Don't Panic. You're the Boss.

"Well, it's at-will employment anyway."

There's a trend we've been seeing in workplaces everywhere. Employees are increasingly informing their managers how and when they will work.

We're not talking about an occasional schedule swap. We're talking about things like:

●      "I'll be working from a campground for the next week."

●      "I'm reducing my hours to 25 a week."

●      "I'm taking a class at 2:00 every day so I'll have to leave early."

And managers? They're nodding along, afraid to say anything.

Managers Are Afraid to Manage

We get it. The last few years have been tough. Businesses bent over backward to make sure employees were cared for during the pandemic, then worked hard to retain them during the Great Resignation. Flexibility became the norm and was granted freely. But somewhere along the way, "we trust our people" turned into "we're afraid to manage our people."

Here's what we're seeing at RiseHR: a growing number of managers who genuinely don't know if they're allowed to push back.

They are.

Flexibility Isn't the Problem. Fear Is.

Flexibility is a great retention tool when it's mutual and structured. It becomes a problem when employees set the terms and managers just go along with it out of fear of a lawsuit or a resignation letter. That's not flexibility. That's setting everyone up for failure.

What the Law Actually Requires

Here's the part people miss: when an employee accepts a job, they accept the terms of that job, including the hours. You have every right to expect them to fulfill that commitment.

The law doesn't require you to say yes to every request. What it requires is that you be consistent and non-discriminatory in how you make decisions. If you let one person work from home indefinitely but deny the same to someone in a protected class without a business reason, that's where you have exposure.

The fix isn't to stop managing. It's to manage fairly.

So, What Does That Actually Look Like?

Start by getting clear on your expectations, and, this is critical, make sure those expectations are tied to actual business needs.

We're not proponents of blanket rules just for the sake of it. Requiring everyone to be at their desk by 8:00 AM makes sense if your business hours are 8 to 5 and your team meets with clients and colleagues during that time. It makes a lot less sense if the employee in question is collaborating with a remote team in a different time zone.

The standard should be "does this serve the business?" not "this is just how we've always done it."

Define your expectations. Tie them to business needs. Apply them consistently. Hold employees accountable. Document it.

You Can Have Both

You don't have to choose between being a great place to work and being a business that actually functions. You can be both. But it starts with remembering that you get to lead.

Questions about setting expectations or managing flexible work arrangements? That's exactly what we're here for!

Click here to schedule your free consultation!