by Grace Brownfield
Last week, I spotted a few tweets about how remote working is not the same thing as flexible working. It was such a simple sentiment but got me thinking, and reminded me it’s a nuance we’re at risk of missing in the debate about the future of charity sector working post-Covid.
Of course, remote working can – and often is – an important part of flexible working. But that’s only the case if it’s backed up by an organisational culture and policies that promote and enable that flexibility.
Part-time or compressed hours, job sharing and core hours with flexible start and finish times are all good examples of the flexibility organisations can offer – and that’s certainly not an exhaustive list. In the wake of Covid, it is perhaps more important than ever that we have a proper conversation across the sector – and society more widely – about the flexibility people want and need.
It is important to recognise that there are a number of reasons why people might want flexibility, and that it can benefit people in many different ways when it comes to work-life balance. It might be to enable someone to manage their health condition or caring responsibilities, or to spend time on other passions outside work.
As organisations make decisions on the future of office space, and longer-term shifts over where people work, will enough consideration be given to other forms of flexibility too? And how can we facilitate a wider discussion on what that might look like?
Leading by example
Working in the charity sector creates an added dynamic around work-life balance. When you’re passionate about your work and also continually surrounded by the enormity and urgency of the problem your charity is trying to tackle, it’s easy to feel the pressure to give everything you have to the cause.
That’s what makes it so important that leaders set the right tone within organisations. Reminding people that your passion for a cause, and your effectiveness at your role, isn’t measured by the hours you work, but by the outcomes you achieve.
As we look ahead (hopefully) to a post-Covid world, we have to remind ourselves what we know about what actually helps people work effectively. Usually that means not forcing people towards one dominant working style (no matter how flexible organisational leaders might think that one option is) but rather offering people a range of options for how they work: working together to find out which one will enable people to be most effective in their role and provide them with the work-life balance they want or need.
Broadening leadership through flexible working
The other interesting thing about this would be what it means for diversity. Would enabling more flexibility not only create more accessible workplaces, but also lead to more diversity within leadership roles too?
In considering these questions, I was reminded of a recent event run by another network - Women in Public Affairs – about job sharing. Despite some great examples of people leading the way in job sharing roles, it is still far from commonplace in the charity sector and it’s probably fair to say we lag behind other sectors – such as the civil service – where it’s much more common.
Historically, job sharing has often been seen as a flexible option for people with caring responsibilities. But could job sharing – and other forms of flexibility - actually be a key part of making leadership more manageable, for more people, regardless of the reason behind this? For example, on job sharing specifically – would enabling people to share responsibility with someone else and therefore to step away from the role for part of the week make it a much more attractive, and realistic, option for more people?
Flexibility as the norm
Flexible working shouldn’t only be reserved for a certain set of circumstances that are seen to justify the need for it, it should be something open to everyone as a way of helping manage work-life balance.
The prospect of genuine and increased flexibility across the sector is exciting – even if we are unlikely to achieve it overnight. The idea that more people could become charity sector leaders, as a result of greater flexible working practices, would be a real positive. None of us are just one thing, and we are better for all the different roles and passions we have. The charity sector, of all places, should be the place that recognises that and, in doing so, it is likely to lead to better outcomes all round.
So, as we look ahead, what should be considered when it comes to creating flexibility in the charity sector? What sort of flexibility would you like to see? How might that benefit individuals, organisations and the sector as a whole? What examples are there of good practice already out there? We’d love to hear from you – get in touch or leave a comment below.