by Edgar Arold

Created on: November 21, 2011   Last Updated: November 23, 2011

In many workplaces, employers are allowing employees to vary their work schedules.  The flexible schedule can take one of many forms.

Perhaps the employer requires that the employee works forty hours in the week, but it does not matter when the forty hours are worked.  In that case, an employee might work four ten-hour days and add an extra day to the weekend. Or, perhaps, the employee would leave work a little early on one day, while making up for that time by working later on another day.  

A benefit of the four day compressed work week is that commuting is done one less day. So, fuel costs are less for the employee and commuter travel pollution is that much less.

By working a few hours on the weekend, the employee can leave early on a few of the weeknights.  Another benefit is that the employee probably has fewer distractions when working on the weekend.  This schedule can be helpful to the employer if there are work related activities possible on the weekend.  

Some schedules require that the employee attend work each day, but that arrival and departure times can be flexible.  Such a schedule accommodates a business in which co-workers must interact with each other for a significant portion of the day, but also in which employees spend time working on their own. 

The benefit to the employee is that personal errands such as doctors’ appointments, or other personal obligations could be accommodated while still fulfilling the work week requirement.  A benefit to the employer is that the business can attract talented employees who would not consider a less flexible environment.  Accommodating the employee also improves morale.

The nature of the business determines the amount of flexibility that is possible in the work schedule.  For example, there must be a hospital unit nurse on duty at all times. So, in that case, arriving late would not be allowed unless the missed time was covered by another qualified nurse.

Another benefit of flexible hours is that an employee can choose to travel to work during a time when traffic is light.
In the case where some people choose to have an early work shift, and others choose to have a later work shift, there can be re-use of parking spaces and other facility resources.

Businesses who seek a competitive edge realize that they must accommodate talented employees in order to attract and keep their services.  Flexible work schedules are an effective method of getting the work done while improving the morale of the work force.

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