What’s in a name?
Would a hybrid work program called “Flex with Purpose” or “Work Your Way” make the decision to work from home or the office just as sweet (or sour as the case may be)?
Anyway, companies have come up with different, sometimes creative monikers for their flex-work programs, pointing to perhaps a deeper meaning of how they are viewed by employers and employees, Bloomberg reports.
3M Co.’s “Work Your Way,” appears to empower employees; others have a new-wavish tinge, such as Accenture’s “Omni-connected,” while others, like General Motors Co.’s “Work Appropriately,” sound like mild admonishments, the outlet suggested.
What the policies are called matter, experts told Bloomberg, because they give employees something to identify with, and could reduce the historical stigma of flex-work, which has been negatively associated with women going on maternity leave.
The monikers and policies can also serve as recruiting and retention tools, the outlet reported. The potential downside, however, is the names themselves can come across jargony buzzwords that employees dismiss or mock.
Much like their names, flex-work policies themselves are all over the map. Some provide employees with discretion, but not entire freedom. KPMG’s policy says there has to be a grounded reason to either come into the office, work from home or offsite, according to Bloomberg.
“In the past we just got on planes and flew around the world,” Sandy Torchia, KPMG’s vice chair of talent and culture, told the outlet. “Now we take a step back and say, what is the intention of this interaction?”
Other policies, such as Spotify’s “Your Work Mode,” give employees agency so they feel they have some control and autonomy,” Robyn Bachochin, a partner and senior communication consultant at Mercer, told Bloomberg.
— Ted Glanzer