CHAPTER 10

Winning Support for Flexible Work

by Amy Gallo

Many professionals seek flexible work arrangements to accommodate lives that don’t mesh with a 9-to-5 day. Yet few companies have official policies or programs for alternative schedules—and just as few managers are willing or equipped to provide them for members of their teams. This doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea of flextime if it would help you cut down a lengthy commute or avoid burnout. It just means that the onus is on you to propose a plan that works for you, your boss, and your company.

What the Experts Say

Before you pursue a flexible schedule, recognize that you’re likely to be bucking long-held conventions. “Traditionally, managers were reluctant to have people work remotely because of lack of trust: Are you really working, or are you eating bonbons with your friend?” explains Stewart D. Friedman, founding director of the Wharton School’s Work/Life Integration Project. Even those bosses who trust their employees worry about appearing to favor certain people or allowing productivity to decline.

Still, some managers and organizations are reaping the benefits of nontraditional schedules. Research from Lotte Bailyn, MIT management professor and coauthor of Beyond Work-Family Balance, shows that when employees have the flexibility they need, they meet goals more easily, they’re absent or tardy less often, and their morale goes up. By focusing on these upsides and thoughtfully framing your request around them, you greatly increase your chances of getting approval for an alternative work arrangement.

Define What You Want

The first step is to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish. Is your goal to spend more time with family? Less time at the office? Or do you want to remove distractions so you can focus on bigger, longer-term projects? Once you’re clear on your goal, decide how you can achieve it while still doing your job effectively. Options include a compressed workweek, a job share, working from home, and taking a sabbatical. Of course, not every job is suited for a flexible arrangement. Before you make a proposal, think carefully about the impact your wished-for schedule will have on your boss, your team, and your performance.

Next, investigate what policies, if any, your company has and whether there’s a precedent for flexibility. You won’t need to blaze a trail if one already exists.

Design It as an Experiment

Many managers will hesitate to approve a flexible schedule, especially if your organization lacks established protocols. You can allay their fears by positioning your proposal as an experiment. “Include a trial period so your boss doesn’t worry that things will fall apart,” says Bailyn. “He or she needs to be able to see the new way of working.”

In his book Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life, Friedman talks about nine types of experiments you can do to gently introduce flexibility—everything from working remotely to delegating. Whatever you propose, provide an out. Explain that if it doesn’t work, you’re willing to try a different arrangement or resume your former routine. “One can always go back to the original plan, but most such experiments work out very well,” says Bailyn.

Ask for Team Input

“Our research has shown that flexibility only works when it’s done collectively, not one-on-one between employee and employer,” says Bailyn. Your team is affected by your work schedule, so you need everyone’s support to make your new arrangement a success. Explain what you’re trying to achieve and ask for their input. “Engage them in the planning,” Bailyn says, and let your boss know that you’ve incorporated your colleagues’ suggestions into your proposal.

Involving your team can help head off another common concern: Some bosses worry that if they grant one person flexibility, the floodgates will open and everyone will want the same arrangement. This is often an unfounded fear. Friedman points out that there’s a difference between equality and equity, and, in fact, many people prefer a traditional schedule. “You don’t give every one the same thing because they don’t want the same thing,” he says.

Highlight the Benefits to the Organization

Emphasize the organizational benefits over the personal ones. “Whatever you try has to be designed very consciously to not just be about you or your family,” Friedman says. “Instead, have the clear goal of improving your performance at work and making your boss successful.” Demonstrate that you have considered the company’s needs, that your new schedule will not be disruptive, and that it will actually have positive benefits, such as improving your productivity or increasing your relevant knowledge.

Reassess and Make Adjustments

Once your flexible schedule has been in place for three or four months, evaluate its success. Are you reaching your goals? Is the arrangement causing problems for anyone? Because you’ve designed it as a trial, you’ll want to report back to your boss. “Get the data to support your productivity. Show that it’s working,” says Friedman. And if it’s not, be prepared to suggest changes.

Case Study 1: Creating a Unique Job Share

Julie Rocco was working as a program manager at Ford Motor Company when had she her first baby. She knew she wanted to return after her maternity leave, but she didn’t see how she could work a 12-hour-a-day job and also be a hands-on mom. So she asked a mentor at Ford for advice. The answer? Take advantage of the company’s commitment to flexible work by crafting a job that suited her. The mentor also suggested she talk to another Julie at Ford, Julie Levine, about job sharing. Levine, a mother of two, had shared a job before and wanted to try it again, not least because it would give her an opportunity to move into mainstream project development.

“It’s very much like picking a spouse,” Levine says of choosing the right job-share partner. “That person is your eyes and ears when you’re not there.” After checking each other out in what they now refer to as “a blind date,” they agreed to pitch themselves as a pair to Ford’s management. The plan was this: Each would work three days a week, overlapping one day—Rocco on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; Levine on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. They opted against splitting the week in half to avoid “losing momentum” during long stretches away. Each evening, except for Wednesday, the person who’d been in the office would spend an hour and a half on the phone “downloading” the day’s events to the one who’d been home. And on their days in common, they would either work together or, when things were exceptionally busy, divide and conquer. “It’s our job to be seamless,” they told their bosses. “We have the same outlook, the same goal, the same vision, the same work ethic. And you’ll get more from us than one person could give.”

“We said we would be a pilot,” Levine recalls. Ford’s management not only agreed, but also put the duo in charge of one of the company’s highest-profile 2011 launches—the new Ford Explorer. The experiment was a success: Rocco and Levine are now known throughout the company as “the two Julies,” twin dynamos. Both say the job share has made them happier at home and work, and also more effective. “One person might work a 12-hour day, go home and collapse, then have to do it all again the next day,” Levine explains. “[With us], because you have to analyze your day and share it with another brain, [when] you show up the next day you’re ready to run.”

Case Study 2: Taking Time Off for Personal Development

Amit Desai had been working at Bayer Healthcare for 11 years when he decided he wanted to apply to Wharton’s executive MBA program. However, his enrollment would mean attending a full day of school on Friday every other week and on an occasional Thursday for two years—more than 60 days away from his job as an automation project manager.

Although Bayer has official policies on telecommuting and flextime, special requests such as Desai’s are decided on a case-by-case basis, so he was told to make a formal proposal. He started by looking into a similar request a previous employee had made and talking to his boss, who supported the plan with one stipulation: If a conflict ever arose, Desai would give priority to work over school. Desai agreed and created a pitch, including a detailed explanation of the MBA program and his goals in applying, a calendar of days he would be in school and how they tied into his work schedule, and a list of benefits to Bayer. “I have the ability to apply knowledge gained at school over the weekend to work on Monday,” he told them. The vice president approved his request and wrote a letter endorsing his Wharton application.

Desai completed his MBA in 2011. Looking back, he says that the arrangement worked well because he was careful to coordinate with colleagues. Even though he was away from the office at set times, he reminded his immediate team when he would be out and blocked off the time in his Outlook calendar. “The stress level was low because my supervisor and peers always knew where I was,” he says. And as he’d promised, he prioritized work over classes the few times that conflicts came up. He fulfilled his commitments at work while excelling in school.

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Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict. She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Follow her on Twitter at @amyegallo.

Adapted from content posted on hbr.org, December 1, 2010 (product #H006JJ).