Flexible Work Opportunities are the Future and We Know It
As TakeTwo Services enjoys its one year anniversary, we’ve been reflecting on our consulting model of services and how it impacts our clients, our careers, and our lives.
We feel high quality consulting services are efficient and cost-effective for our clients. Consultants get projects done and goals reached without investment in overhead and fringe. We love that – we love helping nonprofits achieve what they want to with limited resources.
But, as important to a female-run and -owned business, we believe consulting (and in other fields, freelancing) represents a new era in which women (and men of course – but, I’m going to focus on women here) can achieve success in their careers while enjoying their family and personal lives. In other words, achieving the ultimate work/life balance. We believe telecommuting, flexible work hours/days, and consulting are critical work place strategies companies and nonprofits must begin to use confidently to enable American families and households to realize healthier and happier lives. We also believe, eventually, these strategies will save companies (nonprofits) significant money (in office rent, costs of fringe benefits, etc.).
And we are not coming from nowhere on this – it has been a recurring issue in the news this year. There was Facebook COO’s Sheryl Sandberg’s much publicized April interview and subsequent address to Harvard Business School in May in which she stressed the reality of the breakdown of traditional hierarchies and career paths and the need for workplace flexibility to keep intelligent, hardworking women at work and in leadership positions. Followed by Anne-Marie Slaughter’s heart-felt response in The Atlantic in June titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All” in which she shared the reality of her sacrifices as a mother and in her career while trying to find a healthy balance of work and life that worked for her and her family.
Women everywhere in our country are living this issue every day – constantly choosing between earning for their families, taking care of their families, and fulfilling their own personal dreams and aspirations. And in response to this, and with the capabilities afforded us by technology, it seems more and more women are demanding flexible work environments – which is a very good thing. If we continue to seek and demand work flexibility – we can change America’s work environment and culture – feminize it (yeah, I said it)- make it reflect the reality in which we all live.
The gap will still ultimately lie in these positions and opportunities continuing not to be leadership and executive positions. At TakeTwo, we naturally believe effective and powerful leadership can be achieved by women – and more than that – women with flexible work approaches and schedules. Furthermore, we believe this will be the dominant work culture of the future.
So, if you are in a leadership position now at a nonprofit and are already practicing workplace flexibility – or you are actively considering some of these strategies – we say “kudos,” “thank you,” and “onwards and upwards!” – because you are helping to pioneer the way toward a healthier, happier American society – one that is inclusive of women and recognizes that we have a great deal to offer to our economy, government, and social change institutions.
