By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk, president of Accounting MOVE Project and bbr companies.
Workplace flexibility, including things like remote options, non-traditional schedules, and part-time roles, has become the modern marker of a progressive employer. In public accounting, many firms have proudly evolved from “work-from-home Fridays” to year-round, built-in flexibility.
But research shows that flexibility is not inherently equitable. As UBS notes in its Nobel Perspectives series, “remote and hybrid work may also come with hidden costs or trade-offs,” including reduced visibility and fewer informal interactions that shape advancement. In a profession where visibility and responsiveness have long been proxies for commitment, these hidden costs can quietly harm the very people flexibility was meant to support.
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In this year’s Accounting MOVE Project Report, we highlight the uncomfortable truth: flexibility without structure disproportionately penalizes women and caregivers. When firms roll out flexible policies without redesigning workloads, evaluation systems, or leadership expectations, what looks like freedom can quickly become a trap. Employees who use flexible schedules, frequently women, are quietly tracked as less serious or less “leadership material.” Their work becomes harder to see, even when performance is strong. Meanwhile, colleagues may resent them, not because the work isn’t done, but because the system allows it to shift unevenly.
And here’s the hypocrisy: frequently firm leaders publicly champion flexibility, yet still instinctively give more credibility, trust, and opportunity to the people they see in the office. Remote or part-time team members, often your highest performers, feel they must work twice as hard to be seen half as much.
The Visibility Trap, the “Always-On” Problem, and Career Penalties
Research far beyond accounting echoes these concerns. A 2024 piece in The Guardian warned that remote work can hinder women’s advancement because they miss out on informal exposure to senior leaders. UBS similarly emphasizes that hybrid work can create “hidden costs” around visibility, access, and perception.
But there’s another cost rarely acknowledged: the always-on expectation. Remote and flexible workers often report that flexibility comes with an unspoken catch: they must be reachable at all times to “prove” they’re working. Instead of reducing burnout, flexibility becomes a 24/7 proving ground. Women in particular describe checking email late at night, responding instantly to client messages, or never fully disconnecting, because boundaries become easier to ignore when the office is everywhere.
This availability creep directly undermines the supposed benefits of flexibility.
Inside accounting firms, the hierarchy remains clear: people who work standard hours in the office are seen as more committed; those who work remotely or flex their hours must make themselves available beyond normal expectations just to stay competitive. As we pointed out in the Accounting MOVE Project report, the moment flexibility creates visibility gaps, careers begin to split into separate tracks: full-time office professionals on one, and everyone else on another.
Without intentional redesign, flexibility becomes a mechanism that widens inequity instead of reducing it.
Designing Flexibility That Actually Works
For flexibility to succeed, it must be intentionally structured, not casually offered. That means:
- Tie performance to results, not hours or physical presence. Reward work quality, impact, and innovation, not visibility or responsiveness outside business hours.
- Model flexibility at the top. If leaders never work remotely or never disconnect, employees learn that flexibility is tolerated, not trusted.
- Build workload design into policies. Flexible schedules require coordinated planning, so work isn’t unintentionally handed off to the same people.
- Protect professional visibility. Create intentional pathways for remote employees to access stretch assignments, mentorship, and leadership exposure.
- Set and enforce boundaries. No one should lose career credibility for declining after-hours messages or blocking off childcare time.
Flexibility should reduce burnout, not shift it, hide it, or exacerbate it.
Flexibility as Strategy, Not Slogan
Flexibility without design is a liability: a tool that can empower employees or trap them in low-visibility, high-expectation roles that quietly derail careers. The MOVE Project continues to push the profession to ask better questions: not “Can we afford to be flexible?” but “What would it take for flexibility to truly work for everyone?”
Answering that question requires honest self-examination. Firm leaders must be willing to confront uncomfortable truths, starting with a few critical reflections:
- Do I unconsciously value the people I see in the office more than those I don’t?
- Are remote or part-time employees getting the same visibility, stretch assignments, and advocacy as those who sit outside my door?
- Are my team’s boundaries respected, or do I reward the people who answer emails at 10 p.m.?
- Do flexible arrangements come with real workload adjustments, or does the work simply shift to someone else?
If the answers reveal gaps, and they often do, the next step is to address them with intention rather than defensiveness. That means redesigning evaluation criteria around results, not presence; building formal visibility and mentorship structures for flexible workers; training managers to spot and interrupt bias; and enforcing boundaries so “working off-site” doesn’t become “always on.”
When firms embed structure, equity, and accountability into flexible work models, they unlock the real benefits: stronger retention, healthier teams, and a more diverse leadership pipeline. Flexibility becomes a competitive advantage, not a silent risk that employees must navigate alone.
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Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk is a marketing strategist, speaker, and consultant dedicated to helping firms differentiate, expand, and build inclusive success. As founder of bbr companies and president of the Accounting MOVE Project, she specializes in growth and culture strategies for professional services firms. Bonnie holds an MBA with a marketing concentration from Georgia State University and a BA in journalism, public relations, and French from Troy University. Recently inducted into the Association for Accounting Marketing’s Hall of Fame, she has been recognized six times as one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People and also named one of CPA Practice Advisor’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting.
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Tags: flexibility, remote work, remote workers, stress, workload
