Flexship

Part-time work, job sharing, and working from home are attractive options for many managers in Germany. They promote a better work-life balance and gender equality. However, flexible working arrangements in terms of time and location remain uncommon for leadership roles.

This is where the FleXship research and practice project comes in: What are the success factors for innovative working models in business and academia? What barriers need to be overcome? EAF Berlin and the Berlin School of Economics and Law investigated these questions in the project "FleXship: Flexible Working Models for Managers."

In collaboration with partners Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Post DHL Group, Deutsche Telekom, the Leibniz Association, the Max Planck Society, and the United Leaders Association (ULA), EAF Berlin collected and analyzed best practices from companies and research organizations, creating an up-to-date data foundation on flexible leadership.

The availability of flexible models in companies varies significantly depending on the specific model.

While part-time work is offered by over 80 percent of companies and trust-based working hours by 79 percent, the availability of home office options stands at 69 percent and sabbaticals at 44 percent. Notably, 86 percent of respondents consider trust-based working hours to be very or somewhat suitable for managers. Furthermore, flexible working models have a positive impact on the motivation (63%), productivity (58%), and creativity (57%) of managers. The primary obstacles to utilizing flexible working models are identified as a lack of role models (70%), insufficient support from top management (67%), and a lack of support from direct supervisors (64%).

In addition to a qualitative survey of around 800 managers, focus group workshops with project partners formed the core of the project. A workshop was held in each organization where managers working in flexible models (e.g., reduced full-time, home office, or job sharing), as well as their supervisors, colleagues, and HR representatives, were interviewed about their experiences.

The project results were presented to the public at a final conference with over 80 participants and are documented in the practical guide "Flexible Working in Leadership."

The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.