In 2020, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) made the decision to embark on a journey to reimagine workplace flexibility: one that prioritises autonomy, agency and trust, and takes a team-based rather than individualised approach to make flex work for everyone, thus increasing individual, team and organisation productivity.

The outcome of this work is the recently launched Flex @ WEHI program which was designed and developed under the stewardship of WEHI’s Flex Reference Group. The reference group comprises staff members with diverse roles from across the institute.

The Flex @ WEHI program includes:

• a new principles-based flex policy;
• a ‘one stop shop’ Flex Hub on the intranet with practical advice, guidance and tools for staff, supervisors and teams to implement flex and hybrid working arrangements successfully; and
• team-based training to set up protocols to bolster communication and collaboration in the hybrid working environment.