實現彈性工作場所的條件

????如果公司希望執行靈活的工作制度，必須在IT方面進行投資，保證公司無縫、高效運行。比如，Ryan的員工在進行遠程作業中就必須訪問公司的大型數據庫。

????MeetingMatrix則使用微軟旗下的企業信息通信軟件Lync來聯絡遍布全球各地的員工。凱勒稱，員工可以通過即時通信的形式證明自己處于待命狀態；并且，員工也理解，一旦公司有需要，即便在休息日也可以給他們打電話。

????在美國達美航空公司（Delta Airlines）、Ounce of Prevention 基金會，以及醫療機構WellStar Health System，也在發生這類似的變化。據FWI-SHRM的報告稱，這些公司給員工更多權利，掌控自己的工作安排。比如，達美航空的員工可以選擇適合他們的工作安排，并且可以與其他人換班。而在WellStar，員工可以通過網頁工具，與同事合作制定工作計劃，以保證始終有人堅守工作崗位。

????毫無疑問，和在辦公室呆上八個小時相比，保證工作目標得以實現的責任更加重大。Ryan公司希望員工能夠理解這種靈活工作時間對他們提出的要求。不可能等到事情突然冒出來的時候，才讓人給你打電話匯報。

????埃莫森說：“這并不是意味著個人生活的重要性完全高于工作。你可能會因為有重要客戶的問題需要解決，而不得不放棄想看的足球比賽。”

????同樣，有一些公司采取的方式，則完全不同于始終在線式的彈性工作制度。作為公司彈性工作文化的一部分，位于芝加哥的房地產公司The Habitat Company便制定了電子郵件政策，規定員工僅需要回復在工作時間收到的電子郵件。

????通過恰當的培訓，老板們可以改變將工作時間等同于工作效率的舊習慣。埃莫森稱：“人們會根據自己的情況設身處地地為他人著想。”

????她說，Ryan調整政策三年之后，“人們已經習慣了來到公司，然后離開公司去處理個人事務，不必跟任何人解釋。”

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

Ingredients for a flexible office

????Any company hoping to implement flexible work should invest in IT that will make it seamless and efficient. Ryan employees, for instance, need to access large databases in order to work remotely, Emerson says.

????MeetingMatrix uses Microsoft Lync to connect every employee around the globe. They show that they are available via instant messaging, and understand that they could be called on their cell phone on a day off if they are needed, says Keller.

????Similar changes are underway at companies like Delta Airlines, Ounce of Prevention, and WellStar Health System, giving employees more control over their schedules, according to the FWI-SHRM report. Delta employees can choose the schedules they want to work and can swap shifts. WellStar lets employees schedule themselves via a web-based tool, collaborating with coworkers to make sure that they are covered, according to the report.

????To be sure, it's a greater responsibility to ensure that you meet your job objectives than to simply be expected to place your body in an office chair for eight hours. Ryan employees are expected to understand the demands that flexibility places on them. You can't just direct people to call you if anything pops up.

????"It's not that your personal life takes complete precedence over the business. You may be missing that soccer game you wanted to go to because there's a huge client issue that needs to be resolved," Emerson says.

????Just the same, some companies have taken a different approach to the always-on nature of flexible work. The Habitat Company, a Chicago-based real estate firm, established an e-mail policy that responses should only be expected during business hours, as part of an overall flexible culture.

????With the right training, you can start to break the habit of equating hours worked with productivity. "People can get very judgmental of each other based on their own personal scripts," Emerson says.

????Three years after Ryan changed its policies, "people feel comfortable to come and go and do their personal stuff without having to feel they have to explain," she says.