Managers take note: a flexible workplace can make employees, their families, and their workplaces healthier and happier, according to recent studies conducted by industrial organizational psychologists.

Leslie Hammer, Director of the Occupational Health Psychology program at Portland State University, and Ellen Ernst Kossek, who teaches HR management and organizational behavior at Michigan State University’s School of Labor and Industrial Relations, say changes in workplace flexibility and improved supervisor support for workers, such as managers showing interest in an employee’s personal life or caring about an employee’s family needs, can result in a win-win situation.

“There is a health care debate going on right now in America, and that is important, but we should also be looking at ways flexible workplaces can benefit work and the family and their health as well,” Kossek said.

Through their research, conducted over the past 4 years, Hammer and Kossek found that employees with managers trained in supporting a flexible workplace had better physical health, were more satisfied with their jobs and experienced less turnover than those employees in [12 participating grocery] stores where managers did not have the training in family supportive behavior.

“There’s a definite link between supportive management and employee well-being,” Kossek said. They presented their findings at a congressional briefing titled Workplace Practice, Health and Well-Being: Initial Research Findings from the Work, Family & Health Network.

The lesson for the worksite: Managers can be trained on how to engage in family supportive supervisory behavior. Structural support includes taking the time to work with employees to reduce scheduling conflicts between work and family obligations. Emotional support includes such actions as acknowledging employees’ responsibilities outside of the workplace and understanding the conflicts that can arise.

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