Flexible Work Environments Equals Happier Employees

Cited: Time/Top News

The mental health benefits of flexible work environments has had a lot of researchers scratching their heads trying to find out if they believe we work early or arrived late for personal reasons actually have a broader physical health benefit besides being less frazzled. According to the Cochrane Library’s Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the new research seems to prove it is helpful.

In a review of 10 previous studies examining the health implications of flexible work conditions for more than 16,000 people, researchers from the U.K.’s Durham University and University of Newcastle, as well as the University of Montreal, found that flexible work schedules, when employees can shift their starting times for example, were associated with improvements in blood pressure, sleep and overall mental health. Specifically, the review showed that more flexibility in work schedules was associated with improvements in alertness, sleep quality, tiredness, heart rate and other primary health outcomes, as well as benefits to secondary health outcomes, such as perceived social support in the workplace and sense of community. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, in all of the studies included in the review, researchers found no evidence for negative effects of more flexible work schedules.

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This preliminary analysis was intended to shed light on the potential health benefits of flexible work options, which are increasingly popular throughout Scandinavia, and have recently gained some ground in the U.K. Last April, the British government extended a policy that allowed parents of children ages six and under to request flexible work arrangements to include parents of children ages 16 and younger, for example. In the U.S., the phenomenon is a bit slower to catch on and fewer than a third of U.S. employees have flexible work options, according to 2009 estimates from the AARP. Yet, the economic atrophy of recent years may have contributed to growth in workplace flexibility—as companies unable to reward employees with bonuses or raises may turn to other forms of compensation, Reuters reported early last year.

Previous research too, of course, has indicated the benefits of flexible work environments toward positive mental health outcomes. And while these latest findings are promising, the researchers stress that more study is vital to understanding the more nuanced dynamics of the relationship between flexible work and improved health outcomes. For example, employees who are most frequently granted workplace leeway are generally higher-ranking, and as such are likely of higher socioeconomic status, which could impact their overall health apart from work scheduling. To truly grasp the benefits of flexible working conditions, the researchers say, additional study analyzing health outcomes among a wide range of workers—from high-ranking executives to hourly employees—is critical to gaining a deeper understanding of the issue, and helping to shape future workplace policy.

Another study done by the Durham University has found that working flexible hours has a positive effect on workers’ health and enables them to get more rest in bed each night.

According to the researchers at Wolfson Research Institute based at Durham University, “In our study, we found numerous benefits if individuals are allowed to have an input into their own working patterns”.

The results also showed that in the 16,000 people reviewed as part of the survey, no adverse effects were experienced.

Commenting on the results, a spokesman from the Trades Union Congress said, “Both personnel and management can experience the advantages of workforce mobility”.

“[Overworking] leads to stress, which can ruin the little time that overworked staffs do get to spend with their family,” he remarked.

“These findings certainly give employers and employees something to think about. Being in control of how and when we work is good for us and has clear health benefits”, said Dr. Clare Bambra, of the Wolfson Research Institute at Durham University, “Flexible working has a positive impact on health issues such as blood pressure, mental health and sleep”.

So to some researchers employees who have flexible work schedules to fit in with their busy lives do feel better.

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My Take: They have to spend money on research to figure this out? Anybody who works 40+ hours could’ve told them that flexible hours are better. I bet their answering service was all of messages with the same information. That’s like asking the question of whether a tablecloth will keep a table clean. Do they really want a stupid answer for stupid question?

Maybe they do! I know for sure that a quality table cloth kept the weight keeps a table clean as well as looking good. Everybody knows that. Just as everybody knows that flexible work hours make everybody happier.

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