Flexible Work Arrangements

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 (not just says it does) Most companies claim to support working mothers. Then they schedule mandatory meetings at 6 PM. Reward those who respond to Slack at 10 PM. Quietly pass over mothers for promotions because they're "not as available." At Supersourcing, we designed our operations differently. Not as a perk. As infrastructure. Because I'm a working mother. I know exactly where traditional companies fail. And I refused to replicate that here. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:   - 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟱 𝗣𝗠. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿. Because evenings are for family, rest, and life. If something needs discussion, we plan it during working hours. - 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝟵 𝘁𝗼 𝟲. We only need overlap for collaboration. Outside that, you should be able to work around school pickups, appointments, and your own routine. - 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱. We do not reward “who stayed online the longest.” We reward who delivered, who solved problems, and who moved work forward. - 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. If someone says, “I have my kid’s school event,” it is not seen as an excuse. It is treated like any other important commitment. - 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸. Kids fall sick without warning. So we adjust. No guilt. No pressure. You take care of home, and we plan work accordingly. - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. Not “policy for documents.” Real leave that people feel safe to take, without fear that they will be sidelined later. - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮. We do not promote based on who is always online. We promote based on skills, ownership, outcomes, and how you help the team grow. It's not "women get special treatment." It's designing work that respects full humanity for everyone. It's not a favor. It's how sustainable companies operate. You can't claim to support working mothers while designing operations that punish them for parenting. Support isn't a policy. It's operational design. 💙 #WorkingMothers #CompanyCulture #BuildingWhileBeing #Leadership #Supersourcing #WorkLifeIntegration

Flexible work is a potential boost for more diverse and inclusive workplaces. Four years after being shoved into a giant work-from-home experiment, we no longer presume that 5 days a week, 9-to-5 in the office is where work happens. International Women's Day seems like a good time to remember that we've had data for 3.5 years showing that women more than men, and women with children more than men with children, want flexibility in where and when they work. Ben Casselman, Emma Goldberg and Ella Koeze get into the macro-level impacts in The New York Times: "Parents have been some of the biggest winners in the flexible-work era. Remote flexibility made more feasible the constant juggling of professional and caretaking obligations. But it is mothers, not fathers, who appear to be taking the most advantage of workplace flexibility, whether out of choice or necessity. Among college-educated men, having children does not make much difference to whether they work at home or in person. Among women, it’s a different story. Mothers of young children are much more likely to work remotely than women without children or mothers of older children." It's not just gender and caregiving. There are benefits for every historically under-represented group at work, including workers with disabilities: "For many workers with disabilities, the normalization of remote work has offered an opportunity to avoid energy-draining commutes and offices that are not designed to accommodate their needs." As Lean In research shows, all of these people are just as driven as their in-office counterparts, whether male or female. They just want a level playing field: to be judged on the merits of their work and the outcomes they produce, not just showing up. While you're at it, read Erin Grau's fantastic OpEd, "Flexible Work is Feminist" 🔗 Links to both articles in comments #iwd2024 #internationalwomensday #FutureOfWork #flexiblework #flexibility #remotework #hybridwork #hybrid

Why should your organisation be supporting dads to be equal parents at home? Well, it's good for business first of all. Enhanced paternity leave and flexible working for all is linked with better outcomes in regards to gender equity, retention, productivity and engagement. But it's also part of your ESG strategy. As supporting dads has a significant impact on outcomes for children in regards to educational attainment. A new study by Leeds University shows that greater involvement by fathers before their child attends primary school gives an educational advantage to children in their first year, while greater involvement at the age of five helps increase attainment in key stage 1 assessments at seven. The study recommends that fathers should carve out as much time as they can to engage in playful and educational activities with their children each week. Employers have a massive part to play in enabling this. Currently, the odds are stacked against dads. We know that statutory leave means many dads can't afford to take any paternity leave and that dads are more likely to have flexible working requests declined. So as an employer, making some changes to support dads will mean better outcomes for business and better outcomes for children, families and society. Employers should: 💡 Introduce enhanced, and paid, paternity leave. Equal parental leave is ideal but at least 6 weeks is a good place to start. 💡 Ensure jobs are advertised as flexible by default. And embrace the full range of flexible working options, not just hybrid working, but term time, job shares, part time and everything else. 💡 Create a dads network to help dads share stories, support eachother, hear from role models and leaders. This helps to normalise fatherhood and male caring at work. A massive shoutout to Helen Norman from University of Leeds and Jeremy Davies from The Fatherhood Institute institute for leading on, and launching, this important new research 👊🏽👏🏽 #Fatherhood #EqualParenting #GenderEquity https://lnkd.in/ersmrP4J

