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Subscribe to RSSCompanies that focus on results rather than face time in the office may end up with healthier employees, a new study shows.
When management is more flexible about how and when a job gets done, workers get more sleep and exercise, have the time to make doctors’ appointments and are less likely to come to work sick, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
By putting the focus on the end product — whether that is a report or customer satisfaction — the company allows people to make their own schedules, explained the study’s lead author Phyllis Moen, a professor of sociology and McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair at the University of Minnesota. That lowers stress and allows people to better take care of their health, she added.
Moen and her colleagues stumbled on a unique opportunity when they learned that electronics retailer Best Buy was about to switch to a new work structure at its corporate headquarters. And because the company was going to make the switch one department at a time, the researchers would be able to compare workers from the same company — some working under the old structure and some under the new. It was, Moen said, a “natural experiment.”
The new structure was something called ROWE, or Results Only Work Environment.
To see what impact ROWE would have on employee health, Moen and her colleagues asked employees from a department that was about to switch over to ROWE to fill out a series of questionnaires that looked at everything from hours of sleep to whether employees went to the doctor when sick.
The researchers also asked another group of employees — from a department that wasn’t yet slated to change — to fill out the same questionnaires.
Six months later, Moen and her colleagues came back and questioned both groups again.
They found that employees from the department that had switched to ROWE were getting an hour more sleep each night compared to six months earlier. These workers were also finding more time to exercise and go to the doctor when they were sick. They were also far less likely to show up at work when they came down with a cold or flu.
The group from the department that had maintained status quo showed no such changes in health behaviors.
“Before ROWE, people said they would drag themselves to work no matter what their temperature was,” Moen said. “And they wouldn’t see the doctor. That’s because in [a standard work environment] it’s so important that we be seen as working hard that we don’t even have time to get to the doctor. And that has become a badge of honor.”
So, is this the wave of the future?
Moen thinks it is.
“To be competitive in the global economy employees are going to have to work smarter — and often do the jobs of two or three people,” she explained. “We have to give them greater control over their time so they can get everything done — so they can keep all the balls in the air without dropping them.”
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I wish the company I work for would do this. When some changes in upper management took place, the Director told our dept that everyone had to come to work and would only be able to work from home if absolutely necessary. I commute an hour+ to work/home everyday and many times I wish I could work from home. It would allow me to sleep an extra hour and not have to waste 2+ hours of my life everyday in a car. It doesn't leave me much time to wind down once I get home. Plus, why do we need to work 8hrs anyway? Studies have shown that we're only productive 6 out of the 8 hrs.
Ha, try working 12+ hours a day, all because your employer thinks the same number of people can continually or SHOULD produce more product than they did the month before! Critical mass is coming!!
I wonder if Best Buy has rolled out this ROWE to their stores that have set opening and closing times. I've worked in retail for about 14 years with 3 different retailers. Each of them promoted "flexible scheduling" as a benefit, but the reality is not as flexible as the employees need it to be for family and school due to hours of operation. And as a manager at 1 of those retailers, my "flexible schedule" was eliminated completely and I was expected to work at least 54 hours over a 6 day work week. The reality was I usually worked 70-80 hours over a 6 day week on salary, while my employees were limited 10-32 hours per week due to "payroll budget" set up by the District Manager. That retailer is in the same category with Best Buy and sells similar products with much smaller stores and many more of them across the country, yet never seems to be able to achieve the sales success of Best Buy. Hmm. I wonder why?
I, too, have worked retail for a long time (22 years), but for one of the big box warehouse chains, and experienced what you described at your previous employer in regards to "payroll budget". As well, 3 years ago I came down with the flu AND strep throat at the same time. High temperature, things and fluids escaping from nearly every orifice at random, and when I called to say I wouldn't be in my GM screamed at me to get in there anyway. Said I there was no way I would get anywhere in the company by being that lazy. I have since stepped down to a lower position and am much happier, though I know I have been blacklisted.
What kind of sense does it make to having someone with those ailments go into a heavily trafficked retail store and risk spreading the illnesses?
I wish my employer would consider flex time or telecommuting...All they believe in is a time clock and seeing a warm body hunched over a keyboard. If they don't see you, they assume you aren't working...
In my experience, I was laid off and brought back as a contractor. As a contractor, I only worked an average of 30 hours a week but my productivity was far greater. I have diverticulosis and when the pain would get to a certain level, I would go home. Being able to take care of myself, I was without pain most of the time. When I was rehired and worked a full 40 hours again on a regular schedule, my productivity slumped again. I was of much greater value, even though I was there less as a contractor.
I'm fortunate that I do have a flexible work schedule. I'm responsible to get my work done, and as long as I'm productive, no one bats an eye. It really helps on the family life and allows a lot of freedoms that I wouldn't have if I worked for a clock watcher. I have one day a week I telecommute. I think most work places would benefit from allowing their employees flexibility.
