How Flexibility Affects Work-Life Integration

🏢 Architects: Flexibility isn't a perk. It's infrastructure. We spend our careers designing spaces for adaptability—multi-use buildings, responsive environments, modular systems. So why are we still clinging to rigid workplace models? The firms that will thrive aren’t the ones demanding a return to pre-2020 norms. They’re the ones building cultures that trust people to work with autonomy, not just show up for face time. Here’s what that looks like in practice: A firm once hired someone who had bounced around a few places. When they called for references, the feedback was consistent—this person dragged themselves into the office late and didn’t really get going until after lunch. Instead of making assumptions, the hiring team asked a better question: How do you work best? Turns out, they were a night owl. So the firm adjusted expectations, giving them the flexibility to work during their peak hours. The result? They became a top performer. As someone who does my best focus work between 9PM and midnight, I can relate. That also means I take time during the day to care for myself, run errands, and show up as a parent at my kids’ school. Flexibility isn’t about letting people stay home in their pajamas. It’s about designing ways of working that support real productivity, autonomy, and wellbeing. And the data backs this up: 🔹 Gallup reports that employees with schedule flexibility are 43% less likely to experience burnout. 🔹 McKinsey found that 87% of workers will choose a flexible job when given the option—especially when it doesn't sacrifice career growth. 🔹 Flexible firms tend to outperform on retention, engagement, and even profitability. We talk a lot about innovation in architecture—but too often, we adopt new tools just to replicate outdated processes. Let’s apply the same design thinking we bring to buildings… to the business of architecture. What’s one flexible policy or practice your firm has adopted that’s actually working? _____________________ Hi, 👋🏻 I'm Evelyn Lee, FAIA | NOMA I've been on the client side for over a decade and have spent the last five years in tech, helping create exceptional employee experiences while growing the business. Now, I help architects: ⇒ Think Differently ⇒ Redefine Processes ⇒ Create Opportunities

Apparently working from home is still #controversial enough to warrant an ongoing debate… Interestingly, the debate isn’t: “WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS LEASED OFFICE SPACE IN PRIME LOCATIONS?!?!” But instead: “Can employees be trusted to get their work done if left unsupervised?!” And the #RTO mandates (and justifications) are focused on efficiency, productivity and optimization. To that end, #Barron’s recently published an article on the impact of remote work on productivity. The article sites the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which stated that 1/3 of Americans worked from home in 2022 (+25% from 2019). However, the data also revealed that those WFH employees logged 2.5 hours less per day than those in the office. And hours worked = productivity! Right? RIGHT?! 🙄 Nah. Let’s break it down: 🕒 Time is Not the Sole Indicator of #Success: #WFH has highlighted that outcomes can't be measured by the number of hours logged. Because remote work allows employees to optimize their productivity - leveraging peak hours of focus and creativity - it leads to increased efficiency. Let's not forget that #quality output trumps #quantity output. 💡 Empowering #Efficiency with #Technology: We all work in #tech now, it’s become a seamless part of our everyday existence (and it’s only going to expand, I’m looking at you #AI). Don’t be scared, technology is a friend - making remote collaboration seamless and instantaneous. It also empowers us to connect with colleagues across borders, fostering diversity and new perspectives. By removing the physical barriers of the office, we create an environment where creativity and innovation #thrive. 💚 Nurturing #MentalHealth & #Wellbeing: WFH has also positively impacted mental health. The flexibility to create a personalized work environment, minimize commuting stress, and maintain a better work-life balance (lunch w/ kids/partners/pets) - all significantly affect our emotional wellbeing. 🌈 Embracing #Neurodivergence with #Inclusivity: Remote work champions diversity and inclusion, offering a level playing field for #neurodivergent workers (#ADHD 🙋🏻♂️ holla!). For those with different processing styles, the home environment allows for adaptations that may not be possible in a traditional office setup. Embracing neurodiversity not only enhances productivity, it fosters a more empathetic and understanding workplace. ⚖️ Striking the Perfect Work-Life Balance: Remote work empowers employees to better integrate their personal and professional lives. It enables workers to be present for life's key moments while staying dedicated to their careers. Feel free to come at me on any of the above - that’s a worthwhile debate IMHO - but let’s please stop making arguments for RTO by twisting arbitrary data to fit a false narrative. What do you think? Are you pro-RTO? Pro-WFH? Pro-hybrid? -- #remotework #flexiblework #diversityandinclusion #worklifebalance #returntooffice #workfromhome

I’ve talked to LOTS of caregivers and almost every single one has said that the most important thing to ensure their success is flexibility. Flexibility of where and how they work is the most important factor in their ability to perform at high levels. But what does flexibility mean? Ultimately, it means that you have healthy trust on your team. They trust you to clearly outline objectives and timelines. You trust them to manage the work and pivot in turn. They trust that you will measure outcomes as the key indicator of performance. You trust them to deliver those outcomes. They trust you to impose feasible and reasonable workloads. You trust them to proactively communicate when workloads start to exceed sustainable capacity. Everything else becomes inconsequential – the how, where, and when that contributes to the agreed upon outcomes become open-ended options that can be applied based on need. Flexibility is letting go of the stagnant vision of what work is “supposed” to look like, and focusing on what the work delivers.

