How Employers Can Make Flexible Hours Work For Everyone
1. GET LINE MANAGERS ON BOARD
First and foremost, managers need training in how to manage flexible work. Even where flexible work is supported, too often it is assumed that managers can run with new working practices as a matter of course (как нечто само собой разумеющееся). But without any investment being made in managers, flexible working arrangements are set up to fail. Alternatively, the buck gets passed (ответственность переходит) onto the flexible worker to make a success of a new arrangement, giving him or her one more task for their workload and one with a high penalty attached to failure—a stressful experience in itself.
Realistically, achieving this buy-in (вовлеченность, долевое участие) will also need some nudging (подталкивание), particularly for smaller businesses and sectors where there has been less flexible work. Giving managers access to success stories and practical guidance, backed up by lots of leadership and peer support, is vital.
