PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has also integrated the concept of worklife flexibility into the day-to-day work environment through several programs, including:
- Teaming culture
A teaming culture in which multiple employees share responsibility for client service and deliverables enables our people to create work schedules that work best for themselves, the team and the client.
- Worklife resource and referral
To help our employees balance manage personal and work commitments, PwC offers this confidential resource and referral service that can assist PwC employees and their immediate families with financial, educational, career, childcare, elder care, disability, and stress management including free articles and publications.
- Flexible Fridays
Flexible Fridays are designed to give our people more flexibility in their schedules during the summer months. Generally speaking, a Flexible Friday refers to taking a Friday off after working an equivalent to those missed Friday hours earlier in the same week. Flexible Fridays are available from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Unprescribed sick leave
To assist employees in maintaining worklife quality, the Firm’s policy provides an un-prescribed number of sick days for all US full-time and part-time staff scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours a year. What’s more, our policy allows paid time off not just for one’s own illness, but also to care for a sick child, parent, spouse, or same-sex domestic partner.
In a truly flexible work environment, individuals and teams decide together how and where work gets done.
That's why PwC is creating a new paradigm of work. One where individual goals are respected as much as professional goals, and contribution is measured by results, not by the number of hours you spend in the office.
To do this, the firm offers several formal flexible work arrangements from telecommuting to a compressed workweek. Leaders and colleagues work collaboratively to assess these arrangements in the context of the needs of the individual, the team and the client.
The formal flexible work arrangements PwC offers include:
- Compressed work week
The standard workweek is compressed into fewer than five workdays, with employees working longer hours on the days they work. Work can be conducted at the office, at a client work site or at home.
- Flextime schedule
Employees may choose to begin their workday either earlier or later than "normal" business hours. Flextime is often used when a parent needs to drop a child off at school in the morning or to pick a child up from daycare in the evening.
- PwC offsite
This is an informal telecommuting arrangement where the professional works less than 60% of their time from home. Employees on PwC Offsite may vary the number of hours they work from home from week to week and as client or other commitments require.
- PwC@Home telecommuting
Employees on a formal telecommuting schedule who routinely work more than 60% of their hours from home may participate in PwC@Home. Employees on this flexible schedule often work out of formal home office environments.
- Reduced hours
Employees may work a reduced number of hours or participate in a job-sharing program where two people, both on reduced hours, jointly fulfill the responsibilities of one full-time position.
Leading by example
Everybody must assume responsibility for creating a culture of flexibility. Team leaders and project managers can do their part by:
- Taking uninterrupted vacations and holidays, without checking voicemail or e-mail, if they choose not to
- Focusing on the quality and timeliness of the work product, not where and how it is done
- Encouraging your team to break for lunch. It boosts energy levels, helps concentration and reduces errors
- Planning personal commitments as part of the engagement planning process and clarifying expectations with the client
Staying on your reduced schedule
When you're on a reduced work week, it's important to stick to your schedule as much as possible and let everyone on your team know your schedule and have the discipline to follow it. Don't hide the fact that you are working a reduced schedule
- Manage and protect your schedule; set expectations with your team/clients about your availability on your days off
- Don't overextend yourself, and know when to say, "No"
Telecommuting that works
Use all the technology tools available to you to stay connected to your supervisors, clients and colleagues in the office. Stay connected by:
- Maintaining a separate home office phone and fax number
- Utilizing leading technology to improve the quality and reliability of connectivity at home
- Staying up-to-date on important news affecting the industry and clients by subscribing to a comprehensive online news service
