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• 4,380 employees (26% of all employees) completed the WLN Flexible Work Schedule Survey.

• This research was conducted via an online survey between May 10th and May 24th 2012 among IPG employees across the US.

• Survey invitations were delivered to 16,616 US IPG employees who were employed by an IPG company in the month of April 2012.

Methodology

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Who we spoke to…

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Who we spoke to… GENDER • 1011 Men

• 3379 Women

GEOGRAPHY • 43% from the Northeast

• 32% from the Midwest

• 11% from the South

• 14% from the West

GENERATION • 1162 Generation Y employees

• 2126 Generation X employees

• 1092 Baby Boomers+

ETHNICITY • 79% Caucasian/White

• 7% Hispanic/Latino

• 5% Asian

• 4% African American/Black

• 6% Prefer not to answer

LEVEL • 760 Junior staff

• 2703 Mid-level staff/Junior management

• 917 Senior management+

JOB FUNCTION • 33% Client services

• 23% Staff services

• 12% Media services

• 8% Creative/design

• 8% Production

• 7% Strategic planning

• 5% Digital

• 5% Other staff

STATUS • 98% Full-time employees

• 2% Part-time employees

TENURE • 81% with 1-9 years tenure

• 15% with 10-19 years tenure

• 4% with 20+ years tenure

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Respondents report that they work in a traditional environment, and that they would prefer to work in a more flexible environment.

Described Culture

Q5. Would you describe your office culture as more traditional [more face-to-face interactions, regular work hours, most people work in the office] or more flexible [lots. virtual communication, flexible schedules, many people work remotely]? Q6. Which type of work environment would you prefer?

How we describe our CURRENT OFFICE CULTURE

How we describe our PREFERRED OFFICE CULTURE

SOMEWHAT TRADITIONAL

38%

VERY TRADITIONAL

35%

SOMEWHAT FLEXIBLE

22%

VERY FLEXIBLE

5%

SOMEWHAT FLEXIBLE

48%

VERY FLEXIBLE

38%

SOMEWHAT TRADITIONAL

12% VERY TRADITIONAL

2%

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Official flexible work schedules An official agreement between an employee and their office about the hours they work and the location where they work which may be different from the standard workday/location.

Unofficial flexible work schedules Environments where employees have the autonomy to adjust their short-term schedule to suit their needs (come in early, leave early, work remotely), without getting documented approval.

Official vs. Unofficial flexibility

Two types of flexible work schedules (FWS)

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Daily

Weekly

Every other week

Every few weeks

Once a month

Every few months

Less than every few months

Never

Half report access to unofficial FWS

Q12. Do you currently have an official flexible work schedule? Q15. Can you currently take advantage of an unofficial flexible work schedule? Q17. [Asked of those who can take advantage of an unofficial work schedule] How often do you take advantage of unofficial work schedules at your office? (N=2303)

Frequency that Unofficial Work Schedule is Used

5%

16%

10%

21%

16%

19%

10%

2%

Roughly a fifth say they have an official flexible work schedule and slightly over half say they can take advantage of an unofficial work schedule – and most do almost monthly.

53%

22%

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69% use FWS at least once

a month!

8 Q20. Excluding work travel, in a given month, how many days do you work remotely? (N=4,380)

Gender Generation Job Level Job Function

All Women Men Gen Y

Gen X

Baby Boom Jr. Mid Sr. Client Staff Strategic Create Prod Media Digital

0 days 62 63 57 72 56 64 82 63 43 55 65 50 69 75 72 49

1-2 days 26 24 29 21 29 23 13 25 37 32 20 31 23 17 19 40

3+ days 12 12 13 7 15 13 5 12 20 13 15 19 8 8 9 11

Men are more likely

to work remotely

Gen X employees are most likely to work remotely

Senior staff is most likely to work remotely

Client, strategic planning, and digital teams are more likely to work remotely

38% Work remotely at least once a month

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The majority of IPG employees describe their work environment as traditional, however, flexible work schedule behaviors abound.

A “Flexible” Disconnect

38% of all IPG employees currently work remotely at least once a month

There are varying perceptions about what constitutes a flexible work schedule

What does this tell us?

