Managing in a New

World
An Introduction to Flexibility and
Supportiveness at Work

Kathi Beauchesne, November

2004

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 Please tell us
 Your name
 How long you have been a manager
 Reason for taking this class
 What you would like to learn
 Your experience with flexibility and
support at work

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 Plan for Today
 Introduction (15 minutes)
 Flexibility and Supportiveness at Hopkins
(20 minutes)
 E-Training (4 modules: 15 minutes each)
 Break (10 minutes)
 Group Assignments and Case Examples (45
minutes)
 Group Reports and Discussion (15 minutes)
 Close (5 minutes)

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 About the E-Training…
 Meeting the Challenge: Managing the 21st
Century Workforce
 Developed by Work and Family NewsBrief
and Gil Gordon
 Four modules
 A New Manager in a New World
 The Business Case for Responding to Change
 Flexible Work Arrangements
 Redesigning Your Work Environment

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 Today’s Goals and Objectives
 Understand why a flexible management
style and a supportive culture are so critical
to becoming an employer of choice
 Provide an overview of flexibility and
supportiveness
 Practice negotiating flexibility and support
from the perspective of an old-style
manager, a new-style manager, a work
group and an employee

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 Goals and Objectives (cont.)
 Encourage the development of vision
and creative thinking
 Reflect on the leadership role of
managers
 Try out new tools: E-Trainings

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 Contents of Handout
 E-Training Information
 JHU Policy Manual: Section 7
 JHU Guidelines for Flexible Work
Arrangements
 FASAP/WORKlife Individualized
Flexible Work Schedule Information
and Procedures

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 Quick Exercise
 Think back to yesterday morning
 Write down everything you did before you came
to work
 Total the number of things you did
 Rate your stress level that morning (1 to 10—10 the
most stress)
 Rate how much of that stress you brought to work with
you (1-10)
 Rate your stress level during the work day (1-10)
 Rate your stress level when you went home from
work (1-10)

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 Imagine the possibilities…
 Rush hour traffic without the rush
 Parking lots with space to park
 Home office set-ups where everyone has a window
 Tons of pollution not spewed into the atmosphere
 Families with time to breakfast together
 Millions of gallons of fuel conserved
 The work still gets done

Telecommute America, 1995

The Challenge Facing Academic
Medical Centers
 Technology
 Changes in funding patterns
 Health care reform
 Diversity
 Corporate competition

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The Challenges Facing Academic
Medical Centers
 Adaptability and change
 Competition
 Recruitment and retention
 Productivity
 Benefits costs
 Value human resources

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 Why is flexibility so important?
The experience of others…
 Recruitment and retention
 Flexibility and recruitment/retention
 Health and wellness
 Improved productivity
 Improves commitment and loyalty
 Cuts costs and reduces turnover
 Improves motivation

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 Survey: Work and Family
Newsbrief
 Where is your organization currently
focusing its work-life efforts?
Flexible work arrangements [86%]
More supportive policies [85%]
Work redesign [77%]
Childcare assistance [62%]
Eldercare assistance [63%]
Resource and referral [76%]
Coping with layoffs, downsizing, and
a poor economy [80%]

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 The Evidence: National Study of
the Changing Workforce (NSCW)
 87% of employees go home to care for a family member every night (NSCW,
1997)
 One out of three workers is experiencing one or more symptoms of clinical
depression, and coincidentally, it is the same number of people who are feeling
over-loaded (NSCW, 2003)
 Fathers in dual-earner couples today spend 42 minutes more doing household
chores on workdays than fathers in 1977. Mothers have reduced their time by
approximately the same amount. So the combined time that spouses in dual-
earner couples with children spend on household chores has not changed over 25
years-what has changed is how family work is divided (NSCW, 2003).
 Employees with families report significantly higher levels of interference between
their jobs and their family lives than employees 25 years ago (45% vs. 34% report
this "some" or "a lot"). And men with families report higher levels of interference
between their jobs and their family lives than women in the same situation.
(NSCW, 2003)
 As the population ages, more and more employees are providing elder care for
relatives. In 2002, 35% of workers, men and women alike, say they provided
regular care for a parent or in-law over 65 in the past year, helping them do
things that they could not otherwise do themselves (NSCW, 2003)

