Optimising flexibility: Individual preferences over blanket policies

Workers were found to receive more benefits from flexible work arrangements when their employers aligned their policies with individual preferences rather than uniform mandates, research has revealed.

In research recently published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, UNSW Business School Associate Professor Weiting Zheng and Professor Karin Sanders, along with RMIT University’s Dr Andrew Dhaenens and Hanken School of Economics’ Professor Jennie Sumelius, observed 482 workers in three waves of surveys between November 2021 and July 2023, at an international property developer with locations in Australia and Europe. The study aimed to explore the implications of actual vs preferred work arrangements.

Links between ‘mismatch’ experiences and turnover

The data found that one in three employees experienced a “mismatch” between their “actual” and “preferred” work arrangement; these employees were more likely to leave, as a result of this mismatch, the study revealed.

On the contrary, when employees perceived a balance between work and family life, they felt energised and satisfied with their work – thus more likely to stay with their organisation, it showed.

Professor Sanders said that the “proportion of time that employees spend working from home is aligned with individual preferences, remote work reduces turnover through improved work-family balance satisfaction”.

Work/life balance

From its data, 76 per cent of employees valued working from home as they were better able to manage personal and work commitments.

In addition, 74 per cent found time saved on commuting helpful, while 68 per cent said they worked more effectively on certain tasks from home, especially more focused work that required concentration.

Interestingly, only 15 per cent of respondents said that remote work was effective for team collaboration, which revealed that workers recognised the “trade-offs” in different arrangements.

More than 57 per cent of employees reported a preference for splitting their time between home and office; only 7 per cent reported preferring a full return to the office, while only a few employees wanted to work from home all the time, the findings revealed.

Case by case

The report found that men and women differed overall in their remote work preferences. Women preferred an additional day working from home overall compared to men, and 64 per cent of female respondents preferred to split their time between home and work, compared to 53 per cent of male respondents.

Additionally, it found that more male respondents preferred to be in the office most of the time (35 per cent) or full-time (20 per cent).

Workers who had family and caregiving responsibilities were found to have benefited from remote work when arrangements matched their preferences. For them, time working from home improved their work/family balance satisfaction more for caregivers, lowering their turnover, it found.

Zheng said: “The research shows that misaligned work arrangements had a real negative impact on caregivers.”

Finding an ‘optimal arrangement’

Despite identifying some patterns, the researchers noted that employee preferences still varied even among workers in similar situations.

Sanders said these variations show that there is no “single best practice” arrangement that works for everyone.

“Rather than putting individuals in boxes or assuming everyone has the same preferences, the authors show that it is best to ask them,” Sanders said.

Based on the research, Dhaenens said that while it is imperative to offer workers the option to work from home, workplaces must truly match work arrangements to individual employee preferences.

Dhaenens said the findings reveal that employers can find an “optimal arrangement” that will boost work/life satisfaction and reduce the likelihood that they leave.

The failure to rectify the mismatch between actual and preferred work arrangements can lead employers to fall short on crucial employee outcomes such as work/family balance satisfaction and actual employee turnover, Zheng said.

Sanders said workers and employers can engage in repeating surveys or a conversation about their preferences to help make a big difference for employees and their association. These opportunities for employees to communicate their preferences are important where there are high job demands, complex roles, and multiple job locations, Dhaenens concluded.