave with integrity...hmm...I wonder why there is a certain cohort of business leader that don't feel this level of trust, care and transparency is possible...
The Flexinomics report.
You can read more about the Fleximonics report published by Sir Robert McAlpine, exploring the value of flexible working to business on their website here https://www.srm.com/news-and-comment/flexonomics-report/
One thing is clear to me, flexible working isn't a solution for just one social equity intersection agenda.
Anna’s own driver seems to have been for closing the gender pay gap. My personal focus for true flexibility is around mental health inclusion and protection. The benefits are universal to all intersections of DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) principles, and essential for those wanting to be authentic and transformative with DEI.
As I discuss in my article Personal Interest VS Purpose
Come and talk to us.
If you are:
🌻perhaps finding yourself frozen with this work, unclear about what is best and what you want for your work or business,
🌻maybe you want to understand what your flexible needs are or,
🌻even if you just want to do the work to break down some of your conditioned barriers, creating a more open growth mindset,
I would like to offer you a free taster session with me to work out how to begin to address these issues. Book a free discovery session via the button below.
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