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There’s nothing worse than eyeballing the office clock waiting for 5 o’clock to hit. Or getting the Sunday Scaries where you waste valuable hours of your weekend dreading tomorrow’s return to work. It’s a familiar routine for many workers, rooted in the rigid 9-to-5 work structure that’s defined traditional employment for decades.
But modern employees demand better—they crave a working style that molds to their personal lives rather than the other way around. This guide reveals the benefits of offering flexible work arrangements to support your employees better and eight examples you might consider.
Flexible work arrangements differ from the traditional model, where employees work from 9 am to 5 pm from a fixed location. Employers offer more flexibility by allowing their employees to shape their own schedules, working at a time and from a place that suits them. That doesn’t necessarily mean employees have total freedom; most contemporary work structures have built-in rules to manage flexibility, so everyone knows where they stand.
Flexible work arrangements aren’t anything new. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking they’ve only been around since the COVID-19 pandemic when flexible work was the only working model available in some professions. But, many companies have been offering flexibility at their discretion for decades. For example, back in 1967, Messerchmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), a Munich-based aerospace company sought guidance from sociologist Kristel Kammerer to tackle its absenteeism and lateness issues. Kammerer implemented several initiatives, such as staggered start and finish times, flexible lunch breaks, and banked work hours which were all popular with employees.
Fast forward to the mid-2020s, and there are multiple reasons why flexible work arrangements are a gamechanger for the employee experience. In fact, the need to “provide flexibility and protection” is one of the five pillars of the World Economic Forum’s framework to ensure a holistic ambition for a new future for all.
At first glance, flexible working arrangements sound like an employee perk. But while it’s true they offer multiple advantages for workers, there’s also a compelling business case for incorporating flexibility into your employer brand. Here are five top reasons to commit to this initiative:
When employees have more power over how, when, and where they work, they’re more productive. This is partly to do with individual circadian rhythms—your body’s natural 24-hour body clock. Factors like your hormones, body clock, temperature, and digestive system can all influence productivity. Some of us are more inclined to get up and go first thing in the morning, others are night owls. Instead of being forced into the 9 to 5 box, employees can whizz through their workloads at a time that better suits their body and mind.
When we enable employees to choose their own work location, they can eliminate irritating office distractions that prevent them from performing well in a busy location. For example, Samsung research finds that women are 3x more likely to be asked to make hot drinks for colleagues in an office environment—quite the time waster.
Prescribing a fixed working structure also means that companies are limiting their talent pool. Here are just a few of the groups of people you could attract with more flexibility in your employment model:
Flexible work arrangements allow you to recruit highly skilled employees from different socioeconomic backgrounds and locations. If your office is located in the middle of a busy city (San Francisco, New York, etc.), your workforce will be limited to people who can afford to live within an easy commuting distance. And these economically advantaged people won’t necessarily have the skills or talent you need to take your business to the next level. Open the doors to remote employees from the next county, state, or even around the world, and you’ll improve both your diversity rate and your breadth of skills.
Offering flexible schedules or locations can result in increased job satisfaction, too. In turn, this influences your ability to attract and retain talent. SHRM’s Talent Trends report cites that flexible work arrangements are the second most important recruitment strategy for companies, beaten only by compensation. And in organizations struggling with retention and recruitment problems, 37% cite an inability to offer flexible work arrangements as a problem.
Some employees will still face the commute as part of their flexible arrangements, perhaps traveling earlier or later to beat rush hour traffic. But others will skip it entirely, opting to work from home instead.
This can significantly reduce financial stress for some workers, such as those based in heavily congested cities like San Francisco, where commuting costs an average of $12,650 per year.
And in terms of commuting length, NYC workers clock in an average of 80 minutes per roundtrip, which drains productivity levels. Alleviating the burden of the commute will ease stress levels and win back more time and energy for employees.
Flexible work arrangements aren’t one size fits all. Your company may not be able to offer every option out there. The key is to be aware of the different types of working arrangements available, and implement those that align with your employee needs and your business goals. Here are eight to consider.
Flexible work arrangements are often synonymous with remote work, but a range of options are available. Although remote workers don’t come into the office, they might commute to another location, such as a coffee shop or shared workspace, or they could be based at home. This model is particularly useful if you’re looking to hire from outside your local area, and it can save serious money on overheads like rent and utilities.
68% of U.S. firms offer work location flexibility, according to Flex Index. This model aligns with Benepass’s own remote-first approach, which empowers employees to live where they’re happiest. At Benepass, employees work autonomously from their chosen location and come together in person 3-4 times a year for meaningful team retreats. Coordinating those retreats across a distributed team starts with finding the right venue, platforms like Eventflare make it easier to compare spaces by location, capacity, and amenities before booking.
