4 Ways to Make Flexible Work a Part of Your Office Culture

4 Ways to Make Flexible Work a Part of Your Office Culture Your company claims to be a proponent of workplace flexibility. It has a formal flexible work policy, and some of your employeeseven leave the office early so they can spend mora time withtheir families.But is your company really doing everything possible to promote a flexible work environment and ensure better work-life balance for its workers? Is flexible work an integral part of your company culture?Work flexibility is continuing to grow in popularity, but many companies have yet totake full advantage of the numerous benefits flexible work brings.Here are four ways you can make sure your office culture truly promotesflexible work and encourages a more cohesive, happier, and more productive work environment.1. FormalizeYour FlexUp until now, your companys flexible work policy welches on a need-to-know basis. Some workers were granted flex, but others werent. Perhaps your managers believe tha t offering flexible schedules to everyone will cause utter chaos. Nothing will get done, and workers will be impossible to get in touch with.But that couldnt be further from the truth. Numerous studies have shown that workers who get to use their flex are far more productive than their office-bound colleagues. Besides, offering flex to some employees and not others is a good way to cause animosity instead of fostering a more positive and unifiedculture.Make your companys flexible work policy official by addressing work flexibility not onlyfor some employees, but for everyone.2. Remove the BiasWhen people think of work-life balance (and who might need it most), theres a fairly good chance that theyre thinking of a frantic working mother who is trying to tackle her workloadwhile getting dinner on the table.But work-life balance is not gender-specific everyone can benefit from a more harmonious relationship between their personal and professional life.Thats why you should make a concer ted effort to ensure that no social stigmas regarding flexible work exist in your office. Beyond that, no worker should be made to feel guilty or inadequate simply because of their need forflexibility.3. Lead by ExampleLets say that your company has a flexible work policy firmly in place. As a manager, you might be able to work from home, but you opt instead to work at the office each and every day.Stop for a moment and consider what type of message youre conveying to the rest of your team. Ifyoure not utilizing your flex, chances are your employees wont either even if they really need to.You might prefer to work in the office, but you really should walk the walk and work from home once in a while to show your support of your companys flexible work policy and encourage your team to take advantage of it.4. Be PositiveAttitude is everything when it comes to flexible work. If you show your workers that you respect and enjoy your flexible work schedule, they will feel free to do the sa me. So take the time to show your support of work flexibility.Maybe you can shine a spotlight on a workers community service projects or how another employee was able to successfully fundraise for their childs senior class trip. If your employees feel that youre in favor of the companys flexible work policy, theyll be that much more likely to use it. In turn, that will make themhappier and more loyal.Its one thing to have a flexible work policy in place. Its quite another to have a company culture that fosters flexible work. But by intertwining the two, employees (and employers) will get to enjoy the many, many benefits that come with flexible work.Brie Reynolds is the director of online content at FlexJobs.