Half of workers would actually rather have a strict 9-to-5 job than a flexible one

Gallup has published findings from a survey of 18,943 moving American adults, which recovered that 50% of workers would alternatively person accepted moving hours than the prime to dip successful and retired of enactment erstwhile they’re astir productive.

For white-collar workers specifically, the percent drops somewhat to 45%. 

Surprised? You wouldn’t beryllium alone. 

Gallup besides recovered that managers don’t cognize their workers arsenic good arsenic they deliberation they do, with leaders included successful the canvass massively overestimating that three-quarters of their workforce are “blenders”—workers who similar a occupation successful which you tin alternate betwixt enactment and different beingness activities passim the day.

“A communal misperception leaders person astir flexible enactment is that employees privation to beryllium mixing their enactment and idiosyncratic lives during the day,” Jeremie Brecheisen, managing manager of the Gallup CHRO Roundtable, precocious wrote successful an op-ed for the Harvard Business Review.

Workers divided connected work-life fluidity

Of course, leaders can’t disregard the different fractional of workers who privation enactment and beingness to blend seamlessly.

Nespresso’s U.K. CEO Anna Lundstrom, for example, previously told Fortune that allowing enactment to weave its mode successful and retired of her time allows her to enactment connected apical of her demanding occupation without being confined to a desk.

Instead of trying to chopped enactment and beingness into a rigid 50/50 split, she strives for work-life fluidity. Likewise, Thasunda Brown Duckett, president and CEO of the Fortune 500 fiscal services company TIAA, thinks she’s a amended ma for admitting that “work-life equilibrium is simply a lie“.

Working parents specifically—no substance wherever they beryllium connected the firm hierachy—have importantly benefited from employers ditching strict commencement and decorativeness times successful the aftermath of the pandemic and embracing a “work erstwhile you’re productive” ethos. 

“I request to enactment astir childcare,” Jade Fitzgerald, an experienced plan manager astatine the plan bureau Beyond, told Fortune. “Fortunately, immoderate of my enactment tin beryllium flexible, portion my son’s regular is not.” 

Like galore moving parents, her workday exceeds the hours that daycare is open, truthful she leaves the bureau aboriginal to bash the schoolhouse pickup and hole dinner, earlier finishing enactment astatine 7:30 p.m. erstwhile her kid is tucked into bed.

This mismatch is causing employees to burnout and quit

Ultimately, the mismatch betwixt what workers privation and what their bosses deliberation they privation mustn’t beryllium overlooked. 

Gallup recovered that erstwhile employees are not moving successful their preferred way, they are little engaged, much apt to study burning retired astatine work, and much apt to beryllium watching for oregon actively seeking a caller job. 

Although being capable to permission the bureau aboriginal with the anticipation of ever being connected to reply aboriginal greeting oregon late-night emails is simply a perk for immoderate employees, the aforesaid percent of staffers would alternatively telephone it a time astatine 5 p.m. connected the dot—or quit. 

It could explicate wherefore erstwhile Gallup asked large-company CHROs if their enactment cares astir the well-being of its employees, 65% powerfully agreed that this was the case. However, little than a 4th of employees agreed.

“Leaders whitethorn consciousness similar their enactment cares astir their employees—but that doesn’t substance if your employees don’t consciousness similar you care,” Fitzgerald said.

Gallup’s researchers concluded that the champion attack to uncovering retired whether oregon not workers are appreciating immoderate disposable flexible enactment policies (or the deficiency thereof) is simple: Ask them.