
What’s Considered a Flexible Work Schedule?Īny schedule that gives employees the freedom “to vary their arrival and/or departure times” outside of the traditional 40-hour, 9-5 workweek would be considered flexible, according to the U.S. Here’s a deeper look at the different types of alternative work arrangements available – and the pros and cons of offering them. And research conducted by the same group found that 80 to 90 percent of the US workforce say they would like to telework at least part time.īut telecommuting is just one type of flexible work schedule employers can offer. In fact, 3.7 million employees (or 2.8 percent of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time, according to Global Workplace Analytics. While the notion may have been laughed at 20 years ago, in today’s ever-changing workplace, being able to work in your pajamas has become a reality for some.
Flextime advantages and disadvantages update#
Finally, review and update flextime arrangements and document your changes and your reasoning for them.Joining work meetings in your pajamas…doesn’t that sound amazing (and comfortable)? Communicate frequently with flextime employees and train the supervisors who will be managing flextime employees on techniques for monitoring and communicating flexible work schedules.
Flextime advantages and disadvantages trial#
If you decide to continue the program after its initial trial period, we suggest that you formulate formal policies to avoid inconsistencies. When implementing flextime, you must be careful to treat everyone fairly. Wage and Hour Compliance Manual: Practical Solutions for HR Make sure employees know that it is a trial policy.Īt the end of the trial period, you will be in a better position to fine-tune the program and decide whether to continue flextime.

Recent lawsuits against businesses for alleged flextime abuse have involved workers who were misclassified as exempt from overtime. Employee morale and workplace camaraderie may suffer from employees not regularly seeing one another. Furthermore, employees who are unable to adopt flextime schedules may become disgruntled. This can be a particular issue with employees who telecommute unless you have measurable work standards related to time worked. Some managers may still believe that if they can’t see an employee at work, he must not be working. They find it difficult or too time-consuming to keep track of employees on flextime and coordinate schedules and workloads. Many managers are uncomfortable or unable to effectively manage a flextime workforce.

Studies have shown that flextime can be credited with reduced absenteeism, reduced stress, and fewer employees dealing with personal errands during business hours.īut there are disadvantages to flextime as well. For businesses involving customer service, employers can provide a broader range of service hours by having some employees start earlier and others work later.

Either way, employees receive an added benefit without the employer raising salaries.įlextime programs have been shown to increase the efficiency and productivity of workers.

Larger companies may enact flextime to improve employee morale and to reduce costs. Smaller businesses may use flextime as an operational strategy to remain competitive. A: You would be well advised to make sure that flextime follows a formalized policy, not an ad hoc approach, to prevent just the sort of problems you’ve already encountered.įlextime is an employee benefit that can improve your bottom line.
