Postal employees could get a lot more done if they worked in a place more like the private sector. And the same can be said of most other federal agencies, according to a government watchdog.
“The Postal Service, its employees and its customers would all be better off with more flexible human resource policies,” said the United States Postal Service Inspector General in a report released Monday.
More flexible workplaces allow employees greater freedoms so their work and non-work lives intersect less frequently, which greatly reduces individual stress. These practices are common in the private sector.
“Implementing successful flexibility policies could strengthen employee morale, improve performance and attract a talented workforce, helping the Postal Service survive and thrive in this rapidly changing climate,” the IG said.
Additionally, such policies could help other federal departments.
“There was nothing that was just unique to the postal service that wouldn’t apply to other federal agencies,” said Jeff Colvin, financial operations director for the IG’s Risk Analysis Research Center.
The IG identified several advantages to workplace flexibilities, including increased employee retention and productivity.
Because the policies would increase morale, turnover rates and subsequent training costs for replacement employees would decrease, according to the report.
Ultimately, employees are less stressed and are more satisfied in their workplace, and the Postal Service gets more productive employees and lower costs. The IG did not estimate how much would be saved.
Multiple flexibility policies were recommended for testing by the Postal Service to test, including annualized hours and self-scheduling. Annualized hours allow employees to trade overtime in busy periods for time off in slow periods. Employees using self-scheduling can request preferred shifts.
However, flexibility policies can be abused. For example, employers can require that part-time employees complete near-full-time workloads. Additionally, they may use scheduling control to punish employees by giving them undesirable shifts.
The report also urged postal officials to collaborate more closely with labor unions. If the flexibility policies gave managers more freedoms, there would ultimately be bigger burdens for the employees. The reverse is also true.
The report was done in response to data that showed that employees with higher levels of work stress experience greater health problems and corresponding absences. The investigators consulted with experts on work flexibility, researched relevant literature and documents and interviewed business leaders in multiple sectors.
Go here to read the full report.