Flexible is MUCH better. In 1970, I had 4 salaried analysts working for me. During a 2 week pay period, they each worked 9 hours for 8 days, 8 hours for one day, and had either a Friday or a Monday off. They saved time and money on commuting. Productivity was greatly improved. Absenteeism was nothing. I don't think HR liked the idea, so we didn't tell them.
Again, the one missing factor in all this is SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE! If we had this, then we could implement these ideas! But, because everyone is shackled to their jobs because they need their health insurance, we cannot implement any kind of real change in our industries. Single-payer would take the burden off of employers AND employees and make us far more productive because it would lower costs for health care AND allow us to be more innovative in how we work.
It would also make the quality of the health care that we receive complete garbage (I'm in the military so I know about government health care...). Take your socialist utopia and flush it.
In the early '70s I worked for a commercial bank on Wall St. that had a 4 day week for the computer and programming staff. The day was 8 - 5:30 4 days a week. The day rotated each week and once a month your were off Friday then Monday to start the new rotation. Once in a while, you have a holiday on a Tuesday or Thursday in your rotation giving you a mini vacation.
No such thing as turnover or sick days or personal time. Just didn't happen. If you needed to stay later to get the job done, no problem. This went on for years. Then HR got involved and did away with the 4 day week.
Do I need to say what happened.
My employer allows for flex time and work at home, so because of the number of employees working at home they've been able to significantly reduce facility costs. I'm very fortunate that I've been approved to work 4 days a week, 10 hour days... this has absolutely resulted in me being much more rested and very focused on my work. When I was driving an hour each way to and from work I was exhausted all the time, and the stress of the traffic through some of the biggest interstate trouble spots was hideous. When we need to work additional hours over 40 it's not a problem... and if I have insomnia and wake up early, I have the flexibility to just start working earlier and quit earlier once my hours are in. Our organization has invested a lot of security into our computer systems but a lot of trust has been given to staff. What the company has gained is a very loyal staff who is much happier and even more productive with less bodies. If I had to find another job (and that's a very real possibility in the next year), I'd detest having to go into an office.... the face to face interaction would be nice but the additional hours commuting and having to look professional would be a big adjustment. More companies need to go this route, it would save them tons in training staff due to turnover and disgruntled employees being too tired to function well.
Flex schedule was the best idea and who ever came up with, thanks. I worked a 4 days 10 hours shift and it was great. Having three days off during the week made the biggest difference in the world. I cut back on sick time used, and vacation time. Its the best world for both the employee and the company.
Since when do Corporate American profiteers do anything for the benefit of the working class. Get real folks! Just another headline to divert your attention from our real problems.
Imagine everyone working (the few that are left) 3/13 hour days, then your pay reduced to half it's current purchasing power...you will all still be able to pick up the slack with another 3 day/13 hour job, and still have a day off. Wouldn't that be great!
It's headlines like this that cost me an extra $3.00 a month in paper towels to clean my spit off my pc screen.
Sometimes the value of an article is not that it's news but that publishing it gives it a little more weight. You know this is true. I know it's true. Most of us have known it's true for most of our working lives. But, until it appears in a study and gets printed somewhere, our bosses will remain ignorant. (Actually, if we want our bosses to get this info, a lot of us will need to put it into a PowerPoint presentation or on an Excel spreadsheet. . . )
Been saying this for years! Thanks for publishing this.
Best question to ask at an interview: What would you consider the most important thing I would do all day if you hired me? I will never voluntarily work anywhere ever again where the most important thing I do all day is show up "on time" in the morning.
My job can be done during any of the 24 hours in a day. There's nothing magical about 8:00 or 7:00 or 9:30. If I'm putting in an honest 8 hours (or however many I'm billing), it really doesn't matter when I start or finish. When employers insist on making it matter, I'm gone as soon as something else comes along. My current employer pretty much lets me come and go as I need to with minimal "core hours" when they know I'll be around for face-to-face interaction or hands-on work. In return, I won't hesitate to stay late, work over, whatever needs to be done - without charging OT in most cases.
Of course, this concept doesn't work with all employees, all employers, or all types of jobs. Still, employers would do well to keep it in mind.
Another "DUH" study.
Who'd of thought?
I work a flex schedule and love it. As long as I stay productive, I hear nothing from the highers up. It really helps when I have to pick my child up from daycare due to illness or I have to go to the doctor. I can also take less vacation time to do errands and really use it for vacation. Not every job can have a flex schedule, but I'm glad my employer and my position allow me to have one.
I'm still sceptical. I've worked for a few companies with flex timem, and what it meant for me was picking up for the employees who left to go do stuff with their kids. Those of us without kids got screwed.
Heh heh, it appears not many work in agriculture. Many companies in this field require loyalty from their employees yet give the employees none LOL. Guess it's the large labor pool. Never used to be this way years ago heh heh.