The Surprising Truth Behind Remote Work & Happiness
Plus, how to design workplaces that boost employee engagement and ROI
👋 Happy Tuesday! According to our latest research, there’s a significant relationship between a firm's age and its likelihood to offer work location flexibility. Ninety percent or more of firms founded since 2011 offer flexibility. This relationship holds across both small and large firms.
In this week’s edition:
🎥 On-Demand Engagement Webinar
🙂 The Truth About Remote Work & Happiness
📕 Shaping Tomorrow’s Workplace
Current Subscribers: 7,124
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FLEX EVENTS 📅
On-Demand Epoch Employee Engagement Webinar Now Available
Rob Sadow, CEO & Co-Founder at Flex Index, recently joined Jackie Tsai, Senior Manager of Workplace Experience at Chime, and Jade Choy, CEO & Co-Founder of Epoch, to share strategies and insights on elevating workplaces, empowering teams, and enhancing your workplace’s ROI.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll learn from the on-demand session:
🏢 How smart workplace design boosts engagement and productivity
🧠 Strategies to measure ROI on workplace experience initiatives
📈 Emerging trends in workplace design that help attract and retain top talent
THIS WEEK’S FLEX FOCUS 🔍
The Surprising Truth About Remote Work and Happiness
The allure of remote work has captivated the global workforce, with 89% of employees in remote-capable jobs craving flexibility. Yet, a startling revelation is challenging this narrative: work location may not be the happiness holy grail we've imagined.
Recent data unveils an unexpected truth – happiness levels don't significantly differ between full-time office workers and their remote or hybrid counterparts. This insight shifts the focus to more nuanced factors: trust, impact, leadership, connections, and growth opportunities, reshaping our understanding of workplace satisfaction.
This paradigm shift emphasizes the need for a holistic view of work satisfaction, transcending the simple remote vs. in-office dichotomy. It calls for a renewed focus on leadership and culture – elements that truly make or break the employee experience, regardless of physical work location.
FLEX WORK QUICK HITS 💥
Stay ahead of the curve with our curated roundup of the trending flexible work stories making waves right now. Here's what you need to know 👇
Technology Magazine: Flex work surges to 79% in Tech firms as the industry grapples with employee preferences versus corporate needs post-pandemic.
The Hill: New White House guidance promotes flexible remote work in federal agencies, contrasting with the Back to Work Act’s rigid approach, based on data showing telework’s benefits.
NY Times: “Work resorts” like Springline offer luxury amenities and hotel-like comfort to attract workers back to offices amid high vacancy rates in US business districts.
Quartz: Nothing's CEO ends hybrid work, mandating full in-office return in October, citing ambition and speed while acknowledging potential employee departures amid tech industry debate.
STAT OF THE WEEK 📈
FlexGPT Insight: Only 6% of Canadian Firms Require Full Time In Office
While US statistics often dominate the flexible work conversation, Roberta E. Sawatzky's recent FlexGPT inquiry unveils a distinctly Canadian perspective. The data shows a strong lean towards remote work in Canada:
63% of Canadian firms have embraced Fully Flexible arrangements
46.8% Employee’s Choice
16.4% Fully Remote
30% have adopted Structured Hybrid models
Only 6% maintain Full Time In Office
These numbers paint a compelling picture of a Canadian workforce at the forefront of flexibility, with nearly two-thirds adopting remote-friendly models.
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FLEXPERT INSIGHTS 🧠
McLean & Company: Shaping Tomorrow’s Workplace
McLean & Company's upcoming Future of Work Report, launching September 2024, offers a preview of the evolving workplace landscape. With contributions from Shujaat Ahmad and other thought leaders, this study explores fundamental forces shaping tomorrow's work environment.
The report addresses critical questions about workplace change drivers, their organizational impacts, and crucial decisions leaders must make for their organizations and workers to thrive. By examining shifting labor market dynamics, technological advancements, and evolving worker values, it aims to equip organizations with insights for competitive advantage.
This forward-thinking research highlights the importance of adaptability and emphasizes the need for a people-centric approach to navigate the complexities of the future workplace.
FLEX PERSPECTIVES 🎙️
ICYMI: Flexible Work’s Impact on Families, Careers, and Urban Spaces | Matthew Kahn
In this episode of Flex Perspectives, Rob Sadow is joined by Matthew Khan, Provost Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California and Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Join us as we discuss:
The imperative for cities to rethink their strategies in the face of remote work
The implication of remote work for the labor force participation of working mothers
How local politics influences hybrid work policies
Also available on Apple Podcasts.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT ⭐️
Fortive is a diversified industrial technology and manufacturing company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Everette, Washington. The company's services center around driving innovation in transportation, manufacturing, and healthcare with a mission to create essential, powerful solutions to help the world progress. Fortive operates globally with multiple office locations across the United States, Europe, Asia, and more.
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