Remote work opens the door to many opportunities for employees, but it can make it harder for employers to support them. After all, virtual colleagues can’t join in with free pizza Fridays or go to the on-site gym during their lunch breaks. But they will love remote employee benefits, designed to fund their work-from-home setup or contribute toward their monthly broadband bill.
Remote work isn't the best fit for every employee or every company. Hybrid work offers a popular go-between, where employees will spend some days working remotely and others in the office. This allows employees to have a balance between their home life and work life while still being able to collaborate with colleagues in person.
According to Flex Index, 43% of U.S. firms have adopted a structured hybrid policy, up from 38% in Q3 2024 and 20% in Q1 2023. As this number continues to rise, employers must think carefully about how to support their employees in multiple locations.
Providing flexibility in your benefits package is essential here, allowing customization to suit your individual employees. A Lifestyle Spending Account is an employee-led option—employers set up their program with eligible spending categories, such as health and fitness, meals, mental health, and more, so your workers can adapt their benefits to their hybrid lifestyle.
Flex time means an employee can choose when they start and finish work each day. Some companies may require employee hours to overlap with core hours within certain time zones, while others allow you to set your own schedule as long as you complete the required number of hours each day.
This is a popular model for workers with carer responsibilities. Some may choose to work through their lunch break to leave early and collect their children from school, for example. Or they can start and finish early to avoid rush hour traffic or attend a medical appointment.
Flex time is also useful for employees who might have personal obligations in the morning or evening, such as attending a class or volunteering at a charity event. Overall, this arrangement allows them to prioritize their work tasks without disrupting their personal responsibilities.
A compressed workweek means employees still complete the same total number of hours per week but over fewer days, for example, over four days instead of five.
The four-day workweek offers significant advantages, according to recent Icelandic research. Over a two-year period, 97% of people who worked shorter weeks felt they had a better work life balance. 62% felt more satisfied with their working time, and 42% experienced decreased stress.
Beyond the four-day week, there are multiple other ways to compress your working hours, including:
Job sharing involves two employees splitting the workload of one full-time position. This alternative work arrangement is a great way to offer part-time hours without reducing individual responsibilities or hiring additional staff.
Job sharing can also bring diverse skill sets and perspectives into a role, as well as providing opportunities for mentorship and learning from coworkers. It also allows for seamless coverage during vacations and leaves of absence, ensuring continuity in work tasks.
Shift work involves employees working in shifts that may fall outside of regular business hours. Many industries rely on shift work to keep their operations running 24/7, such as healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing.
In some cases, employers may offer flexibility within the shift schedule, allowing employees to choose which shifts they prefer or offering alternate schedules for those with personal commitments.
While shift work may be a hardship for some employees, others love the variation, as detailed by this nightshift worker:
“I work in a 24/7 data center and I've been working nights for a year now. I was always complaining about lack of sleep and the Friday night into Saturday shift but after working the day shift for 3 weeks I can't believe how easy I had it in the night shift. It's much less work, less stress, less chaos... no having to meet with the managers. It's essentially a way more chill version of the day shift.”
Not all workers want to be tied down to full-time work. Even though employment comes with the trappings of a regular salary and benefits, some employees prefer the flexibility of contract, freelance, and seasonal work.
And this flexible working style can suit employers, too, enabling them to bring in top talent for project-based work or cover seasonal demands without the long-term commitment. This approach also allows employers to tap into specialized skills their in-house employees don’t have.
In a ROWE, employees have complete control over when, where, and how they complete their work. They’re assessed solely on outputs rather than hours worked or time spent in the office. This approach is similar to a remote work arrangement but takes it one step further by removing any set schedules or expectations for in-person presence.
With this structure, employees choose to work traditional hours or adjust their schedule as needed while still meeting deadlines and delivering quality results. It’s all about trusting employees to manage their own time and workload effectively—an approach mastered by Atlassian with its Team Anywhere philosophy.
Before implementing alternative work arrangements in your business, it’s important to consider the unique needs and dynamics of your organization. Here are some factors to consider when offering flexible work arrangements:
Benepass is a people-first benefits administration platform offering pre- and post-tax benefits that are as flexible as your work arrangements.
Whether you want to offer Commuter benefits to support your hybrid workers or Health Savings Accounts to support employee health, we can tailor your benefits plans to support your workforce’s unique needs. You can also download our benefits budget guide to learn how to optimize your cost savings.
Book a free Benepass trial today to see our platform in action, or contact sales@getbenepass.com to connect with a benefits specialist.
