Heightened Employee Morale

As mentioned throughout the book, a happy worker is a productive worker. Why, then, would an employer deliberately and intentionally make a good employee unhappy, thus harming their productivity?

The biggest reason for providing the option of a flexible work schedule to employees is the simple fact that they’re going to be happier, more awake and alert, more productive, and, most important, will feel a sense of satisfaction and a distinct fondness for that employer. An employer can reduce turnover, which benefits the business.

I can tell you right now that, despite having unlocked the secrets to the sales profession, if I didn’t like my boss, I didn’t perform. Plain and simple.

Remember the best sales manager I’ve ever had, the one who explained that cold calling is a waste of time? He also didn’t require anyone to come in early. In fact, he didn’t care if we came in, or even worked at all, as long as we produced our numbers each month.

This is how businesses operate in the real world. When a business hires an outside contractor, or a management consultant, there is neither any requirement nor any expectation for that contractor or consultant to show up at eight every day. No, what matters is that the job gets done. And my old manager understood this. That’s why he had the top office in the entire West, and why he was able to retire very comfortably far in advance of his peers.

After he retired, a new manager came in with her ideas of “being on time.” The two other top reps in the office and I said, “Screw this shit,” lined up new jobs, and quit. In fact there’s been tons of speculation about what exactly caused the demise of Lucent Technologies. This was a large part of it, a shift away from performance-based work to hourly-based work and an expectation to be in the office even when there was no reason at all to be there.

Any employer who wants to attract the very best, top talent must begin offering flexible work hours! How do you think Silicon Valley manages to constantly stay on the cutting edge? Simple: It’s because it’s the only place in the United States where flexible work schedules are the norm. That’s right, they’re the norm, not the exception. There is no sleep-shaming in Silicon Valley and that’s why tech companies in other areas, those who utilize a strict, 8-to-5 work schedule simply can’t keep up, and meanwhile they scratch their heads wondering why.

Increased Sense of Fairness and Job Satisfaction

At the London School of Economics and Political Science, researchers Leslie Henry and T. Alexandra Beauregard found that a key element for an employee to achieve a proper work-life balance is that they’re being treated fairly and given the ability to make the most of their opportunity with their employer.

Why is this important? That one is easy: It’s because of the law of reciprocity. When an employee feels that they’re not being given the most favorable circumstances to prosper and achieve, they foster a strong sense of resentment against their employers, much like myself and the other top reps at my old job felt, causing us to, first, interview for other jobs on that employer’s time, and subsequently to quit without notice. (In that industry, even with a two-week notice, you got five minutes to get your stuff and get out, complete with a security escort. However, by law the employer still had to pay those two weeks’ salary, so they got screwed both ways—all because they demanded we be in every day at 8:00 a.m.!)

When an employer is providing favorable circumstances to prosper and succeed, just as my “best sales manager ever” did, employees feel a strong sense of appreciation, and, more important, obligation to perform at their very best for that employer.

In plain English, flex hours are a win-win for employers because they enjoy higher productivity and output from that employee, just as I set new sales records out of a sense of obligation to a boss who was giving me what I needed to succeed—flex hours.

Better and More Qualified Employees

While tons of employers will turn up their nose at this and self-righteously proclaim that a good employee is one who is in the office at seven, the truth is that the economy is flying high right now and prospective employees have choices. Here in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, as I write this, there is a shortage of available employees and about 500,000 good jobs that are unfilled as a result.

Here’s a wake-up call: If you’re an employer who requires a morning-based work schedule, you’re simply not going to get the talent you require in this strong economy. Top-talent night owls have other choices, better choices. They’re not going to just sit back and let you walk all over them with your “early bird gets the worm” bullshit.

Millennials in particular are strongly averse to morning-centric schedules, and they now make up about 35% of the American workforce—that’s over one-third! And contrary to popular belief, the millennials I know happen to have a strong sense that hard work and smart work equates to success, and many are very entrepreneurial. With the Internet at their fingertips, why would they work for you and drag themselves to work at 8:00 a.m. or earlier when they can start an Internet business, or find an employer who “gets it”?

If you want to attract top talent among millennials, you have no other choice but to offer flex hours. Sorry, but that’s the hard truth. I’m not here to give you a shoulder to cry on, I’m here to give you the truth. And as the old movie quote goes, if you’re still resisting this and demanding that everyone come in by eight, you can’t handle the truth!

On the other hand, if you make it clear that you can offer flexible hours in your job postings, you’re massively increasing the pool of available, top-qualified talent who will be willing to work for you.

Reduced Turnover

Turnover is a four-letter word for business owners and employers. It’s unbelievably costly, and in fact, one of the reasons my Never Cold Call Again^® sales training programs have finally come to be embraced by employers is because dropping the requirement to cold call has a huge, positive effect on salesperson turnover, specifically because it’s well-proven and documented that a requirement to make cold calls is the number one cause of sales force turnover.

The happier, more satisfied, and more obligated an employee feels toward you, the chances of that employee leaving for greener grass drops dramatically. In other words, let them work when they’re feeling their best, and you won’t have to endure endless turnover like most employers do.

Studies have even shown that, particularly among younger workers, money isn’t the top factor they consider when choosing whom to work for, or whether to jump ship to a better job. No, flexibility is one of the top factors that’s most important to them, and by denying flexibility, you’re denying yourself access to top talent.

Fewer Sick Days or PTO Days

I can tell you from personal experience that I missed many days of work, at least at those jobs that demanded I be in the office by eight. That obviously caused the employer lost productivity, and cost me PTO days. Offering flexible work hours reduces absenteeism, plain and simple.

When I had flexible hours, I produced way above and beyond my sales quotas, regardless of whether I worked on any particular day or not. Smart employers look only at the numbers, not at the number of missed days and/or tardiness. In fact, “tardiness” is an obsolete word that applies only to school kids now.

In summary, by opting to offer flex hours, employers will have happier employees, healthier employees, more productive employees, more loyal and dedicated employees, less resentment, reduced turnover, and so many more benefits that there are too many to list here.