Teeco Solutions August 2017

It’s the end of summer, and before fall and winter start to creep in, you can still take advantage of the warm weather and jump into the world’s fastest-growing water sport: stand-

up paddleboarding (SUP). This sport is exactly what is sounds like. You stand on a paddleboard — like a surfboard but wider and more buoyant — and use a long paddle to glide across the water. It sounds simple enough, but with a 200 percent boost in gear sales

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES CAN INCREASE COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY

Many companies are hesitant to adopt flexible schedules — personalized work hours, remote work, not tracking hours worked at all, or compressed workweeks — because of the traditional “command and control” approach laid out by older generations. The challenge that these companies face is letting go and trusting their young employees. However, according to several studies, a trusting work environment breeds more loyal employees and increases efficiency. Leslie Doolittle, assistant dean and director of academic support services at Bentley University, says that work doesn’t define millennials as much as it does older generations. Family, friends, and making a difference in the community are more central to their lives. Because of this, demands on millennials’ personal time are bound to increase as they balance work with raising a family. More employees are looking for jobs that offer flexible schedules, and they are even willing to take pay cuts to find those jobs. But do flexible schedules really increase productivity? In 2016, a Fortune 500 company replicated Penn State professor Lonnie Golden’s 2012 study on flexible schedules and company productivity and produced the same results as the Golden’s study. Researchers found that employees who were placed on a flexibility program were both happier at work and less prone to

burnout and psychological stress than their colleagues who were not in the program. When compared to the control group, the flex schedule group felt far more empowered and supported by their boss while having more time to spend with their families. They also reported higher job satisfaction levels and felt less stressed than their colleagues. Similarly, research by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom found that working remotely increases productivity, overall work hours, and employee satisfaction. Over a nine-month period, Bloom found that flexible workers at Ctrip, a Chinese travel website, achieved more, took fewer sick days, and were happier in their work. The telecommuters completed 13.5 percent more calls than office workers, performed 10 percent more work overall, left the company at half the rate of those who worked in the office, reported feeling more fulfilled at work, and saved the company $1,900 per employee. As demands for more leeway in the workplace increase and research continues, we may soon see the end of the nine-to-five workday. But this is nothing to fear. As the studies remind us, when we empower employees to exert control over where and when they work, it tends to have a positive impact on productivity and company well-being.

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