Only 27% describe their office as “flexible” Nearly 9 in 10 (86%) of IPG employees would prefer a flexible work environment

Over half (53%) of IPG employees currently can take advantage of an unofficial flexible work schedule

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Varying degrees of control over work style

Q4. Do you feel you have control over where you work from, when you work, and how you work? (N=4,380)

Control over work style

However many have little control over when/where they work.

Most have at least some control, especially with regards to how they work.

*Please note the Flexibility Index is on a 0-100 scale where “0” means “I have no control” and “100” means “I have complete control”

4%

3%

6%

17%

13%

33%

36%

36%

40%

28%

35%

16%

15%

14%

5%

Where you work

When you work

How you work

Complete Control A Lot of Control Some Control Little Control No Control

Avg IPG Flexibility

Index Score

45

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The IPG Flexibility Index

Q4. Do you feel you have control over where you work from, when you work, and how you work? (Index)

Most Work Flexibility Least Work Flexibility

• Part-time workers (57)

• Senior management (53)

• Those who work in digital (48)

• Males (48)

• Baby Boomers (47)

• Those who manage others (47)

• Staff and client job functions (47)

• Those who work in media (41)

• Those who work in creative (41)

• Junior staff (38)

* Please note the Flexibility Index is on a 0-100 scale where “0” means “I have no control” and “100” means “I have complete control”

Avg IPG Flexibility

Index Score

45

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Vast majority would like more flexibility

Q32. Would you like to see greater flexibility at your office? (N=4,380)

Women

Generation X African Americans

Parents

Generation Y

Hispanics

Junior Staff

Mid-Level Staff/Junior Management

CREATIVE

Desire for more flexibility? Desire for greater flexibility is particularly strong among these audiences

Yes, 86%

No, 14%

“Technology should make our lives easier and more mobile. Also, the work week rolls into the weekend so standard working hours are no longer standard.”

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13 Q30. What do you think are the benefits of a more flexible work schedule? Please indicate if you see these benefits as very important, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important. (N=4,380)

Easier to take care of errands/doctor

appointments, etc.

Easier commute

Easier to recover from exhausting work

weeks

The benefits of a flexible work schedule are many. The most appealing include the ability to take care of errands, an easier commute, and the ability to recover from exhausting work week.

Junior Staff (94%)

Mid-level Staff/Junior Mgmt (89%)

Junior Staff (89%)

Mid-level Staff/Junior Mgmt (88%)

Junior Staff (91%)

Mid-level Staff/Junior Mgmt (87%)

“As a person with a very long commute, it would be beneficial to me if I could work from home one day a week - eliminating the stress of the daily commute...and actually getting more done since travel time wouldn't need to be factored in.”

Lifestyle Benefits

88%

87%

86%

Important

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14 Q25. Why do you feel that way?

“Technology today allows us to work from anywhere. The flexibility allows employees to have some options while still maintaining work. i.e. sick children, school appointments.”

“The flexible work schedule provides employees the freedom to work from a remote location (e.g. home) where they are free to schedule their personal needs around their professional requirements. This means, for example, that an employee can save upwards of 10 hours per week in their commute which often translates into additional 6-10 hours spent on work activities in a given week.”

“We all have responsibilities outside of the physical office environment that can prevent us from coming into the office on any given day. Having the flexibility to get the job done remotely helps alleviate some of the stress that arises from these situations.”

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IPG employees at all levels, from senior management to junior staff, see the benefits of FWS. Most notable is the ability to attract and retain talent.

Benefits of a flexible work environment

Q30. What do you think are the benefits of a more flexible work schedule? (N=4,380)

The ability to attract and retain talent (94%)

The ability to better serve my clients (79%)

Improved productivity (91%)

Improved employee engagement (86%)

Improved financial performance (73%)

Demonstrates commitment to social

responsibility (72%)

The ability to attract and retain talent (94%)

The ability to better serve my clients (84%)

Improved productivity (94%)

Improved employee engagement (86%)

Improved financial performance (80%)

Demonstrates commitment to social

responsibility (79%)

From a Senior Management Perspective

From a Junior/Mid-level Perspective

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Office Flexibility Rating

Q21. Taking into consideration both official and unofficial work flexibility options, would you say your office is very flexible, somewhat flexible, not very flexible, not at all flexible?

