When and where we work is changing for more people in Northeast Ohio

The pandemic has recalibrated our threshold for work-life balance and proved productivity can thrive beyond the traditional workday and space.

Combine that with more available jobs than workers right now, and it is changing the landscape of what going to work looks and feels like for many people.

“Efficiency in my day is the most important thing with three kids,” said Bridget Hagan. “So, having that extra time is so important to me.”

Hagan now works from home. Her company, Akhia Communications, has committed to work-from-anywhere and flexible hours.

“I get that extra time to sit down, have breakfast, do the hair, not rush out as much as I used to,” she said.

Hagen gets to choose how she shapes her time on the clock, whether that’s over four or five days a week.

“I’m a morning person,” she said, saying she often gets work done before the kids even get up. “So, if I do need to step away for one of the kids, I have that time and flexibility.”

Hagan said as a working mom of young children, that kind of flexibility from her employer is everything.

“I can’t even imagine getting through the day without that flexibility,” she said. “Working somewhere that values my time both professionally and personally is so important, and I really feel that my employer trusts that I will get my work done.”

“Trust is a big factor,” said Ben Brugler, CEO and president of Akhia.

He said trust must go both ways with employees and leadership when implementing a nontraditional workweek.

“If we’re not making it a priority, if we’re not modeling it, then they’re going to think we’re trying to trick them,” he said about modeling the balance time.

Akhia is regularly named among Northeast Ohio’s Top Workplaces.

While their office in Hudson is now mostly empty, Brugler said they keep it for meetings and client use, and their company culture and community are now primarily maintained virtually.

Brugler said it can be challenging, but communication is key.

He said the decision to implement balance time, and more recently, work-from-anywhere, was driven by Akhia’s roughly 40 employees. He said it’s about putting their people in the best place to succeed so they can best take care of their clients.

“We really put the employees first in terms of what’s going on in their lives because if we don’t know that and if we’re not putting them at the center, then we’re not able to deliver on our promise to our clients, which is to be their most valuable resource.”

Common concerns with nontraditional workweeks include employees taking advantage of it and losing productivity and business. However, Brugler said in his experience, it’s been the opposite.

“It’s been great,” he said.

There has been no change to salaries or a hit to productivity, and Brugler said for them, it’s been a win-win.

Burnout is a real thing in today’s workforce, and Brugler said this has allowed them to attract and retain talent.

It is not just Akhia.

Americans have always sought work-life balance.

Back in 2018, a survey from Robert Half found fewer than one in five employers offered remote options, despite being a top-requested perk.

That same survey now shows more than two in five employers offer remote work.

Also, Robert Half’s 2023 data shows more than 80% of workers want flexibility on when and where they work.

The pandemic proved productivity could thrive outside the traditional workday and space, and with more available jobs than workers right now, experts say more companies are offering these perks to stay competitive.

“Because in a tight labor market, they’re able to say to employers like, ‘I better have that flexibility built in, or I’m going to go somewhere else,’” said Michael Goldberg, executive director of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University.

He says not only does it help employers recruit and retain talent, but it also can save money.

“If you’re able to retain someone who’s going to stay, giving them some of these benefits like a 4-day work week or more flexibility is worth it in the end because you’re going to save a lot in the end on recruitment,” said Goldberg.

Should the current tight labor market loosen up, Goldberg thinks it’s unlikely these perks will be rolled back.

“For those company CEOs who are saying everybody needs to come back to the workplace five days a week, there’s been such tremendous pushback,” he said.

For Brugler, he said it’s helped him hire and grow business.

“Where would we be without balance; in a really unhappy place,” he said.

And, for employees like Hagan, she said it’s been tremendous for her mental health and her family’s health.

It even impacted her and her husband’s decision to welcome a third child.

“Yes, hugely,” she said. “And I can’t imagine going back to being in an office full-time.”

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