When Metropolitan State University of Denver won a Top Workplaces Award for Work-Life Flexibility this year, the news was welcome but hardly came as a surprise.
The University has been at the forefront of a growing national drive to build a new workplace culture where employees can better integrate their personal lives with the demands of a working week, said Charles Kibort, director of Human Resources Operations and Strategy at MSU Denver.
“Everything shifted with the pandemic,” he said. “Covid taught us that we could be productive and accountable – meeting or exceeding our goals – while offering our employees more flexible work arrangements.”
Getting ahead of this oncoming curve, President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., signed MSU Denver’s Alternative Work Arrangements policy two years ago. The framework recognizes that while not all roles can be performed remotely, there are a number of work arrangements that employees and supervisors may consider, depending on the role. These are designed to create a healthy life-work balance and include remote and hybrid work options, flexible hours, modified schedules and compressed workweeks.
The simple fact is that flexible working has become a big priority for modern professionals. And while individual employee preferences might vary, Kibort thinks they all need to be considered. “It is important for organizations like ours to offer these flexible options,” he said, “so we can attract a large candidate pool when hiring and keep turnover rates low.”
Over the years, many workplace trends have come and gone. But this time, experts say, it feels different, like there has been a genuine tectonic shift in how people view their relationship to the workplace.
“I agree: It is different now,” said Stacy Dvergsdal, associate vice president for Human Resources. “Speaking personally, I appreciate the flexibility given to me as a mom and leader at MSU Denver. I feel more balanced and know my daughter enjoys how I can be there for her most important moments.”
Dvergsdal’s point about women and the workplace is a pertinent one. She recounts a recent Fortune magazine headline warning that companies with return-to-office mandates were “hemorrhaging female talent.” “That was spot-on,” she said. “Companies that fail to take workers’ desire for flexibility into account are paying the cost dearly.”
And as more employers are gradually realizing, this particular cruise liner shows no signs of suddenly reversing course though the University will continue to refine and improve its approach.
“Our current flexible work model is very likely here to stay,” Kibort said, “simply because employees know they can easily find another job offering flexibility if their own organization will not.”
Research shows that flexible working leads to numerous benefits for employees — lowering stress levels, increasing morale, boosting productivity — while also reducing company costs.
“We will soon release our latest HR metrics, and you’ll see then that we have a lot to celebrate when it comes to retaining our talent,” Dvergsdal said. “Flexible work arrangements are really important for us, but they are just one of many levers we pull to ensure we have a competitive total–rewards package.”
