When it comes to promoting flexible work, there’s nothing more powerful than a CEO declaring they work flexibly. To hear them speak up about the fact they have and enjoy a life beyond spending countless hours in the office – and will find time to do so – sends a reassuring message to everyone else.
And that’s especially true when such a CEO heads up a major financial institution.
During a brief conversation with ANZ CEO Mike Smith recently, he told me he does indeed work flexibly. He made the point prior to helping launch a major update on progress from the Male Champions of Change. He also explained how the ANZ has recently moved to an ‘All Roles Flex’ policy, meaning jobs at the bank now start from the basis of being flexible (following a lead on the program from Telstra, the ASX, and later Westpac and PwC).
I was surprised to hear the CEO of one of our big four banks works flexibly, and probed a little further. “I work flexibly all the time because I’m travelling so much, I always have my gadgets,” he said. “I have my phone and my emails constantly on me. If I want to see one of my kids while I’m going through Hong Kong, I know I can make the time because I’ll still be connected, and I know I can make up for it later on.”
His definition of flexibility might be a little different from the rest of us, and I’m sure he works some very long hours. However, declaring his personal interest in flexible work is a powerful move. Flexibility is not something that happens there for working mothers alone. It’s for all employees, including him.
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer has also recently declared he works flexibly, by purchasing an additional two weeks annual leave every year so he can take six weeks off.
Hartzer likes to speak publicly about this, telling the AFR that with six kids at home, and plenty of school holidays to cover, he sees the extra leave as vital for maintaining some balance. He has also banned meetings before 8:30am and after 5pm, and is overseeing an institution where more than 63% of employees are now working flexibly, including a number of general managers.
CBA CEO Ian Narev and NAB’s Andrew Thorburn have also spoken out extensively about workplace flexibility, with Thorburn ‘hot desking’ at NAB’s head office, like the rest of his staff.
Hearing more male CEOs share their own personal desires to work flexibly will help shift assumptions regarding who such policies are for, and may finally help dismantle archaic structures around how we work. This is especially positive in the financial services sector which is still considered one of the worst performing industries on gender equality. According to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, women make up 57% of employees in the industry, but just 5.3% of CEOs and 23% of executives. The gender pay gap in financial services is at 37.8%.
As Smith told me, the need for flexibility has moved well away from merely supporting working parents. The world has moved on, technology has enabled us to do more and to stay connected. “Our lives now need to be flexible. We all live very complicated lives compared with what used to be the case. The old business model of nine to five just isn’t appropriate anymore,” he said.
He also pointed out that ANZ has seen an increase in staff engagement since introducing the All Role Flex policy, and experienced little backlash from naysayers who believe you have to be present to be productive. The move has been seen as positive by staff because it’s been positioned as something for everybody, rather than for women alone.
“I think there was this perception that being flexible was for part-time women. It’s not. It’s about how you manage your life. What’s important is output.”
If leaders can work flexibly, so too can those with aspirations for reaching the top.