The JobSync Blog
Freedom and Productivity: a Best Bet at Best Buy
January 4, 2012
In an earlier blog, we discussed how Generation Y was transforming the traditional 9 to 5 workday. Thanks to technology, greater connectivity means longer hours, but this is counterbalanced by employees demanding more flexibility in their schedules than that of generations before them. And sure enough, now there is proof that giving workers greater freedom creates happier, healthier, and more productive workers.
Recently, The Atlantic profiled the startling findings of researchers at the University of Minnesota, who studied Best Buy’s unusual results-oriented, work-schedule program that began in 2006. The Fortune 500 electronics giant introduced this program to provide employees greater flexibility in their lives as long as they completed their work. Researchers found that Best Buy employees who were given the freedom to adjust their work schedules and locations based on their job responsibilities and personal needs reported getting nearly an hour more of sleep on nights preceding work. Not only did the quality of that sleep improve, but employees also experienced improvements in energy levels and individual health. In addition, the research also discovered these employees enjoyed a reduction in emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, and work-family conflict.
None of this should surprise anyone. Empowered employees suffer less debilitating stress, and by giving them greater flexibility, Best Buy employees also had the ability to take better care of their everyday health needs. Needless to say, a healthier employee is a happier and more productive employee.
Is such a program right for your company? Naturally, it depends on the nature of a business. A firm where work is conducted primarily through the computer and phone is more amenable to this kind of reconfiguration than say a company whose workers are primarily engaged in physical manufacturing. However, practically every company has at least some sub-group of workers who would benefit from Best Buy’s approach.
So if you love an employee, set them free.
Page: 1
