The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded a grant of $1 million to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), The SHRM Foundation and the Families and Work Institute (FWI), to be used in improving the availability of flexible workplaces.
The grant will be used to fund education efforts targeted at human resources executives and professionals about the advantages and implementation of flexible workplaces. According to SHRM, research has indicated workplace flexibility can improve employee wellness and enthusiasm. Stronger employee health and wellness may contribute to higher productivity and lower employee benefit costs, among other positive outcomes.
"By joining forces, SHRM and the Families and Work Institute have the capacity and reach to make workplace flexibility the new normal of the American workplace," said Kathleen Christensen, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Using this grant, SHRM and FWI intend to create educational training and programming nationwide and bring the issue of workplace flexibility forward. Specifically, they plan to assemble toolkits and resources for the benefit of HR professionals, employers and employees.
The organizations will also use a best-practices DVD and other means to assemble information on current flexible workplace implementation and strategies.