👁️ If only women had wives. The kind who clear the runway, catch the flu calls, and make ambition look effortless... Last Friday, a young mother I work with told me her mentor in the company advised her to hide the fact that she has two young children, when she was about to enter the promotion as head of department in a new country. She asks me what I think... Frankly, I didn't know what to say to her, because her mentor is right, she has a higher chance of nailing that role if her peers didn't know that she has caregiving responsibilities at home. Too many women have learned to perform invisibility: to tuck their motherhood into silence, to show up spotless, sleepless, and unshakeable, as if our humanity were a PR risk. 💼 I get it. There is a cost to ambition. Every day, I choose between being an entrepreneur, a mother, a woman who sometimes drops the ball and sometimes carries the world. But to hide my children, that’s a price too high. 🌱 Motherhood didn’t make me less focused. It taught me triage, boundaries, and emotional intelligence you can’t learn in an MBA. When I’m worried about my child, I say so. When I block my calendar for family, I don’t apologize. I’m not working despite being a mother, I’m working because of everything motherhood has expanded in me. 🏗️ The truth is that the system is still built on the assumption that care is a private inconvenience, not a collective asset. Until companies start designing around reality, not pretending people don’t have lives, gender diversity will remain a spreadsheet goal, not a lived value. 💬 Because if advancement depends on having a wife at home, you don’t have a talent strategy ,you have a dependency. Now, What employers can actually do: ✅ Make part-time powerful: leadership, budgets, and promotions included. Stop treating flexibility as a downgrade. ✅ Tie manager bonuses to parent retention and advancement. What gets measured gets protected. ✅ Ban coded language like “less committed” or “not visible enough.” If you can’t quantify it, don’t weaponize it. ✅ Equal parental leave Mandatory for men, normalized for women. Culture follows example, not policy. ✅ Re-entry is not penance. Build structured return paths with sponsors, not "tolerance" ✅ Track promotions, pay, and attrition by caregiving status. If you won’t measure it, you’re not fixing it. 🧨 Because the future of leadership isn’t childless; it’s designed. Either build for real lives, or be honest that you’re selecting for people who don’t have one. ----------------------------- 📢 Hi, I am Jingjin Liu, sharing my Motherhood Diaries every Sunday as a reflection on what it means to self-actualize while mothering. It’s not balance. It’s contradiction. Fulfillment and fatigue. Expansion and erasure. I’m still in the thick of it, wrestling with who I am beyond being needed, and figuring it out as I go.

If marriage were a job, Indian women would be working double shifts - unpaid. What happens when women in India get married? Data from the Time Use in India Survey (2024) offers a sobering answer: It changes everything for them. And almost nothing for men. Marriage shouldn’t cost women their ambition. Yet the data is clear: 💡 Married women spend 388 minutes a day (~6.5 hours) on unpaid work. 💡 Married men? Just 47 minutes. And it’s not for lack of education. Women study more than men before marriage. But their participation in paid work drops dramatically after. So, what can organizations do to support women beyond policies? 1️⃣ Normalize Flexibility - for Everyone → When remote work or flex hours are only extended to mothers, it reinforces bias. → Make flexible work options standard for all genders - and actively encourage men to use them. 2️⃣ Don’t Penalize Career Pauses → Re-entering after a break shouldn’t feel like starting over. → Create returnship programs, mentor pathways, and learning pods help women relaunch with dignity and growth. 3️⃣ Evaluate Performance, Not Presence → Stop rewarding performative busyness or “face time.” → Value outcomes over optics - so caregiving employees aren’t quietly punished. 4️⃣ Build Allyship from the Top → Train managers to identify and dismantle gendered assumptions: → Who’s asked to take notes? Who’s interrupted? Who’s given stretch roles? 5️⃣ Redesign Leadership Pipelines → Offer flexible pathways to leadership that allow for ramp-ups, sabbaticals, or re-entries - without diminishing roles or rewards. The goal isn’t to lower the bar - it’s to widen the path. Because when we allow people to grow on their terms, we don’t just retain talent - we amplify it. Here's the truth: Talent doesn’t disappear with marriage. It’s systems that make it harder for women to stay in the game. As leaders, let’s stop treating marriage or motherhood as exit points - and start designing cultures where equity is lived, not just stated. What’s one shift your organization has made - or could make - to truly support women’s growth? Let’s share ideas that move the needle. ♻️ Repost to spark awareness. 🔔 Follow me, Bhavna Toor, for data-driven insights on women's leadership.

