Pinterest doubles down on flex work — what Canadian SMBs should watch

Pinterest has reaffirmed its commitment to flexible work. The company’s PinFlex model — introduced in 2022 — is being credited with driving productivity, improving wellbeing and expanding access to global talent. 

While this might sound like tech-sector territory, there are clear signals in Pinterest’s approach that Canadian small and medium-sized businesses would do well to observe. Speaking with HRD Canada, Pinterest chief people officer Doniel Sutton said the model has delivered measurable benefits. “PinFlex consistently earns some of our highest marks, and employees report that flexibility improves both their productivity and overall well-being,” Sutton said in an interview published August 29.

Sutton said the company’s decision to embed flexibility at the heart of its workforce model has also widened its recruitment pipeline. Rather than relying solely on candidates in traditional tech hubs like the Bay Area, Pinterest has been able to access talent from a more diverse range of locations. For Canadian employers facing geographic or labour pool constraints, this expansion in reach presents a notable precedent.

With Gen Z now representing more than half of Pinterest’s 578 million global users, the company is adapting its internal culture to reflect the expectations of a younger, digitally native audience — including its own employees. As flexible work becomes more valued by emerging generations, the shift is echoing across industries.

The benefits Pinterest describes aren’t exclusive to global enterprises. In fact, smaller employers often have the agility to move faster when redesigning their workplace models. For many Canadian SMBs, the question is no longer whether to offer flexible work, but how to implement it in a way that supports business outcomes.

Flexibility isn’t a perk — it’s a business decision

What distinguishes Pinterest’s approach is that it treats flexibility as a deliberate, structured strategy rather than an informal accommodation. Sutton said the company has invested in the systems and support needed to ensure that distributed teams can operate effectively, without compromising performance or culture.

Internally, Pinterest has built communities like PinAble and Women at Pinterest — employee-led groups that help strengthen relationships across roles, departments and locations. These initiatives are designed to maintain cultural cohesion in a remote or hybrid environment. That’s a signal to Canadian SMBs that culture doesn’t need to suffer under flexible models, provided there’s intention behind how connection happens.

Sutton also noted the importance of equipping people managers with the tools and confidence to lead in flexible settings. Pinterest’s Leading the Pinterest Way program supports managers in aligning distributed teams, maintaining engagement and ensuring accountability. While Canadian SMBs may not have formal training programs in place, there is still a clear takeaway: the quality of leadership plays an outsized role in the success of any remote or hybrid model.

Technology is another factor. At Pinterest, platforms like Glean and internal AI tools are used to facilitate content discovery, collaboration and productivity. Sutton said the company’s PinAI initiative is designed to embed AI literacy across the workforce, helping teams use new tools to solve everyday challenges. Even for smaller companies, the principle holds — flexibility must be enabled through systems that support communication, access to information and shared workflows.

Perhaps most notably, Sutton described PinFlex as a model that evolves. “Be willing to experiment and evolve as you go. There’s rarely a one-size-fits-all solution,” she told HRD Canada. That mindset reflects the experience of many Canadian business owners who have already adapted once or more since the pandemic began.

For employers in Canada, especially those in growth phases or navigating post-pandemic recovery, Pinterest’s approach provides more than inspiration. It offers a playbook for how flexibility, when grounded in trust, supported by technology and guided by clear leadership, can become a driver of long-term business resilience.

The scale may differ, but the principles are transferable. Flexibility is not the absence of structure — it’s the opportunity to reimagine how work is done. Canadian SMBs that approach it as a business decision rather than a compromise will be better positioned to compete for talent, keep teams engaged and build more sustainable workplaces.