Members Agree: We Want Truly Flexible Work Policies
/The message from IAPE members is clear. They want truly flexible working policies that allow each member to adapt their own working conditions to their unique needs. That’s the takeaway from nearly 400 responses to a union survey emailed to members last Friday.
That’s also the message IAPE representatives conveyed to Dow Jones counterparts yesterday, during a meeting to negotiate over terms of workplace returns.
IAPE representatives understand that this issue is top of mind and are working hard to protect the rights of all IAPE-represented employees and create a better working environment for everyone.
IAPE believes that the last two years—while challenging in many respects—have also been a success in showing that remote work is a viable option for many. During this time, Dow Jones reported its highest profit in years. At the same time, IAPE members report that working remotely makes them happier in their roles and makes it easier to manage the demands of working at a high-performance place like Dow Jones with their personal and family lives.
For many, the security of a home office is vital to their health and safety. Nearly 40% of members responding to the survey say health concerns would prevent any return to a Dow Jones office, with 20% citing a personal health concern or disability as keeping them away from in-office work, while 19% say a health concern or disability for someone they care for is what keeps them at home.
Forty-three percent of employees who responded to this latest survey say they don’t think Dow Jones should mandate any number of days working in-office. Twenty percent said the company could require one day in the office and 22% said they could mandate more than one day in the office. More than 80% of IAPE members believe that Dow Jones should allow staff to regularly work from home at least three days a week.
If given full flexibility, nearly half (47%) of those surveyed said they wouldn’t come into the office at all on the average week. An additional 40% said they would come in one day or two days a week.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said working from home has positively affected their work.
Again, the message is clear: flexible working works.
What is less than clear is how Dow Jones intends to respond to union proposals. In a note to Dow Jones staff on Feb. 22, CEO Almar Latour and Chief People Officer Dianne DeSevo said Dow Jones wants to “embrace a team-driven, leader-led and flexible approach” to workplace scheduling. In response, IAPE has asked Dow Jones to identify those members of management who will determine individual department schedule assignments, so that the union may begin negotiating directly with those decisionmakers. The company balked at this request.
We also understand that, in light of the Latour/DeSevo note, it may not be clear to you what an order to return to in-office work truly means—especially if you relocated during the pandemic, or if you were hired during the past two years and you have never worked in a Dow Jones location.
If you have any questions about how company plans—or an eventual agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones—could affect you, please contact us at union@iape1096.org.
What You Told Us
In addition to the multiple choice survey results linked above, members provided an overwhelming amount of valuable information in response to our short-answer questions. Here’s a sampling of those responses:
“I’ve achieved more in the last two years than I ever have before, the feedback I’ve gotten has been wonderful, the work I’ve done will benefit the company in unique ways, and I’m in a position to advance. Very little of it would’ve been possible if I were still spending so much of my energy on commuting and getting ready and other routines.”
“Definitely positive! I can adjust noise, light, etc based on what fits my needs and can maximize my work time earlier in the morning, when I’m most clear and productive, since I don’t have to commute.”
“Flexibility has been great to get things done outside of the 9-5 hours as I've had a chance to spend time with my kids and help them with homework, etc, rather than having a babysitter handle parenting duties...all that has lead to more a better feeling about work and has made me more focused and engaged.”
“Positive from a productivity standpoint. The time I used to spend commuting, I'm now working. On the negatives side: I'm less connected to the WSJ organization. Less connected to sources. I see fewer people. It's harder to meet with people because I'm not in the office or close to their offices. There's an isolating aspect to working from home. I haven't seen some co-workers in two years. I see or talk to others infrequently.”
“I love the flexibility of my down time to do life things. I work more hours than I ever had, but having the brief moments to do laundry or make lunch are unbeatable.”
“I no longer commute 2 hours a day, which means I'm less stressed, I spend more time with my family, I sleep better, I eat better, and I'm able to perform my work duties more effectively. Adding on to this, the office makes me miserable. It's a long commute to get there, it's loud, very distracting, and it's not conducive to getting things done. The open office concept is a terrible idea, and it makes my job 100 times more difficult. At home, I have my own office, where I can shut the door, and get total peace and quiet. I get to have laser focus, which is important for me. I need to be able to enter deep thought and concentrate, and home provides that for me. The office does the exact opposite.”
“Being at home increases my output and focus...particularly when I have the option to go to the office. But I miss out on some collaboration and everything has to be a zoom meeting when it could be an actual conversation...like with a whole human...who's sitting next to you. Endless zoom meetings are definitely giving me headaches.”