Offering Employees Flex Time

Flextime Provides Employees More Control Over Work Schedule.

Jan 22, 2008

Small businesses can offer flexible working schedules to help employees work around their schedule and increase productivity at the same time.

Today’s world is hectic and fast paced. As a culture, more and more responsibilities are heaped upon us. With life expectancy increasing, more and more workers need to not only take time from work to attend to their children, they must also take time to meet the needs of aging relatives. Home and personal responsibilities may require workers to be absent from work. But some companies are combating this problem by offering a solution called Flextime.

Introducing flexibility into employees’ workday increases productivity. It allows employees to work, within limits, based on their personal schedule. It gives the employee more control when scheduling personal time for doctor’s appointments, parent teacher meetings and other responsibilities. For those employees that work in congested areas, this also allows them to schedule their work day commute during off-peak hours.

Companies benefit by having employees that are more productive and more willing to put in a full days work without being preoccupied with home or personal matters. Employees are more satisfied with the work environment and feel they are more respected when employers take their personal needs into account.

Daily Flex

Employees can work different hours on a regular basis, as long as the number of hours per day remains the same. For example, if normal work hours are 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM, employees could choose to work 8:30 AM until 6:00 PM or 7:30 AM until 4:00 PM.

Variable Flex

This type sets a specific work day, such as 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM but allows employee flexibility occasionally. For example, a parent may need to attend a school conference early in the morning and may work from 10:30 AM until 7:00 PM on that day or may take a longer lunch hour and make up the time either before 8:30 AM or after 5:00 PM.

Core Hours

This type of schedule requires all employees to work during certain hours, for example, if a company’s busy time is between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM, all employees must work during those hours. However, employees have the flexibility of different start and end times, as long as the total number of hours worked per day remains constant.

Day of the Week Flex

Some companies allow employees to work one extra hour Monday thru Thursday (either tacked on in the morning or the evening based on employee’s situation) and then work less hours on Friday. This is many times utilized during the summer months.

Providing employees with the ability to schedule their workday around the needs of their family or personal situation enhances employee satisfaction and overall productivity. Companies considering offering flex time may want to request feedback from their employees to find out what would work best for them.