HOW TO GO GREEN AT WORK:

CUT GAS CONSUMPTION and COST AT LEAST 20% INSTANTLY - at no cost to the company.

Make one day per week “WORK FROM HOME” Day.

OLD THINKING: Fuel allowances and shuttle services are expensive and don’t cut consumption. And car pooling simply does not work for most professionals.

FORWARD THINKING: Every company can cut gas costs and consumption instantly - without increasing costs one penny:

• Allow everyone to work at home one day a week;
• Stagger work hours so when employees do compute they travel at off hours for better gas mileage

“The biggest change in the workplace we’ve seen in our 20 years in business is wireless communications,” says Stamford-based Flexible Resources President Nadine Mockler. “We have been set free from our cubicles. Employees no longer need to be in the same place at the same time to get the job done.

“Now, flexible work arrangements mean much more than work/life balance - they are key to helping employees deal with the high cost of gasoline while at the766 same time cutting fuel consumption and reducing greenhouse gases. In short, flexible work arrangements are good for the planet.”

Check out our blog today at www.flexibleresources.com/flexnotes

THE FLEXIBLE RESOURCES SOLUTION:

11 WAYS TO CONVINCE YOUR BOSS TO LET YOU WORK

ON A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE

Burned out? Stressed? Feel that demands of the office and home are going to squeeze all the life out of you?

A flexible work schedule is often viewed as an ideal situation solely for the employee. But in fact, flexible work arrangements create a healthy work environment that breeds trust and loyalty and dramatically boosts productivity, according to Flexible Resources, Inc., a full-service staffing and consulting firm with offices in New Jersey and Connecticut, that advises companies large and small on the policies and practices of the flexible workplace.

JUST HOW DOES FLEXIBILITY ENHANCE THE WORKPLACE FROM MANAGEMENT’S PERSPECTIVE?

• Flexibility breeds productivity — The employee approaches the job with a completely different mind-set, making all “face-time” worthwhile;
• Reduced employee burnout - Because the flexible workplace isn’t the usual “grind,” allowing the employee the flexibility and the freedom to handle work and outside pressures in a more thoughtful way;

• No more “mental health days” — Bosses know their employees call in sick when they’re not, because they need a day every now and then to regroup mentally. Emotional and mental health is built into flexibility - because it empowers employees to manage their business and personal responsibilities in a way that is more realistic;
• No more sneaking around - Management knows it is paying for its employees to get the car fixed, pick up a sick child at school, and other personal problems. It’s a lose/lose situation and forces employees to lie;
• Job sharing provides management with two talented professionals for about the price of one, giving the company greater ability to meet customer and client needs globally;
• Upward attitude adjustment - Employees who are allowed to have balance in their lives are known to have a positive, re-energized outlook toward work;
• Prevent costly turnover - Our research reveals that 59% of women who leave to seek a flexible position never even bother to ask if a flexible job could have been arranged at their previous employer. Employees who feel requesting a flexible job will stigmatize them will never ask, but they will leave, and this is a huge and avoidable bottom-line cost;
• Attract the best new talent - Gen Y says salary isn’t all they seek - the want work/life balance, too and are willing to be loyal to the company that provides it;
• Gain a recruiting advantage and improve your public image - Total quality management has taught us that a good company recognizes that professional employees want to do good work, but they need an environment which enable them to thrive. That company that will attract - and retain — top talent;
• A Small Business Bonanza — Reduce overhead and improve cash flow - This is particularly important for smaller companies for whom these two are often the biggest obstacles to staying in business;
• Improve the bottom line - The above 10 reasons all add up to this — they save the company money by increasing productivity, reducing costly turnover, burnout, absenteeism, and by re-energizing your workforce - they all contribute positively to the bottom line.

• Employers should insist that the home office is indeed a proper office - with a door that closes. Forget the dining room table. The telecommuter needs a clean, quiet uncluttered space to be productive;

• The company should ensure that the home office is equipped with the type of technology the employee would have in the office. The office should have a phone line separate from the home phone, one that family members do not use. It should be spelled out in advance specifically what the company will purchase in equipment and supplies. Consultants  usually buy their own equipment and supplies and consider it a cost of doing business;

• The company and the telecommuter should go over a set of ground rules establishing specific hours of work each day, how and when both sides will communicate, and when, if at all, the employee is required to report to the office;

• Management should also lay down ground rules about child care. We advise all candidates who are telecommuting for the first time that the arrangement is not a way to save on baby-sitting costs.

• And advice for telecommuters — your value should be measured in terms of results instead of face-time. Just because you are not reporting to an office every day does not mean you should take a cut in pay, particularly if your hours and workload remain the same. Productivity should improve when you work out of the office, not decline, and thus telecommuting should not be viewed merely as an employee perk.

Flexible Resources, Inc. is a staffing and consulting firm specializing in non-traditional work arrangements. We can be reached at 203-629-3255 or visit our web site: www.flexibleresources.com; flexibleresources.com/facebook

Don’t buy into the myth that flexible work arrangements are a special ‘perk’ reserved only for working moms. In the first place, as you have already seen, you open yourself up to complaints of discrimination.   It’s important that you see flexible work arrangements for what they really are — a, strategic, bottom-line strategy to make your workplace more productive, to boost morale, focus, and commitment, to help you retain and attract top talent. Using using a variety of flexible work options you open yourself up to an undiscovered pool of talent, people seeking non-traditional work arrangements who do not job-hunt through conventional channels.

Employers should apply flexible work options across the board — you don’t need to know why an employee needs to leave early three days a week, or wants to work at home two days a week — you just need to know that we can work anywhere, anytime. What matters is results — not face-time. The virtual workplace rules today, and we are always connected 24/7.  When flexible work options, like the ability to job-share, telecommute, work virtually, or work a four-day week, for example, are applied equally regardless of gender, marital status, age, or parental status.

Ten of the 23 Connecticut companies named to Connecticut Magazine’s “great places to work” list, currently appearing in the publication’s November 2010 issue, have come to Flexible Resources, Inc., when they want to hire top talent.

Why us? Because we have the highest caliber of talent across the board — marketers, business managers, financial and HR experts, lawyers, business development specialists, and much more — who can deliver what these companies want — a higher level of productivity, motivation, focus, and commitment, all of which come from workplace flexibility.

A flexible workplace was paramount among the perks offered by most of the total of 23 companies on this list.  Recognizing the employers are HUMAN resources, with real lives, helps ease the pressures of work by allowing those employees to find adequate balance between career and family.

Creating a workplace environment that is essentially based on trust — the belief that your employees are dedicated professionals who want their company to succeed — makes for a workplace that is healthy both in mind, spirit — and the bottom line.

www.connecticutmag.com

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Laurie Young and Nadine Mockler will be guests on “Greenwich Entrepreneurs” live radio show this Friday, to talk about their innovative staffing strategies are bringing top talent to successful small businesses that need to grow while maintaining high productivity and cost-effeciency.

Nadine will also discuss how her new line extension company, “The Launching Pad,” is helping college grads launch their careers with the know-how they need to get started and get ahead.

Listen Friday 9;30-10 am WGCH-AM.