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A year ago, Workforce Management posted an article titled: "Study: Flexibility Programs Gain Ground in Hard Times ." The study noted that despite cutbacks in many areas, just six percent of 400 surveyed companies had cut back on flexibility programs.

On the upside, the news was more striking. Among companies with more than 1000 employees, there was more than a 25 percent increase in flexibility programs.

Since then it seems that more companies are pursuing more different kinds of flexwork programs. Here are pointers to some resources to help you understand the issues and make wise choices.

Start with a March 2010 NPR program, "Options on the Flexwork Menu ," to see a brief overview of common definitions. Be aware, though, that different surveys and studies define terms differently. Sometimes that's cosmetic. Sometimes it's substantive.

The Corporate Executive Board just published an excellent overview of issues called "Flexing It." There are three posts in the series.

Flexing It: Not Just for Moms Anymore
Flexing It: Different Types of Flexible Work Arrangements
Flexing It: How to Overcome the Barriers to Remote Work

Other Resources

The University of Kentucky recently completed a survey of the attitudes toward flexwork of supervisors in its own workforce. You can download a PDF of their report, "Workplace Flexibility Supervisor Study ."

Workplace Flexibility 2010 is a public policy initiative at the Georgetown Law School. Their site includes an extensive list of resources and policy papers.

The Families and Work Institute is a leader in the field. Their site has many first-rate resources. I'm pointing you to the page for "Reports Available for Download."

We'll finish on a down note. Many people think that a problem with flexwork is that it takes a person out of the stream of day-to-day office life. That may make you less likely to get promoted or a plum assignment. It may even set you up to be laid off , as a recent Forbes article suggests. 

Boss's Bottom Line

From my perspective, flexwork has a lot of advantages for everyone. But that doesn't mean it's an easy adjustment or that everyone can do it successfully. Like anything else, you need to do your homework and then work out what's best for you and your team.

Check out my latest book, Ruthless Focus, at Amazon.

Posts about Ruthless Focus

The Story of the Book
Annotated Table of Contents
Keep it Simple, Strategist
Strategy: Staying with What Works
Ruthless Focus on the Business Basics