The push and pull dynamic between employees wanting flexibility and employers wanting people back in the office is real. Recent Spring/Alera Group research identified the type of flexibility (e.g., flexible hours, flexible days, flexible location, paid parental leave, additional paid days off) that employees prefer and the value they place on it.

The results showed that employees have an overwhelming preference for additional paid days off, as compared to the other options posed, and that they would take a small pay cut to have that type of flexibility. Employees would also be willing to sacrifice some pay if it meant they had flexibility to work from home, office, or other location at least three days a week. Paid parental/family care leave, on the other hand, was the least preferred of the options we asked about, but strongly correlated to an employer being perceived as having a supportive culture, something that is highly rated for both attraction and retention.

Preferences and value perceptions of course varied by demographics, such as for caregivers or salaried versus hourly employees, but the bottom line was that once a company offers flexibility to its employees, it is hard to take back. That said, it is important for employers to think about a phased approach when change is being made.