Want more productive workers? Be flexible with their work

When it comes to achieving a healthy work-life balance, most employers want their staff to meet them halfway, according to a new survey from staffing firm The Creative Group.

Half of the advertising and marketing hiring decision makers who were surveyed said productivity would increase if their company instituted a compressed work schedule. Employees would work four 10-hour workdays instead of the traditional five 8-hour work week schedule.

The survey also finds 76 percent of employers would allow staff to attend to non-work related tasks during business hours to increase productivity. Those non-work related tasks could be anything from going to a doctor's appointment to picking up a child from school to attending a child's game.

Fifty-two percent say achieving that work-life balance actually helps boost morale and increase the company and employee responsibility.

Rory Butler says, metro marketing manager for staffing agency Robert Half, said the flexible workplace schedule is a win-win for both employer and employee. It allows employees to have better control of their schedules and it helps employers retain strong recruitment and retention of talent.

Having a flexible work schedule gives employees a bit of freedom, Butler said. But with that freedom comes responsibility. Employees need to establish goals and establish timelines with their employers or direct reports. They need to be able to hit the key components, especially in the creative field, where it's a team environment.

"If you need to be out of the office, you need to be accessible, but then be sure to be getting back to the task at hand," Butler said.

Butler said he noticed with the survey that a lot of the big Blue Chip companies have been adopting this work-balance policy. He credited them for creating an environment where people want to stay at their jobs.

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