Flexible Work Is Not Just About Location. It’s About Designing How Work Moves

Reported by: Nurul Addina Azime

Last month, we asked whether we have been focusing too much on where people work.

As flexible work continues to be part of the workplace conversation in Malaysia, perhaps there is a more useful question to ask:

Can work move clearly and fairly when people are working across different locations, teams and schedules?
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Because flexible work is not simply about allowing someone to work from home. It is about designing responsibilities, communication and workflows so that people can stay productive and connected — without needing to be online all the time.

The benefits are real — but they are not automatic

​For many employees in Malaysia, flexible work can make everyday life more manageable.

Less time spent commuting can mean more focused working hours. Flexibility can also help employees manage family responsibilities, while organisations may have access to talent beyond their immediate location.

Research highlighted by the World Economic Forum, drawing on an International Labour Organisation report, also supports this wider view of flexibility.

The report found that flexible working arrangements can improve work-life balance and support productivity, while the design of working time also affects both employee and organisational outcomes.

But changing where someone works does not automatically change how work gets done.

Imagine working from home and needing a simple update.

You check WhatsApp. Then your email. Then a spreadsheet. You realise there are two versions of the same document, someone is still waiting for approval, and nobody is quite sure who should follow up next.

The problem isn't really WFH.
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It is a workflow problem.

Not every role needs the same kind of flexibility

Flexible work also does not mean that everyone should work from home.

A consultant may benefit from remote focus time while still needing face-to-face client discussions. A retail, manufacturing or operations employee may need to be physically present.

For them, flexibility might mean predictable schedules, better shift planning or sufficient notice when working hours change.

Fairness does not always mean sameness.
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The better question is: what kind of flexibility makes sense for the work being done?

​Start with the work, not the WFH policy

Before deciding how many days employees should work from home, organisations can first look at how their work currently moves.

Ask:

• Who owns each task?
• Where is important information stored?
• Which decisions really need a meeting?
• Where do approvals usually get stuck?
• Can everyone see what is completed and what still needs attention?
• What happens when the person responsible is unavailable?

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Many remote work challenges are actually signs of unclear ownership, scattered information, or weak visibility.

What makes flexible work actually work?

These foundations can be seen in six practical areas: clear ownership, one reliable source of information, intentional communication, visibility without micromanagement, clear handovers, and healthy boundaries.

​Together, these create something more important than flexibility itself: trust with structure.

​Where does technology fit?

Technology can help, but it should not be the starting point.

Putting an unclear process into a new platform will not automatically make it clearer.

At 57Network, we often look first at how work currently moves — where information sits, where teams spend time chasing updates, where approvals slow down and where visibility is missing.

From there, work management solutions such as Smartsheet can help bring tasks, workflows, approvals and reporting into a more connected environment.

The goal is not simply to introduce another tool.
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It is to make work easier to see, manage and move forward.

Flexible work is really about designing better work

The future of work does not have to be a choice between the office and home.

For Malaysian organisations, the bigger opportunity may be to design a way of working where responsibilities are clear, information is easier to find, managers have visibility without micromanaging, and employees have flexibility without feeling permanently connected.

So perhaps the question organisations should ask is not:

"How many days should our employees work from home?"

But instead:

"If our people are working in different places tomorrow, can the work still move smoothly?"

In other words, flexibility works best when it is thoughtfully designed — not simply introduced as a change of location.

At 57Network, we believe better work starts with understanding how work actually happens, then designing workflows that help people stay connected, accountable and productive wherever the work takes place.

If your organisation is reviewing flexible work arrangements, it may be worth starting with one question: is our work designed clearly enough to move well, even when our people are not in the same place?

References:

• World Economic Forum, “Why Flexible Working Is Good for Workers and Companies”   https://www.weforum.org/stories/jobs-and-the-future-of-work/flexible-working-benefits-ilo-report/
• Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia, “WFH Guideline MOHR 2024”​https://www.mohr.gov.my/images/pdf/Garis%20Panduan%20AKF%202024.pdf