Three big ideas for 2022: Flexible work is in charge and there’s no going back

While flexible work carries many implications, it also provides huge opportunities for employers who need to attract and retain working caregivers.

This post is part of a series on the big ideas driving the next wave of benefits innovation. Cleo leaders kicked off the new year with a live discussion exploring these themes. View the recording to get caught up on how leading employers will stay ahead of the game to win and retain talent in 2022.

We’ve known that flexible work is here to stay, especially as large companies from the likes of Adobe, Twitter, Spotify, Lincoln Financial Group, Nationwide Insurance and more set the stage for permanent remote work. According to a Gallup poll, nearly half of full-time employees were working partly or fully remote this fall, and three in 10 employees are extremely likely to seek another job if their company eliminates remote work.

Flexible work looks different for every employee. For some, flexible work means the ability to choose where you work (e.g. how often you come into a physical office or not), while for others it’s about not being tied to the traditional 9-5 schedule. There are various definitions of flexible work, and while it largely allows people to stay in the workforce and balance their work and personal lives, it does have some unintended consequences that particularly burden working families (e.g. unique childcare needs, increased burnout, limited opportunities for career advancement for women in particular, etc.).

As employers, in order to attract and retain talent (especially those at high risk of leaving), we need to innovate on behalf of our employees and support them in different ways than what’s traditionally been done. This leaves room for ripe transformation in the family benefits space in 2022 and beyond.

In order to make flexible work actually work for employees—particularly working parents—the systems in place to support them need to change.

Benefits continue to be a huge value add for employees, but onsite meals, laundry services, etc. that were meant to make employees’ lives easier will no longer work as we shift away from the office. Furthermore, large child care center programs that were close to the office are no longer the most viable solution for families who either no longer commute to the office or work flexible hours and need unique solutions. So, how else can companies support working families by lifting the burden for their employees in this hybrid era?

1. Adopt benefits that meet people where they are.

While employees of all types have made clear the extent to which they value greater flexibility, we increasingly hear from families who aren’t commuting that they are turning to smaller, more local child care programs such as in-home daycare, nannies, and in-home schooling to meet their needs. Parents who are working flexible hours or hybrid schedules may need multiple solutions to stitch together. These unique situations are more difficult to navigate than larger childcare center programs and not as easy to discover.

Thirty-five percent of working parents say a child care benefit would make them feel more supported, but only 1 in 5 has access to one through their employer according to our recent national State of Working Parents survey. This has long-term implications for both parents and employers, as parents without full-time access to child care are 33% more likely to leave their job. Working parents need adaptable benefits that can support not only their increased flexibility, but their ever evolving needs as a family. We’ll begin seeing more benefits solutions designed to allow families to build support systems around themselves versus the old paradigm of contorting their lives around what’s available.

2. Acknowledge the disproportionate burden placed on women.

As the pandemic initially disrupted our ways of work and schooling, there was a glimmer of hope that traditional household norms might be disrupted too. According to our State of Working Parent survey, 91% of women manage half or more of their families’ caregiving and education responsibilities and the pandemic created an opportunity to redistribute this workload. However, as the pandemic continues, gender inequities have actually worsened. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, both mothers and fathers spent more time looking after their kids as schools went virtual and daycares shut down; however, mothers bore the brunt of that extra work with women devoting 2.9 hours more per day than men to child care in 2020, compared with 2.55 hours in 2019.

This disproportionate burden on mothers eats at their opportunities for career advancement and higher earnings. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly half of men feel they’ve advanced in their careers more than or as much as expected, while only 1 in 3 women feel this way.1 Not to mention the alarming number of women who’ve stepped back or away from work entirely during the pandemic.2

We can’t let women fall further behind. Women represent at least half of those at the top of the curve on IQ, emotional intelligence, creativity, and leadership skills.3 Additionally, companies with more women — especially more women in leadership — perform better. Flexible family benefits that help address challenges working parents, and mothers in particular, face as they balance work and family obligations are critical to holding on to and building on all that has been gained by women in the workforce.

3. Close the feedback loop with employees.

Feeling connected and supported is essential to employee engagement and retention. Working parents who feel included at work are 41% less likely to leave their jobs1—and it factors even larger for working moms. However, remote work does create new challenges to workers feeling connected both socially and professionally.

As companies permanently adopt flexible work options (e.g. working remotely, hybrid, flexible hours, etc.), it’s important that they provide benefits and adopt policies that allow their employees to feel heard, seen, and supported. We’ve already started to see this shift among some of the most innovative employers who have introduced dedicated HR roles to ensure all segments of employees feel more supported by, and connected to their employer and colleagues.

Companies who adopt flexible, supportive benefits that meet employees, particularly working parents, where they are will attract and retain diverse talent in this era of flexible work.

If you’re ready for a benefit solution that will adapt to the evolving needs of today’s workforce, request a demo today.

Sources:
1Cleo’s national State of Working Parents survey
2U.S. Census Bureau
3Harvard Business Review