We've all seen them: those generic work excuse notes. Here's the thing: they often fall short of what employees truly need. What if we offered more than just a piece of paper? Here's how companies can truly support their teams facing life challenges: ⚫ Family Loss: Going through a loss? A few days off isn't enough. Offer extended leave and a flexible return plan to ease the transition back to work. ⚫ Miscarriage: This isn't just a physical issue. Provide generous leave, access to grief counseling, and understanding during this difficult time. ⚫ Child's Hospitalization: Medical bills don't disappear with a get-well card. Consider extending healthcare support and covering unexpected costs. ⚫ Chronic Illness: "Feel better" just doesn't cut it. Offer ongoing adjustments to work roles and schedules to create a sustainable work environment for employees with chronic health conditions. ⚫ Financial Stress: Financial worries are a heavy burden. Explore emergency financial assistance and flexible pay options to alleviate some of the pressure. ⚫ Burnout: A quick break isn't a solution. Offer mandatory time off, access to wellness resources, and address the root causes of burnout to prevent future issues. ⚫ Workplace Bullying: Policies are a start, but take action! Enforce strict anti-bullying rules to create a safe and respectful work environment. ⚫ Returning Parents: Re-entry is hard. Support them with a gradual return schedule and flexible hours to help them adjust. ⚫ Injury Recovery: Focus on security, not just recovery. Protect their job and adjust duties as needed to ensure a smooth return to work. ⚫ Caring for a Sick Child: Shouldn't be a choice between family and work. Offer guaranteed leave with job security to alleviate stress and allow them to focus on their child's well-being. ⚫ Eldercare: Taking care of aging parents takes time. Show flexibility and understanding towards their eldercare responsibilities. ⚫ Mental Exhaustion: Rest isn't enough. Offer structured mental health breaks and support programs to manage stress and promote emotional well-being. ⚫ Personal Trauma: Healing requires support. Provide access to professional therapists and recovery groups to help employees navigate difficult experiences. ⚫ Disability Needs: Accessibility is more than ramps. Regularly assess and adjust the workspace to meet individual needs and ensure everyone can thrive. ⚫ Workplace Safety: Safety isn't an afterthought. Implement and enforce strong safety measures to prevent injuries in the first place. We can do better than shuffling paperwork. Let's stand by our teams, not just oversee them. By prioritizing employee well-being over policies, we create a win-win situation for everyone. A happy, healthy, and supported workforce is a productive and successful workforce. What are your thoughts on supporting employees through life challenges? Share your experiences in the comments! #empathy #worklifebalance

This article in MIT Sloan Management Review on hybrid work by Nick Bloom, Prithwiraj Choudhury, and Brian Elliott confirms what we've been documenting for years: This isn't a location problem. It's a leadership capability gap. While too many executives still debate office attendance, their more forward-thinking, innovative competitors build the leadership AND operational capabilities that a high-performance flexible work model--not just "hybrid"--requires. The research and case studies that the article cites get critical points right: ✅ "To date, no peer-reviewed research shows a benefit to a rigid five-day office model." ✅ Synchrony's CEO focusing on measurable results over presence. ✅ Atlassian's teams creating working agreements. ✅ The reality that only 25% of managers of distributed teams get leadership training (and we wonder why they are reporting historically low levels of engagement and burnout!) But this alone doesn't close the capability gap. What I'm seeing in our work with organizations: 👉 Teams need more than permission to create norms. They need facilitation frameworks for making planning and coordination decisions within the context of broader organizational parameters that all levels of leadership have aligned behind. 👉 Managers need consistent protocols, tools and training to guide the conversations about how, when, and where their specific work gets done—not just implement generic policies. This includes defining: → How does work get prioritized and coordinated for your business? → When do teams need to be together in person, and not in person, to achieve specific outcomes? → In what spaces and places (in person and virtual) does different work happen most effectively given your constraints? The article does mention the importance of space redesign and technology but a high-performance flexible work model integrates technology capabilities, and workspace design into the defined parameters as one coordinated way of operating across places, spaces and time. This requires moving: ✅ From debating location to starting with the work and defining how, when and where that work happens best, and ✅ From treating flexibility as policy compliance to building it as strategic capability. The evidence is clear. The business case is proven. Organizations that build these operational and leadership capabilities have a competitive advantage and will outperform those still debating badge swipes. What's the biggest capability gap you're addressing to help your organization achieve high levels of sustainable performance working flexibly? #FutureOfWork #FlexibleWork #RTO #HybridWork #Leadership #WorkplaceStrategy #HighPerformanceFlexibility #ReimagineWork

