The past few decades have brought a significant shift in the Canadian workforce. Two-income families are now the norm. And, as more couples delay having children until their late 30s and early 40s or have to care for aging parents, one partner must be available to handle the demands of family life. As a result, many women are choosing to leave the traditional workforce. For Canadian employers faced with a looming labour shortage, this poses a challenge. But if the flexibility to balance the demands of work and family life is what women need, the answer may lie in virtual teams.
Many employers attempt to offer flexible schedules, but at a price to the employee. For example, employees who choose to work a four-day workweek may have to take a 20% pay cut and find a way to fit five days of work into four. In contrast, the virtual team model is a completely different approach—a truly flexible business model that identifies an individual’s desired work/life balance and gives the employee the power to choose when, where and how she works. It redefines work as “something you do,” not “somewhere you go.”
Attracting female talent
With virtual teams, co-workers use email, telephone, video conferencing and other technologies to work together to meet clear and measurable performance objectives. Employees can work flexible hours, work from home (or wherever they may be) and live outside of urban centres. The benefits to employees include better work/life balance, reduced stress levels and improved health and wellness. With this approach, women can continue to contribute to the workforce, and contribute financially to their household, without sacrificing family responsibilities.
The virtual team model has immeasur-able wellness benefits for working women with young children or aging parents. When a child gets sick, working mothers on virtual teams are better able to deal with the concern without losing paid work time. This reduces employees’ level of stress, which is known to contribute to a happier and more productive workforce.
Younger female employees are attracted to the virtual model, too. A recent study published by professor Alison Konrad of the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University showed that there are specific benefits that millennials want from both their careers and future employers, including flexible hours, the ability to work from home, a family‐friendly culture and no rigid office hours.
Andrea Lekushoff is president and founder of Broad Reach Communications. alekushoff@broadreachcommunications.com