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 The Evidence: National Study of the
Changing Workforce-Sept. 2003
 Employees reporting significantly better
mental health have the most worklife
supports in place and they experience:
 More control over schedule
 More access to flexible work arrangements
 More supportive managers and supervisors
 More supportive organizational culture
 77% of those who experience their culture
as being supportive say it is highly likely
they will still be working at the company
next year, compared to 41% who don’t
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 The “Best” Attract and Retain
Employees: Hewitt Study, 2001

 The “Best” receive nearly twice as

many unsolicited employment
applications
 The “Best” have half the voluntary
turnover

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 Flexibility at Hopkins
 Lack of policies
 No education or training

 Episodic implementation

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 Why don’t we…
 It costs too much
 It’s too hard to communicate
 Everyone will want to do it
 Supervisors will lose control
 Lack of management expertise
 Eyeball management
 Psychological block
 It won’t work and can’t be done

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Module 1: A Manager for the New
World

 Pages 1-2: Introduction

 Pages 3-19: Random Acts of
Flexibility
 Pages 20-30: Mary and George
 Pages 31-32: Summary

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 Module 2: The Business Case

 Pages 1-2: Introduction

 Pages 3-24: Quiz
 Pages 25-56: Data on the business
case

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 Module 3: Flexible Work
Arrangements (FWAs)

 Pages 1-19: Definitions

 Pages 20-26: Myths
 Pages 27-34: Case examples
 Pages 35-42: Meeting challenges
 Pages 43-44: Summary

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Module 4: Redesigning Your Work
Environment

 Pages 1-6: Qualities of the work

environment
 Pages 7-8: Random acts of flexibility
 Pages 10-25: Examples of attributes
of flexibility
 Pages 26-42 Review Quiz

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 Break
 Take 10 minutes

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 Common Issues for Managers
 Communication
 Confidentiality and security
 Equipment and technology
 Organizational culture
 Work responsibility and performance
 Work/life balance issues

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 Refresher for Managers
 Manage by results
 Set performance standards and give
feedback
 Keep employees linked to the office
 Emphasize professional development
 Spot problems early

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 Other Factors
 Selection
 Delegation
 Communication
 Documentation
 Developing teams

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 Preparing Employees
 Key responsibilities
 Team effectiveness
 Work schedules
 Promotional opportunities
 Operational aspects

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 The Rest of the Staff
 Cultural climate
 Conduct a pilot program
 Practice
 Participate in on-site meetings
 Perform jobs without access to office

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 Creative Ideas from industry…
 Work redesign
 Hoteling
 Virtual teams
 Voice mail technology
 Instant messaging
 Meeting Manager software

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 Other creative ideas from
industry…
 Brainstorming rooms
 Home visits
 1-800-All-Night
 Vacation Escape
 Around the clock cyber-secretaries
 Passing the cursor back and forth
 Webcasts

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 Practicing Skills: Negotiating
Flexibility with Your Supervisor

 Using the case example

 Work first in pairs
 Manager
 Employee

 Group structure
 Traditional/Collaborative Manager?
 HR Manager

 Employees

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 Group Discussion Topics
 What are your work culture’s norms?
 How work is done?
 How will you tie the flexibility requests to
business needs?
 How will you set up a system for screening
requests?
 How will you hold employees responsible
for screening requests?
 What is the role of the HR professional in
negotiating a flexible schedule?

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 Group Presentation
 Describe the case
 Tell us what type of manager
 How did you resolve the situation?
 Why did you choose to resolve the case
the way you did?
 What barriers did you face?
 What issues did the case raise for you
 Was it different when you worked in a
group compared to the pairs?

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 In Conclusion…
 Flexibility is a different and better way of working
 Options are offered on a mutually beneficial basis
for the organization and the person
 Broad adoption requires sustained, intensive
effort
 Flexibility requires the systematic redesign of the
work process

Paul Rupert, Rupert and Company, 2001

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 References
 National Study of the Changing
Workforce, Families and Work
Institute, No. 3, 2002.
 National Study of the Changing
Workforce, Families and Work
Institute, No. 2, 1997.

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 Resources
 http://www.workfamily.com
 http://www.gilgordon.com
 http://www.cleanair.org/green.html
 http://www.jobsharing.com
 http://www.sharegoals.com
 http://
hrweb.berkeley.edu/POLICY/teleplcy.htm
 http://www.womans-work.com
 http://www.workoptions.com

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 Success stories
 www.google.com
 Use search words “telecommuting
success”—produces at least a
thousand pages

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