October marked the seventh annual celebration of National Work and Family Month. Created in 2003 by the U.S. Senate and sponsored by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP), the month is a time to raise awareness among employers about the value of flexible work arrangements.
Once viewed as strictly an employee perk, organizations that incorporate flexible work arrangements into their management strategy are finding that they are creating more effective workplaces. Enhanced employee performance, less turnover and absenteeism, and fewer stress-related illnesses are some of the positive results that employers experience when they incorporate flexibility into their environment.
Here are some tips to help employees negotiate a schedule that offers work-life balance.
- Assess whether your association's culture supports work-life initiatives. Flexible work should not simply be a catchphrase. For it to be successful, management must encourage the concept and support work arrangements that actively embrace work/life balance.
- Clearly define the WIIFM (what's in it for me) for your employer. Highlight the applicable advantages to the association, such as cost savings, enhanced productivity, reduced absenteeism, and reduced staff turnover.
- Prepare ahead to address possible objections. Think about, and prepare for, the best counterarguments to those objections.
- Develop a list of your accomplishments. Make sure to emphasize your past value to the association and how you will continue to offer such worth in a flexible work arrangement.
- Cite other successful examples of employees using flexible work arrangements in other associations.
- Propose the flexible work arrangement on a trial basis. Ask the executive director to try out the new arrangement for three months, with a formal evaluation at the end of the trial period.
- Understand that flexibility is a two-way street. Effective work-life initiatives must work for both the employee and the employer with both entities upholding their agreement.