Benefits For Companies Of Granting Their Employees Flexibility

Privacy is very important to me. I haven’t experienced a work-related situation that involved privacy, but it has been part of my academic career. Actually, my entire life has focused on a private situation that I’ve had to share at different levels over the years. I suffered a traumatic brain injury when I was six months old. This led to many years of therapy up until high school. I was also subjected to yearly testing, assessments and meetings to determine what accommodations would help me to successful in school and college. It has been hard for me to share this situation over the years.

At first when I was younger, I felt uncomfortable being taken out of classes for occupational and speech therapy. I didn’t understand the need, just that I felt different from my friends. By high school I had become more comfortable advocating for myself. I realize that I need the accommodations to be successful. I need the accommodations and support, so I can learn at the same level of other students. It’s like leveling the playing field. I’ve come to understand and accept that I need allowances to place me at the same level as others. Privacy is important because others can judge without knowing all of the details. Everyone has things in their lives that could be judged by others. People might judge someone negatively because they don’t have all of the information.

I personally have not had any experience with drug testing. Wendy’s and Kohl’s where I’ve been employed did not use drug testing as part of their hiring process. I did take a personality test in high school to help students determine what types of jobs they might like to pursue after graduation. I found this testing to be helpful and not intrusive. Students are able to use the results to make decisions about attending college and what type of school or program. My Mom works for a company that requires all new employees to under go drug testing. She shared with me a situation with a new employee that kept putting off the drug testing.

She had already been with the company two weeks but had not taken the drug testing. Human Resources gave her a deadline, so she finally took the test. The results came back inconclusive which meant she had tried to water down her results. Shortly after she took the test her attendance and behavior changed. My Mom was working with Human Resources on how to handle the change when the drug testing results came back. Human Resources determined it was best to terminate her. My Mom told me she was grateful for the drug testing because she felt this person wasn’t going to be dedicated to doing a good job. Some people might feel that drug testing is intrusive, however it can protect others. For example, in a warehouse employees might drive fork lights and use other equipment. If they are actively using drugs, they could endanger others in the warehouse. Employers have to provide a safe environment for all employees.

Yes, I feel businesses have a responsibility to provide employees with more satisfying work lives. Full time employees spend a third of their day at work which during the work week is more time than they spend with family or doing personal things. There isn’t a guarantee that improved quality of work life will always boost productivity, but employees will have more positive attitudes about their employers. This will make for a positive work environment. The company will also benefit because it will have a positive reputation which will attract strong job candidates. I also feel that companies should accommodate their employees’ family needs whenever possible. I’d like to share a personal example to show why I feel this is important.

When I was 6 months old, I had an accident at day care which lead to many years of therapy. The owner of the company where my Mom has worked for 22 years reached out to her while I was in the hospital. He offered to set her up with a home computer and allow her to work from home to accommodate doctor’s appointments and therapy at home. Nineteen years ago, working remotely was just starting to evolve so this was a generous offer made to my Mom. She’s told me over the years she worked many hours over her required 40 hours per week because she felt empowered. The flexibility given to her showed her that she a valued employee which motivated her to work harder.

I feel companies can grant employees flexibility without costing them much which will reduce stress in employees’ personal lives. The employees will feel job satisfaction and will be more productive when working. Stress at home and work can lead to mental health issues. This has become more common. The past few years there have been several shootings where disgruntled employees have gone to their place of work and gone on a shooting rampage. Perhaps if their employers had put more emphasis on providing things to reduce stress the situations might not have escalated.