How One Leader is Forging a More Empathetic Workplace with Flexible Office Policies

How contribution is measured in the workplace is changing, with a focus on outcomes, not hours. The trend reframes flexibility from a simple perk into a core business principle where clarity and autonomy challenge the burnout-inducing, always-on mentality.

Trusting people to manage their own time is good for business, according to Sally J. Guzik, a President at economic development consulting firm Fourth Economy. Her career is built around creating impactful community development strategies, but her perspective is shaped by her life outside the office. As someone who grew up in poverty and was the first in her family to graduate from college, she has a deep-seated understanding that fair policies are more than just good business strategy.

Guzik’s philosophy is built on empathy, a direct challenge to traditional, often surveillance-based, workplace models. It’s a perspective she believes is vital for supporting a modern workforce, helping them resist stress and burnout. “For us, flexibility isn’t a perk. It’s a part of our organization’s style and standard of work. We don’t measure contribution by the number of hours put in or a perceived sense of urgency. It’s really about the output,” she says.

• A human lens: This perspective acknowledges that caregiving responsibilities extend beyond new parents to a broader spectrum of employees, including those navigating the complexities of supporting both children and elderly relatives. Guzik explains, “Many people on our team are caregivers, including those in the ‘sandwich generation’ caring for both children and parents. If you’re a caregiver, you understand that phone calls for doctor’s appointments or social services aren’t happening outside the nine-to-five.”

It’s crucial to codify support into official company policy. At Fourth Economy, there is a system of care and trust that includes phased returns to combat burnout, allowing birthing parents to choose a reduced schedule. The policy has “allowed them to have some flexibility in getting started again and avoids that overwhelming sense that you feel when you’re going back to work,” Guzik notes.

• Empathy codified: This specific, thoughtful policy illustrates how a deep understanding of employee challenges can translate into tangible support, transforming a significant personal hurdle into a manageable aspect of professional life. A prime example is a policy born from Guzik’s own experience. “I was thinking about how I’d get my breast milk back home when I’m a thousand miles away,” Guzik recalls. The company now pays to overnight breast milk home, a policy that directly addresses a major challenge for working mothers, a need corroborated by reports on workplace support for breastfeeding parents.

These policies are the product of a company-wide culture of trust that aligns with what experts call “empathy-driven leadership,” a quality increasingly linked to tangible business results. “We don’t look at things in a way of surveillance,” Guzik emphasizes. “It’s a lot of autonomy and trust that we’re trying to cultivate.”

Guzik’s approach directly challenges the “hustle culture” and “nine-nine-six” model, which has been linked to tech burnout, by actively managing what urgency truly means. That perspective, she says, was a direct result of becoming a parent. Guzik states, “‘Go slow to go fast’ is a mentality of mine, because becoming a caregiver helped me think about how fast time goes.”

• An urgency audit: By clearly delineating true crises from merely time-sensitive tasks, this framework empowers employees to prioritize effectively and reduces the pervasive stress caused by manufactured urgency. Guzik clarifies, “Within the organization, I define urgency as something regarding team or company safety, something legal, or a mission-critical failure. Those are high-impact and time-sensitive, with a penalty if they’re not addressed within twenty-four hours. Other tasks may be urgent, but they can be scheduled.”

• Redefining response time: This simple maxim fosters a culture where asynchronous communication is valued, eliminating the pressure for immediate responses and allowing individuals to manage their workflow without constant interruption. “I think of it as ‘send at will, read when working,'” Guzik explains. “We want people to feel that sense of balance and autonomy, not a sense of urgency for things that are not urgent.”

Ultimately, however, Guzik rejects the tired cliché of “work-life balance,” offering a more realistic and compassionate vision in its place. Guzik emphasizes, “The biggest lesson is having that sense of empathy for the beautiful, complicated lives we all live outside of our nine-to-five. We’re trying to figure out how to best make work enjoyable so that people feel like they’re coming with a sense of purpose and joy.”