“Don’t get used to working remotely”—These are the words Kristi LeBlanc heard from her boss after just having three kids in the span of 26 months. The day she returned to the office from maternity leave after having twins, the managing partner told her that he hoped she didn’t get too used to being at home because she had to return 100% to the office. Two months later, Kristi found a new position with DHR Global, where she is managing partner of global consumer and retail. The new position afforded her the flexibility of remote work, which changed her life as a mother for good.
I asked LeBlanc to share her personal journey as a working mother in a remote work environment. “Since joining DHR in 2008, I have had the complete flexibility to work remotely,” she told me by email. “Our CEO at the time, knew when hiring me that I had three children, ages two, two and four. He was incredibly progressive in how he viewed hiring partners. Many women who have achieved senior partner status in their professional services careers at our company are also working mothers. Affording these high-achievers the flexibility and trust to balance their work and family responsibilities in smart and efficient ways is one of the most stand-out competitive advantages for DHR Global. Company leadership trusts that parenting and careers can effectively co-exist.”
LeBlanc says it was a lack of flexibility that led her to leave her previous job at one of the top global executive search firms—a place where she had spent almost a decade and had become a senior partner. “Being a working mother at DHR Global in this remote environment has been a game-changer for me and my three children,” she explains. I have been present at most every significant school function or sports event from the time my children were in kindergarten through high school. For me personally, being available to my children was imperative, and I was in a situation where I could make that work. If my children needed to speak with me after school for support or guidance, or just to share excitement, I was there, front and center. It is a tremendous gift that DHR gave to me and my family.”
Study after study shows that work flexibility is crucial to retain and recruit top talent and loyal employees. To combat stress and burnout, employees are prioritizing their mental health more than ever, and flexible work schedules are at the top of their wish list for a healthy work-life balance. People with flexible arrangements have more time in the mornings for themselves, for their spouses and children and time to accomplish personal errands. And they seem desperate for more free time and willing to do almost anything to have more elbow room.
I reported on a Flexjobs study last year for Forbes.com of 2,202 employees which found that 25% of employees quit their jobs, and 41% gave “not allowing flexible schedules” as the reason. Another 30% were stuck in jobs they disliked and wanted to quit. A separate study of 1,000 workers by Skynova reported that nearly 50% of respondents said a flexible schedule was more important than their salary, and 36% valued their flexible schedule more than PTO.
Working full-time can be busy enough, but it’s even more challenging for workers who are caring for a loved one—a leading source of stress, according to the American Psychological Association. Now comes a new study from Carewell, which surveyed respondents who work 35 hours weekly and spend 21 hours a week caring for a loved one—58% of whom have a side hustle in addition to their primary job. Of these, 78% say they regularly feel stressed, and 58% are overwhelmed from balancing caregiving and work. A total of 53% of these employees have already made career sacrifices due to their caregiving duties and insist that they are willing to take a 40% pay cut to have more flexibility. Over half say they would reduce their vacation days. That’s a huge sacrifice for the caregivers, 53% of whom have made many career sacrifices and 42% of whom already have delayed retirement plans.
According to these findings, working caregivers need flexible hours or remote work options above all else, with almost seven in 10 citing it as their biggest wish. Plus, 65% of remote working caregivers would consider quitting if they were required to go into the office. With 42% of working caregivers regularly experiencing conflicts between their work and caregiving responsibilities, it’s clear that employers need to provide more flexibility and accommodation.
But many leaders are turning a deaf ear to research statistics, expert advice and data analytics that could help with retention and recruitment. “A whopping 90% of employees agree that flexible work schedules help with employee retention, but just half of employers think offering this perk helps retain employees,” according to project manager for Skynova, Joe Mercurio, who warns, “It might be time for employers to start listening to employees though, because 78% of employees with rigid schedules are considering finding another job.”
The American workforce is desperate for flexibility. And they are willing to go to great lengths just to come up for air, find life balance and have peace of mind. The cumulative research shows that they are willing to go as far as to take four actions:
1. Quit their jobs
2. Give up vacations
3. Forgo PTO
4. Agree to drastic pay cuts as much as 40% in some cases
“There are many men and women still forced to sacrifice their careers or sacrifice how much time they spend with their kids,” LeBlanc laments. “When starting your family in today’s flexible and hybrid era, it’s imperative to look for forward-thinking companies that will not force a parent to make this choice. There are still many companies that offer zero flexibility to working mothers; the expectation is that in order to perform your job, you must be in the office. So, many women are still taking sabbaticals to spend anywhere from a few years with their children at home to not working until their children are in school full time. Too many women are still forced to make a choice between working or being a mom. This leads to significant compensation disparity and economic inequity.”
The unstoppable force creating the greatest leadership challenge of our time is finding a solution to the overnight switch from office jobs to in-home work stations, according to Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton and Jim Harter, workplace chief scientist for Gallup. They co-authored the book, Culture Shock in which they contend that the key to winning the future isn’t commanding people back to the office, which hasn’t worked. They posit it’s building an adaptive and dynamic culture where employees experience unimaginable success and are empowered to build lasting customer relationships. They argue that today’s leaders must meet the greatest challenge of our era. And when they do, they’ll increase productivity, well-being and revenue by creating the desirable culture of work and life that today’s employees demand.
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