Diversity and Flexibility are a Must for Today's Work Environment

Joe Weinlick
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Diverse and flexible work environments focus on embracing differences, talents, input and skills as part of the company culture. It is inevitable that companies have employees with different talents and skills and people who are diversified based on age, race, language and demographics. Managers who can appreciate input from employees, encourage expressions exploring diversity and make flexibility a norm have the ability to improve morale, productivity and profitability.

Diversity in the workplace does not just relate to physical qualities, personality traits and genetic makeup. Diversity applies to how employees set priorities, make decisions and process information, explains Rawn Shah with Forbes. Leaders who acknowledge that people process and disseminate information in various ways show empathy and flexibility, which ultimately encourages employees to be themselves, stay loyal to the company, and invest in the values, beliefs and goals of the business. A company culture that is flexible to differences in opinion encourages employees to provide input and contribute innovative ideas.

Managers who conduct business by promoting flexible work environments often possess higher degrees of comprehension, reasoning fluidity and fluid intelligence. As a result, employees immersed in a flexible and diverse industry are motivated by the leadership traits of an intelligent and reasonable manager and may be inspired to become more productive and creative when completing tasks and projects or interacting with clients. A company culture that is nurturing and encouraging often prompts employees to provide customer service that models the values of the business, which ultimately improves the bottom line.

Leaders who promote a cohesive and flexible company culture may also experience less problems with employee performance. For example, managers who embrace diverse ways of thinking and cohesive problem-solving strategies are able to compromise with employees and reduce the risk of poor time-management skills and negative attitudes. The potential for a lazy and detached workforce is reduced when managers actively seek diverse input and offer flexible work schedules. When the focus is on improving employee morale, managers often see a significant increase in productivity.

Businesses can adopt a model of transformation to improve the company culture and actively seek diverse opinions and input from employees. The workforce should be encouraged to help create new processes, product and service launches and invest in the mission of the business. Communication in a trusting environment is a crucial element of implementing flexible and diverse learning spaces. The focus of transforming the culture and improving motivation is to develop talent that exists and offer employees opportunities to learn new skills.

Today's work environment and company culture must foster innovation and diversity to actively attract and retain qualified employees. Companies who are invested in developing talent and actively seeking input often find that increased productivity as a result of employee satisfaction significantly impacts profitability.


Photo courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

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