Flextime to the Rescue

In 1997, over 25 million workers negotiated a variety of flextime arrangements with their employers and coworkers. The benefits of these changes include higher productivity, higher morale, lower turnover rates, less sick time taken, and higher quality of work life.

So why aren't more companies going to flextime? One of the biggest problems with allowing workers to beg or barter their way to improved schedules is the potential loss of communication between workers and with their supervisors.

In the 1990's, I experimented with allowing workers to change their schedules with generally positive benefits. My only caveat was that the shift changes should not result in increased costs to the company (overtime), all shifts were to be covered, and all parties must formally agree to the changes. I had each employee sign a form indicating their acceptance of the shift trade and had it returned to the supervisor at least 24 hours before the first shift change. This system worked quite well, and as far as I know, it is still in place today.

It should be noted that employees should instigate and administer the flextime arrangement as much as possible, amongst themselves. This helps to promote more autonomy and control, and studies confirm these factors are instrumental in promoting higher worker morale. My example concerned "shift swapping." Other arrangements towards flexible working hours are more common and are addressed in this article.

So what's the downside with flextime? In my case, the system broke down occasionally when an employee felt disadvantaged or coerced into a flextime arrangement, and this sometimes carried over to other aspects of the job. This is not a unique outcome, and becomes a concern for many organizations contemplating the shift to flextime arrangements.

Most organizations that succeed with flextime proposals have in place specific plans that dictate the management of shiftwork and flextime, including first and foremost, employee education. The following describes the content and objectives of these policies:

1. The company should present and describe the types of flexible working plans that employees may consider including, staggered start times, compressed workweeks, job sharing, and part-time work. Many workers are not aware of the possibilities that can work for themselves, their families, and their customers.

2. Use experienced flextime employees as input to the process such as using them for training and mentoring. Some people are reluctant to confide in their supervisor in regards to their scheduling needs, and allowing this alternative is much more to their liking.

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