The United States Department of Labor recently announced the creation of a virtual workplace flexibility toolkit designed to provide employers, employees, policy makers, and others with information and resources about workplace flexibility.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and the Toolkit is designed in part to assist employers of disabled workers who seek accommodations. The Toolkit web site makes clear, however, that it is intended to address all kinds of complex employment situations, including the circumstances of parents of young children, single parents, family caregivers and mature workers.
According to the web site, Workplace flexibility is a Universal Strategy that can meet the needs of employers and their employees, which includes when, where, and how work is done. Essentially, flexibility enables both individual and business needs to be met through making changes to the time (when), location (where), and manner (how) in which an employee works. Flexibility should be mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee and result in superior outcomes.
The resources that can be accessed from the web site are impressive. They include research results, case studies from major employers, articles, frequently asked questions, and links to additional sources of information.
A review of the Toolkit provides a good reminder that employers should keep their hiring practices and methods of employee accommodation up to date. By doing so, they increase their chances of finding the best workers and getting the most from the workers they already have.