The Stigma That Keeps Consultants from Using Flex Time

Management consulting firms offer some of the best workplace flexibility policies, including benefits like paid leaves and sabbaticals. Most employees, however, don’t take advantage of them. This seems like a missed opportunity, considering consultants continue to experience extremely high levels of work-life conflict, leading to problems such as low satisfaction and high turnover. Prior research suggests that taking up flexibility policies leads to being seen as less committed to the work. But interviews with 50 management consultants find that they also avoid these policies in order to maintain a sense of person control. They routinely glorified overwork and felt that any work-life conflict was for them to manage for themselves. But providing real flexibility as an organization is important. The key is to create a culture in which employees make use of them.