When you make work-from-anywhere flexibility a core component of your company's culture, your employees will feel empowered, engaged, and more resilient in the face of challenges. Resilient? For real? Consider life's obstacles: big and small. Maybe it's car trouble, maybe it's a kid's doctor's appointment, maybe a spouse was recently laid off and could use you around for support. Maybe you're managing a really tough diagnosis, or maybe, like me, you're learning that your cancer has returned. These are huge challenges, whether that's a couple hundred bucks for a tow and a new tire or massive change in the trajectory of your life, the trust of an employer to allow time, space, and support makes all the difference. It doesn't take much imagination to remind ourselves of the weight of getting into the office, pulling yourself together to appear "professional," or stressing out that not being at your desk will count against you. When a company builds in flexibility as the rule, not the exception, this weight is lifted and employees can face the challenge that is immediately before them, without the baggage of wondering what their boss will say. Resiliency is psychological flexibility to adapt to challenges moment-by-moment, and flexibility is hindered by rigid policies that manage performance instead of lead people. You do remember that we are people, right? From someone who is in the middle of one of the obstacles mentioned and who is supported by a caring, people-centered, flexible company culture (Briljent), trust me when I say I give a lot more throughout my tenure by acknowledging that sometimes I need to give a little less when life demands that.

Let's talk about the hidden costs of rigid return-to-office mandates that many seem to overlook.. The impact runs deeper than just losing potential candidates from your talent pipeline. It's silently affecting your current employees in ways that might not be immediately visible: 🧠 For neurodivergent professionals, the office environment can be overwhelming and drain energy that could be better spent on delivering exceptional work. Many have built careful routines and environments at home that help them thrive. 👨👩👧👦 Working parents juggling school pickups, sick days, and extracurriculars are forced to choose between career growth and family responsibilities. The same goes for those caring for elderly parents. 🌍 Many often face longer commutes, turning an 8-hour workday into a 10+ hour commitment. 🏥 The reality of managing regular healthcare appointments, therapy sessions, or ongoing treatments becomes exponentially more complicated when flexibility is removed. These aren't just conveniences - they're necessities for many. While some may not see immediate impact, companies maintaining rigid RTO policies are setting themselves up for a significant talent exodus when market conditions shift. Smart organizations are already recognizing that flexible work isn't just an employee benefit - it's a strategic advantage that: - Widens your talent pool - Increases retention - Promotes genuine inclusion - Supports employee wellbeing - Reduces unnecessary overhead #FutureOfWork #RemoteWork #Inclusion #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeWellbeing #Neurodiversity #WorkLifeBalance #TalentRetention

Have you ever had a contract, consulting gig or flexible work assignment? Many of us have. "Gig work" continues to become a larger part of our economy and if you care for children or adults, having work/life flexibility is critical. I had the pleasure of speaking with the amazing Akima A. Brown, MFA, CES all about this. Here are a few key points from our interview: 1. Traditional work hasn’t been particularly female or family-friendly. 💡 The model of working for one employer, for decades, broke years ago. A big chunk of our economy runs on non-employee talent. That includes everything from film production, where Akima is specialized, to ride-share drivers, researchers, advisors and elite athletes. 2. Not surprisingly, parents and caregivers continue to seek better options. 🙋🏾♀️ No one wants their children's illnesses, soccer games, or doctor's visits for aging parents, to be career limiting. Although women are still likely to pay the price in lower pay, caregiving flexibility is a challenge across genders. 3. This includes benefits like childcare and adjusted hours. 🧑🧑🧒🧒 Akima said it's changing, especially with independent films. “We’ve seen productions reallocating their funds to ensure shorter days and provide childcare. They might say, ‘I can’t give you exactly what your day rate is but what I can do, is I can give you something in a median range. But we’re also going to have a 10-hour day instead of 12- or 16-hour day with childcare provided.’ So, that’s a pretty good benefit." #workingmothers #workingparents #contractworkers #caregiverbenefits #careerflexibility

“Rush hour,” as we knew it, is apparently over. While it’s imperfect, I see this as a good thing. Before flexible working became a thing, it was standard to face bottleneck traffic in the morning and early evening at the same daily. Now that workers have much more autonomy over their schedules, (or may not be working in person at all) and there's been a significant drop in public transportation use, those trends have shifted considerably. Many employees are aiming to be in the office less and are engaging in “coffee badging,” which means they might rush into the office for a meeting or event and then rush back out. As a result, we’re seeing more of a “midday rush hour” now and less predictability around traffic patterns. Anecdotally, I’m seeing that workers are structuring their in-person time around their familial obligations, something that wasn’t a possibility when I was raising my kids. My son, for example, commutes after he drops my granddaughter off at school and, when needed, he'll race back at 3pm to pick her up. On those days, he works additional hours after bath and bedtime. I know many employers aren’t thrilled about this. But with the direction childcare costs are going (up, up, up!), and with many workers having now gotten a taste of a more flexible lifestyle, they will likely now choose the job that offers flexibility, incentives, creative opportunities and building a career that fits the family unit. If possible, I’m all for it. #flexiblework #hybridwork #workfromhome #WFH #remotework https://lnkd.in/eGE98wwx