How Total Rewards Enables Critical Employee Freedoms

For many workers, the goal isn’t a corner office.

Rather, these employees are, in general, seeking three prongs of freedom: financial, time and location. And, total rewards professionals who can meet and further employees in these pursuits have an opportunity to make a big impact on organizational culture.

“Culture is the difference between a team that collaborates with curiosity and care versus one that plays politics, withholds ideas and operates in survival mode,” said Simone Fenton-Jarvis, a director and co-founder of The Human-Centric Workplace, a United Kingdom-based consulting firm. “It’s the difference between an employee starting their Monday morning with purpose and pride versus dragging themselves out of bed with a growing sense of dread and disillusionment.”

Culture is what fuels high performance and healthy retention, Fenton-Jarvis said. But when culture is fractured, innovation may decline, the customer may be negatively impacted and the bottom line might suffer.

“The culture of an organization is the optimal pathway for the highest levels of productivity and engagement by employees,” stated Scott Cawood, CEO of WorldatWork. “Ideally, the culture of any organization has been intentionally designed to help create the most ideal experiences for employees to operate at their best.”

Enter financial, time and location freedom.

“The context of the freedoms are that they are supplanting the traditional perks and rewards that have been used for years to incentivize employees,” Cawood said. “When everyone worked in the office for five days a week with very structured schedules, perks were related to being successful within that environment. Fast forward to today, you have hybrid, remote and other options for work, and a series of freedoms now have a significant value for most employees.”

Financial Freedom

“Financial freedom means having enough financial stability, security and flexibility to meet daily needs, manage unexpected costs and make informed choices about the future without constant stress about money,” Fenton-Jarvis said.

You may enable financial freedom through fair and transparent compensation; benefits that support financial well-being, flexibility and choice; clear communication; and inclusive design, she said.

It isn’t one-size-fits-all — consider the needs and goals of different life stages, income levels and backgrounds, she added.

Time Freedom

Time freedom is about giving people the ability to manage their time in a way that supports their life, not forcing life to fit around work, Fenton-Jarvis said.

“Enabling time freedom isn’t just a policy exercise; it’s about embedding flexibility, trust and choice into the employee experience,” she said.

Cawood prefers to work in the early morning — starting between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. — so employers who force 9-to-5 office hours on such workers likely miss out on extra innovation, energy and engagement, he reflected.

“We morphed to eight-hour workdays as a way to maintain production standards in the factories years ago,” Cawood said. “Work can happen seven days a week, and life definitely happens seven days a week, so people want the freedom to be at their best in both life and work. When that doesn’t fit in a defined schedule, we encourage employers to consider any options that may be available.”

In doing so, they — and, transitively, their employer — may be most successful.

This is especially so since research by Ford Motor Company and others shows younger employees, in particular, would take a 20% pay cut to improve their quality of life — meaning employers might actually be able to comparatively pay a bit less by offering the flexibility employees want.

Location Freedom

Location freedom gives employees the flexibility to choose where they do their best work — whether that’s in an office, at home, in a co-working space or across different geographies, Fenton-Jarvis said.

“It’s not about remote work as a perk; it’s about rethinking the assumption that meaningful work only happens in a fixed location,” she said. “There needs to be a focus on building fair, intentional frameworks that support flexibility while still protecting equity, performance and connection.”

If employees can do their work from a coffee shop, an airplane seat or a beach chair, let them, Cawood said. Consider ways to link rewards to output and results.

“With our technically savvy workforces, there’s work taking place on your phone, on your computer, from anywhere in the world, at any time in the world,” he said. “No one likes to commute; everyone spends a lot of money and wastes energy and time commuting. So, if the work can be done from the location of the employees’ choice, why not give them a shot at doing it?”

Action Steps

“These freedoms are fast becoming expectations, not exceptions,” Fenton-Jarvis said. “When organizations enable them with intention, the benefits are clear and measurable. When they’re ignored, the consequences are just as tangible.”

The experts interviewed for this article shared that to enable financial, time and location freedom in your organization:

Collect your data. Ask employees what technology they need to collaborate, what spaces enable them to succeed, how they actually get work done and more, Fenton-Jarvis said
Identify areas that already have room for additional flexibility, Cawood said.
Focus on outcome-based metrics, not butts in seats.
Benchmark what industry and geographic competitors are doing.
Align policies and compensation.
Train your leaders.
Communicate transparently and regularly.

For employees, Fenton-Jarvis said freedom brings:

Autonomy, which builds trust and motivation;
Well-being, which prevents burnout;
Stronger engagement, which drives loyalty; and,
Accessibility, which creates inclusive opportunities for all to succeed.

The return on investment may play out for employers in the form of increased retention, higher performance, a wider talent pool, happier customers, increased innovation and a stronger bottom line, she added.

“Ignoring these freedoms means you’re not really understanding the needs of your current work force,” Cawood said. “Top talent is always at risk, no matter what the economy is doing. Keeping your best people motivated, engaged, and getting things done for the business and your customers is always a great use of total rewards.”

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