SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Flexible Work Arrangements

April 23, 2014

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• This is part two of a series of SHRM survey findings examining employee benefits in the workplace of California organizations.

• The following topics are included in the six-part series titled Employee Benefits in California:

» Part 1: Wellness initiatives » Part 2: Flexible work arrangements» Part 3: Health care» Part 4: Leveraging benefits to retain employees» Part 5: Leveraging benefits to recruit employees» Part 6: Communicating benefits

Introduction

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• For the purpose of this survey, flexible work arrangements or flex work may include full- or part-time telecommuting, flexible scheduling, compressed workweeks, etc.

Definition

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• Do organizations offer flexible work arrangements to their employees? Fifty-eight percent of California organizations reported they offer flexible work arrangements to their employees. Among the organizations that provide these benefits, approximately two-fifths (42%) indicated the majority of their employees (more than half) are allowed to take advantage of these benefits.

• In 2012, by how much did employee participation in flexible work arrangements increase? Similar to organizations nationwide (33%), about one-third (30%) of California organizations reported that employee participation in flexible work arrangements increased since 2011.

Key FindingsCalifornia

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• The numbers are rising for flexible work arrangements—the percentage of employers that participate in this benefit increased from 2012, and more organizations offer flex work to a broader scope of their payroll. This trend is in line with workers’ increased desire to manage their own time and better balance their work with their responsibilities out of the office. Separate SHRM studies have shown that many workers rate “the balance of work/life issues” as an integral factor in job satisfaction, and flexible work arrangements can offer a cost-effective means of delivering that balance. Other research by the Families and Work Institute revealed that an increasing number of men have expressed a need for flexible work to better balance their jobs and family responsibilities—proof that demand for such arrangements spans a broad segment of the workforce.

• Comparable to the overall U.S. organizations’ population, California organizations are on par or close to national averages regarding trends in flexible work arrangements. California is about the same in actual participation (58% of employers, compared with 57% nationally), and flexible work arrangements are available to a majority of organizations’ workers at a rate that is approximately the same in California (42%, compared with 45% nationally).

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

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Does your organization provide employees with the option to use flexible work arrangements?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

58%

42%

57%

43%

Overall (n = 382)California (n = 333)

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Are the majority (more than half) of employees at your organization allowed to use flexible work arrangements?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

42%

58%

45%

55%

Overall (n = 207)California (n = 185)

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How did employee participation in your organization’s flexible work change last year compared with the year before?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Increased

Remained the same

Decreased

30%

61%

9%

33%

61%

6%

Overall (n = 179)California (n = 155)

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Does your organization monitor employee participation rates in its flexible work arrangements?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations provided flexible work arrangements were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

43%

57%

47%

53%

Overall (n = 187)California (n = 171)

Demographics

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1 to 99 employees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

31%

36%

18%

10%

5%

Demographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 310

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Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit

Government sector

Other

60%

19%

13%

7%

2%

Demographics: Organization Sector

Note: n = 322. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

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  PercentageProfessional, scientific and technical services 24%Health care and social assistance 13%Manufacturing 12%Finance and insurance 10%Government agencies 8%Educational services 8%Transportation and warehousing 7%Retail trade 7%Whole trade 6%Real estate and rental and leasing 5%Accommodation and food services 4%Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4%Construction 4%Information 4%Utilities 4%Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 3%Mining 2%Arts, entertainment and recreation 2%Repair and maintenance 2%Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%Personal and laundry services 1%Other 9%

Demographics: Organization Industry

Note: n = 328. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

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Demographics: Other

U.S.-based operations only 79%

Multinational operations 21%

Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same.

30%

Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location.

70%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

59%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices.

5%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

37%

Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization?

For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?

Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally?

n = 324n = 325

Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

Corporate (company-wide) 78%

Business unit/division 15%

Facility/location 16%

Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?

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SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Flexible Work Arrangements

• Response rate = 13%

• 373 HR professionals in California organizations from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey

• Margin of error +/- 5%

• Survey fielded May 3-June 7, 2013

Survey Methodology

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• Workplace Flexibility Resource Page

• Work Life Fit Resource Page

• Alternative Work Schedules Resource Page

• Creating an Effective Flexible Work Environment

• Managing Workplace Flexibility in California

Additional SHRM Resources

About SHRM Research

• For more survey/poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys

• For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

• Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research

Project leaders:Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research Yan Dong, SHRM Research

Project contributors:Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM ResearchEvren Esen, director, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research

Copy editor:Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

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About SHRM

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries, the Society is the leading provider of resources to serve the needs of HR professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org. 

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