What happens when a company truly litsens to its employees? In 2020, Allstate (The Insurance Company) asked a simple yet transformative question: Where do you want to work—office or remote? The response was overwhelming—95% wanted flexibility. Allstate didn’t just listen; they took bold action. Fast forward to 2024: Allstate sold its Chicago HQ at a 62% loss, slashed real estate costs from $382M to $138M, and embraced a fully flexible workplace model. The result? Despite facing one of the worst years for the insurance industry due to extreme weather, Allstate’s stock hit an all-time high, up 77% since… going flexible. Key to this success is Lauren DeYoung Allstate’s “Workplace Futurist.” Under her leadership, the company has evolved once more: employees are now empowered to work from coworking spaces when needed. As Lauren puts it: “We need shared spaces for collaboration and training. But asking people to commute just to sit on video calls? That doesn’t make sense.” This insight shows how the workplace is being re-purposed. The office isn’t obsolete—it’s a strategic tool. For onboarding, collaboration, and team-building, in-person spaces are invaluable, cutting turnover in new-hire teams from 35% to 5%. But for focused work, flexibility remains supreme. The results? 📉 Real estate spending down by two-thirds (Read that again). 📈 Stock price soaring 77% to record highs. Remember: 10% of Fortune 500 companies are now fully flexible—while only 4% remain full-time in-office. The future of work isn’t about picking one model; it’s about blending both. Last time I checked Allstate is a Fortune 100. Allstate’s journey proves that by listening to your people and adapting boldly, any company can thrive in a rapidly changing world. #FutureOfWork #Flexibility #Leadership #WorkplaceTransformation

Work is evolving. The data show us where to focus: => Remote workers aren't thriving. => FIXED ONSITE employees are struggling. New Gallup Global Workplace: 2025 Report shares data to guide where to improve employee experiences and achieve better results. Remote workers need more support--better management and sense of belonging through culture and connection. Hybrid employees are clearly also experiencing high stress which needs addressing. However, notice the data for fixed onsite workers: - Only 19% are engaged - the lowest by far - Only 30% are thriving - the lowest by far FLEXIBILITY is essential for EVERY worker. More autonomy is necessary and possible for ALL onsite workers with different options depending on the role. Flexibility for onsite workers means more: - Shift patterns and options; - Staggered start and end times; - Rotating shifts and compressed workweeks; - Shift swapping; - Floaters and part-time schedules; - Job-sharing to fulfill a full-time role; - Phased retirement and on-demand labor; - Choice of vacation timing. Manufacturing, retail, and hospitality examples: - Land O'Lakes, Inc.: Introduced “flex work” program in 60 of 140 facilities, allowing factory workers to set their schedules vs rigid 12-hour shifts. - RICK STEIN RESTAURANTS: Flexible careers scheme allows staff (all ages and experience levels)to work as little as one shift per week. -Pets at Home (UK): Offers job-sharing and part-time options for store managers supported by manager training and explicit policies. Humans thrive with more autonomy, wherever they work. What greater workplace flexibility can your company offer every worker so that your workforce and business can thrive more?

Remote work benefits more than just the disabled community. Here’s why it’s not just a great accommodation but a win-win for everyone: - Greater Accessibility: For disabled people, remote work removes many of the physical barriers to traditional office environments. No need to navigate inaccessible transportation or buildings; remote work allows people to contribute fully from the comfort of their own homes. - Flexibility: Remote work offers flexibility in work hours and environments, which benefits parents, caregivers, and anyone who needs to balance personal responsibilities with their career. This flexibility promotes a healthier work-life balance and greater job satisfaction. - Increased Productivity: Many employees report being more productive when working from home. Without the distractions of a busy office, people can focus more easily on their tasks, leading to improved efficiency and outcomes. - Expanded Talent Pool: Remote work allows companies to tap into a broader talent pool, hiring the best candidates regardless of geographic location. This is especially important for disabled people who may have limited access to traditional workplaces but possess valuable skills and expertise. - Cost Savings: Remote work eliminates commuting costs and reduces the need for large office spaces, benefiting both employees and employers. This can lead to significant savings and a more sustainable way of working. - Environmental Impact: Fewer commutes mean a lower carbon footprint, contributing to environmental sustainability. Remote work isn’t just an accessibility solution, it’s an innovative, inclusive model that benefits us all. What are your thoughts on this? #RemoteWork #Accessibility #Inclusion