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This column is part of Globe Careers' Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about leadership and management. Follow us at @Globe_Careers. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab

The recent behind-the-scenes look at Amazon's "bruising," inflexible workplace by the New York Times, along with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's election pledge to allow federal workers to request flexible work hours, have thrown light on a subject many employers are struggling with: Whether and how to allow employees to work from home or work "flex hours."

It's a challenging issue for business leaders, partly because the risks are so tangible (being taken advantage of, work not getting done, losing business), while the benefits can feel a little more elusive (happiness, work-life balance, less stress). To make matters worse, it's a hard policy to test. No business wants to grant employees a benefit only to take it away a few months or years down the road. Talk about a culture killer.

As the leader of a 40-person public relations firm that has had an ever-more flexible work policy for nearly 20 years, I've seen that the benefits so far outweigh the cons that it's no longer a fair fight. I've also learned, by trial and error, how to get the most of flexing.

If you're going to be flexible, then be flexible

If your business is new to flex work or just creating your policy, don't build in too much structure or regulation. Forcing employees to justify every ask, fill out forms, or answer detailed personal questions about why they want to work different hours can eat away at the goodwill your new approach might have created. At our company, we've slowly whittled the policy down to this: If you need to work different hours, or work from home, assume you have the right to do so. Talk to your manager, notify your colleagues and get your work done. That's it.

Focus on employee responsibilities, not process

I once worked with a company where the "hard workers" were identified according to where they parked in the parking lot. Those who got to the office earliest got the closest parking spot; essentially a personal advertisement saying, "I got here earlier than you, therefore I work harder." In a flex world, managers and other employees have to get past old-school ideas like these. Your best and most important employees are the ones meeting their responsibilities and delivering the best results. What time they get to work, what time they leave and how many hours they spend at their desk are irrelevant.

Recognize that your employees are already flexing

The reality is that most employees are now working, off and on, through most of their waking hours. Responding to e-mail after hours, occasionally working in the evenings, even taking the odd conference call while on vacation. These aren't exceptions, they're just the new reality. And most of us are actually perfectly comfortable working this way, provided the flexibility cuts both ways. Sometimes flexing is as simple as having the freedom to meet an old friend for coffee in the afternoon, and then catching up on work later in the evening.

It's all about trust

When I speak with other business leaders on this subject, this is what the conversation usually boils down to. Having a flexible workplace means trusting each other. Management must trust employees to do their work, employees must trust managers not to punish (or overlook) them if they're less visible in the office. And everyone has to trust that customers and clients will always come first. While trust is always a leap of faith, in my experience, nothing contributes more to a good workplace. Amazon seems to be succeeding with a culture built on open criticism, intense scrutiny and fear. Perhaps that environment works for a certain type of employee, but I'm a firm believer in the "culture always wins" approach to business.

Flexibility as a competitive advantage

Once a business commits to creating a flexible workplace, they should wring every ounce of benefit out of it they can. And the benefits are many. On the employee side, flexibility increases the size and quality of the talent pool you're drawing from and lowers employee turnover. On the client and partner side of things, companies increasingly want to work with like-minded companies. More than ever, when our company wins new business we hear it's because the fit felt right, or because our culture seems to gel with our customers'. In this way, business isn't that different from friendship – we want to hang out and work with people we like and with businesses we respect. And don't forget customers. They identify with brands who reflect their values and punish those that do not.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the best flex policies is that they rarely require enforcement. When employees feel the trust of management, they almost always honour it. And when people come to value a benefit like this, they do their best to protect it. No one wants to risk the disapproval of their colleagues by taking advantage of something so highly treasured. This is the endpoint that leaders should strive for – a flexible workplace program that goes beyond being a perk and instead benefits everyone.

Alison King is president of Media Profile.

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