Later in the survey and after defining official and unofficial work schedules, IPG employees were asked a slightly different question on flexibility. They were asked to rate the level of flexibility in their office.

6%

33%

50%

10%

Not at all flexible

Not very flexible

Somewhat flexible

Very flexible

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38% 32%

9% 1%

20%

70% say their flexible environments help attract and retain talent.

Flexibility helps attract and retain talent

Q24/28. In general, do you think that this approach to work schedule flexibility helps or hurts your office's ability to attract and maintain top talent? (Flexible, N=2,635; Not Flexible, N= 1,745)

Environment’s Impact on Ability to Attract and Retain Talent

40% in inflexible offices

13% 7%

45% 10%

24%

56% say their inflexible environments hurt their ability to attract and retain talent

60% in flexible offices

Helps somewhat Helps a great deal Hurts somewhat Hurts a great deal Neither

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18 Q25. Why do you feel that way? (Flexible, N=2,635)

“As a parent, I've got to have flexibility in my job. Because it's been so flexible for me, I've stayed 15 years and it's still a great job for me!”

“A flexible work schedule allows people to work when they feel they are the most productive.”

“I definitely think it appeals to attract folks, but I'm not always convinced it maintains talent. I have seen where even the staff that are on the flex place schedule get frustrated because they can't keep up with the work pace or focus on career development as they aren't in the office. I've also seen folks resign because they picked-up too much for the person who worked off-site. There are definitely roles where flexible work place works successfully, but I think the creative, agency environment makes it more challenging.”

“A flexible work environment is very appealing to people and is becoming more and more common. If our work environment isn't flexible, top talent will be drawn to an agency that is.”

“People like to feel respect for their time. We all have lives and personal things to attend to. I think people work harder when they aren't constantly worrying about strict schedules. Creating a schedule that works for an individual is more productive than assuming that 9-5 garners the most productivity.”

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Flexibility helps work products and services

Q22/26. In general, do you think this level of flexibility helps or hurts your office's products/services? (Flexible, N=2,635; Not Flexible, N= 1,745)

Environment’s Impact on Products and Services

40% in inflexible offices

6% 8%

50% 13%

24%

63% say their inflexible schedules hurt their work

products and services

60% in flexible offices

37% 33%

9% 0%

21%

70% say their flexible schedules help their work products and

services

Helps somewhat Helps a great deal Hurts somewhat Hurts a great deal Neither

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20 Q22/26. In general, do you think this level of flexibility helps or hurts your office's products/services? (Flexible, N=2,635; Not Flexible, N= 1,745)

“When working with clients or service providers in different time zones, a work schedule that starts earlier in the morning or runs later into the evening might be more appropriate and having the flexibility to make that adjustment would allow better work-life balance.”

“For jobs working with clients in a different time zone, it would mean less down time and more productive time when working on the client's schedule. Some employees see no work in the AM, but stay late in the evening to finish work the client needs.”

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Respondents overwhelmingly think that a flexible work schedule allows for greater efficiency and productivity. This is particularly true among Gen X respondents.

Flexibility helps efficiency

Q35. Please indicate the extent to which the following statements describe you. (N=4,380)

47%

39%

14%

Describes me completely Describes me somewhat Does not describe

Flexible work schedules allow me to be more efficient and productive.

“A flexible schedule allows for more actual work to be done -- sometimes writing a press release without the interruptions of the office is easier done at home.”

Generation X Hispanics

Married Mid-level Staff/Junior Management

Parents

Strategic Planning

Digital

Senior Management

Rural Neighborhood

Suburban Neighborhood

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Key Takeaways

• Employees prefer flexible work environments and would like greater flexibility.

• There are varying perceptions as to what constitutes a flexible office environment.

• Access to unofficial FWS is prevalent.

• Flexibility and job satisfaction go hand in hand.

• Flexibility helps attract and retain talent.

• Flexibility helps increase productivity and improve the quality of work products and services.

• A work culture that supports flexibility is just as important as the option of flexibility.

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Vicki Sneed Executive Vice President KRC Research vsneed@krcresearch.com 202 585 2919 (direct) 202 302.2835 (cell) http://www.krcresearch.com http://twitter.com/KRCResearch

Questions?

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