A flexible schedule can be beneficial for both businesses and employees. Many aspects of their personal lives conflict with standard working hours from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday. Regardless of the reason, most employees value the option of following a flexible schedule, also known as flexible time. An organized arrangement for flexible time can be advantageous for both employees and employers.
What are flexible working hours?
There are no specific time frames that flexible working hours must cover, and there are no legal requirements for employers to offer flexible working hours to their employees. It is up to each company to decide whether they want to provide this type of arrangement, to whom, and the days and hours they wish to allow employees to work. Examples of flexible working hours offered to employees may include:
- Monday to Friday, from 7 AM to 3 PM.
- Tuesday to Friday, from 7 AM to 5 PM.
- Wednesday to Sunday, from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Can anyone get flexible working hours?
Flexible working hours can be possible for any job, but it is very challenging to offer them to employees who focus on customers. This is especially true when these employees are expected to be on-site during certain hours.
Other industries that are not customer-focused may allow workers to come in for a certain number of hours per week at their own discretion. Additionally, other industries, such as information technology, may operate 24 hours and require a workforce during both day and night. A flexible schedule is in everyone’s best interest in these businesses.
Why should you give your employees flexible working hours?
A study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2015 found that 80% of employers reported a significant increase in employee satisfaction and engagement due to flexible work arrangements. There are a number of benefits for employees resulting from flexible working hours.
Work-life balance is among the biggest advantages. Employees may face all kinds of conflicts in their personal lives that don’t allow them to work all day from 9 AM to 5 PM, yet they still need to work full-time due to financial reasons.
Some employees must coordinate childcare schedules with their spouses. It would be greatly beneficial for them if they could come in early and leave early to pick up their children. Others may be returning to school and need to work around their class schedules. There are also those with ongoing medical appointments that require them to come in late and leave late on a regular basis.
Another benefit of flexible working hours is allowing employees to avoid peak hours. Any opportunity to avoid sitting in traffic is welcomed by employees who face long commutes. This unpaid advantage can keep a qualified employee significantly engaged in their work and prevent them from seeking a job closer to home.
What do businesses benefit from?
Depending on how flexible working hours are organized, you may find that you have lower operational costs. If employees work significantly different hours, they can share office space and equipment, saving money for the company.
But the key point is that happy employees who do not feel overly stressed trying to maintain a work-life balance are less likely to seek a new job. They want to stay in their place. And happy employees are productive employees, so there is definitely something in it for your company.
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Flexible working hours can also reduce sudden absences when an employee calls in at the last minute. You can allow them to take care of what they need to attend to and organize their work accordingly.
Be mindful of patterns. Does a certain employee often call on Wednesdays? Ask them if working Wednesday evenings or Saturday mornings would be more feasible. If so, you can achieve more stability and productivity in your workplace.
Implementing Flexible Work Hours in Your Company
It’s important to establish a policy for employees and managers. Flexible working hours can be offered to anyone, but it shouldn’t be discriminatory. Employers may restrict flexible work hours to certain cases or job responsibilities. The best place to clarify such a policy is in the employee handbook.
Make sure to include your expectations regarding what each employee working flexibly should achieve, as well as how and when. In other words, provide them with a job description for flexible work, just as you would provide a description for other positions.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/flextime-hours-and-benefits-1177979
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