Why We Need to Make Flexible Work Work

Flexible work is not going away.

Companies like Shopify and Twitter are moving to remote by default or "work wherever you are most productive" arrangements, for the long term, even after the pandemic.

In a recent LinkedIn survey of 5000 workers, only 1 in 5 said they would willingly return to a physical workplace once it reopens.

Now that many have seen how work can be done from home, there's little reason to force people back to the office, other than a disingenuous desire to "see people working."

But leaders are struggling to manage remote workers, and while some love the work/life balance they gain by no longer commuting, others are finding it difficult to create a new routine with boundaries from work. 

We’ll tackle challenges from three vantage points.

  1. From an organizational or HR point of view, how do we support a flexible work environment?
  2. For people managers, how do we manage work in a flexible world?
  3. For anyone working from home and struggling, what practices can help?

It all starts with one fundamental change in how we manage work.

Let's dive in with an example of one organization that reinvented work before the pandemic and is thriving now.

Complete and Continue