SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements

December 18, 2013

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• This is part two of a series of SHRM survey findings examining employee benefits in the workplace.

• The following topics are included in the six-part series titled State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace:

» Part 1: Wellness initiatives » Part 2: Flexible work arrangements» Part 3: Health care» Part 4: Leveraging benefits to retain employees» Part 5: Leveraging benefits to recruit employees» Part 6: Communicating benefits

Introduction

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• For the purpose of this survey, flexible work arrangements or flex work may include full- or part-time telecommuting, flexible scheduling, compressed workweek, etc.

Definition

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• Do organizations offer flexible work arrangements to their employees? Nearly three-fifths (57%) of organizations offer these benefits. Among those organizations, almost one-half (45%) indicated that the majority of their employees are allowed to use flex work. This figure has increased 11 percentage points since 2012.

• In 2012, did employee participation in flexible work arrangements increase? Yes, approximately one-third (33%) reported employee participation increased since 2011, 61% indicated employee participation remained the same, and only 6% reported that participation in these benefit decreased.

Key Findings

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• The numbers are rising for flexible work arrangements—the percentage of employers that participate in this benefit increased from 2012, and more organizations offer flex work to a broader scope of their payroll. This trend is in line with workers’ increased desire to manage their own time and better balance their work with their responsibilities out of the office. Separate SHRM studies have shown that many workers rate “the balance of work/life issues” as an integral factor in job satisfaction, and flexible work arrangements can offer a cost-effective means of delivering that balance. Other research by the Families and Work Institute revealed that an increasing number of men have expressed a need for flexible work to better balance their jobs and family responsibilities—proof that demand for such arrangements spans a broad segment of the workforce.

What do these findings mean to the HR profession?

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Does your organization provide employees with the option to use flexible work arrangements?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

57%

43%

53%

47%

2012 (n = 414)2013 (n = 382)

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Are the majority (more than half) of employees at your organization allowed to use flexible work arrangements?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

45%

55%

34%

66%

2012 (n = 210)2013 (n = 207)

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How did employee participation in your organization’s flexible work change last year compared with the year before?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Increased

Remained the same

Decreased

33%

61%

6%

36%

58%

6%

2012 (n = 192)2013 (n = 179)

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Does your organization monitor employee participation rates in its flexible work arrangements?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

47%

53%

38%

62%

2012 (n = 198)2013 (n = 187)

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Organization Demographics

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Demographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 363

1 to 99 em-ployees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

33%

32%

17%

12%

6%

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Demographics: Organization Sector

n = 377

Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit

Government sector

Other

51%

24%

12%

11%

2%

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Demographics: Organization Industry

Note: n = 375. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

PercentageProfessional, scientific and technical services 21%Health care and social assistance 17%Manufacturing 15%Government agencies 12%Finance and insurance 10%Educational services 9%Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 5%Accommodation and food services 4%Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4%Construction 4%Mining 4%Transportation and warehousing 4%Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%Information 3%Retail trade 3%Real estate and rental and leasing 2%Repair and maintenance 2%Utilities 2%Whole trade 2%Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%Personal and laundry services 1%Other 7%

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U.S.-based operations only 80%

Multinational operations 20%

Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same.

39%

Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location.

61%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

59%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices.

4%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

37%

Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization?

For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?

Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally?

n = 381 n = 381

n = 244

Corporate (company-wide) 73%

Business unit/division 16%

Facility/location 11%

n = 244

What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?

Demographics: Other

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SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Flexible Work Arrangements

• Response rate = 11%• 441 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s

membership participated in this survey• Margin of error +/- 5%• Survey fielded May 3-22, 2013

Survey Methodology

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• Workplace Flexibility Resource Page

• Work Life Fit Resource Page

• Alternative Work Schedules Resource Page

• Creating an Effective Flexible Work Environment

Additional SHRM Resources

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For more survey/poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys

For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

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About SHRM Research

Project leaders:Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research

Project contributors:Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM ResearchEvren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research

Copy editor:Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

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The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates.

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