Four years from now more than 70% of organizations in England will have introduced flex work: employees working away from the office, also known as telecommuting or remote work.

Fantasy?

Well, not according to The Work Foundation, a research group in London.

The Work Foundation interviewed more than 500 academics, business, and public-sector leaders about flex work.

One of the questions The Work Foundation asked was, “What makes flex work so attractive?”

The 500 plus managers being interviewed answered that employees:

* Get more work done (44 percent of the respondents)

* Feel more trusted (42 percent of the respondents)

* Have a better work/life balance (35 percent of the respondents)

So, if flex work has so many advantages why did Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer ban employees from working at home in 2013?

Mayer said that working in a shared office was needed to improve communication and innovation.

But two years later Mayer thinks that flex work has advantages. In 2015 she looked back and her new conclusion was that people are more productive when they’re alone. However, she also claimed that employees are more collaborative and innovative when they’re together in the same workplace.

At the same time that Mayer made her decision, another turnaround leader, Andy Mattes, did the opposite. He introduced flex work within his company, Diebold (maker of ATMs). He hired employees who wanted to work remotely. His reasoning was that the promise of telecommuting made his organization more attractive for new talent.

Two years later half of the 75 top leaders at Diebold work remotely.

Two different organizations,

Two different decisions around flex work,

Two different results.

So, what would be a good route for your organization?

The advantages of flex work can be huge: increased productivity, improved employee well-being, talent attraction and retention, and reduction in office costs.

But will your organization get all that?

That depends.

Your organization needs to be ready.

Warning signs that your organization is not ready to fully utilize flex work are:

Warning Sign One: Measurement of Visibility

If your managers mainly measure the visibility – read being at the office -of the employees, you’re not ready for flex work. Flex work requires a focus on the output or productivity. Outcomes instead of working hours need to be counted for.

Warning Sign Two: Right Technologies Are Not In Place

Nothing impacts the productivity of an employee more nowadays than not having the right technologies at home like computer or internet connections. The right technologies need to be in place first.

Warning Sign Three: No leaders

Your managers need to be able to lead people. They need to inspire; connect and hold employees accountable even when they’re not in the same office. This might require going back to that old, almost forgotten technology, the phone. Pick up the phone and talk with your remote employees. Also set an example. Work from home yourself. Let go. Build trust.

If you might consider flex work in the future, lead your organization through the necessary changes as identified above.

Never make it a must.

Enable flex work.