FAQs

Traditional schedules meet the needs of the majority of staff members. Staff members who do request flexible work arrangements most often ask for slight changes in their daily arrival and departure times, changes that pose the least challenge for a staff member's supervisor and co‐ workers. Of course, a supervisor/manager must assess the needs of the office prior to approving a flexible work arrangement.

SME needs to produce a set of Working Rules which can either work as one size fits all or can be tailored per employee.

Taking the “one size fits all” approach, the rules usually indicate that employees may start work between, for example, 7.30am and 10am. They must be present between 10am and 12 noon. A flexible lunch break is usually between 12 noon and 2pm and employees must be present between 2pm and 4pm. They may leave any time between 4pm and 7pm.

The tailored version might offer an employee a different start, lunch or finishing band to others in the group – depending on work processes.

To some extent flexible working hours is actually quite a structured practice since a set of detailed rules or guidelines need to be agreed between management and employees. 

Although there are certain levels of freedom, good managers and employees will act responsibly. It has been proven that when you give employees the responsibility of managing their own time and the dignity of setting a work pattern that is compatible with their workload, they will perform very well indeed.

The majority of staff can be trusted and when an individual decides to abuse the rules, workmates tend to pull them into line simply to protect their own flexibility. The threat of being returned to fixed hours, a condition which is usually part of the agreed rules, tends to be enough to ensure that flexitime will work effectively.

Flexible work arrangement decisions must be fair; however, fairness is not the same as equality. It is true that all employees should have an equal right to request consideration for a flexible work arrangement. However, whether a particular flexible work arrangement is feasible for a particular employee depends on a variety of factors, including the nature of the work assignment and characteristics of the employee.

Examples:

• Work which demands physical presence (for example, receptionist, maintenance, or food service) cannot be done while telecommuting.
• An employee who needs close personal supervision (for example, someone in the probationary period, or someone with a poor performance record) may be required to be at work only when the supervisor is present.
• An employee who needs to have constant, easy access to materials or to equipment may be required to be present when those materials or pieces of equipment are accessible.
• No employee should be permitted to work in situations that are potentially dangerous, due to equipment or security concerns.

There are, however, ways to work around some of the above concerns. The Police Department, for example, can help address security concerns for employees working unusual hours; supervision can be exercised by means other than direct observations; and employees with duties requiring physical presence can sometimes share these duties with other employees, so that some of their job, some of the time, does not require physical presence.

Explore other myths on Work-Life Balance

There is a strong business case for flexible working arrangements. The benefits include:

• Improved retention and staff commitment: staff may remain with an employer longer have a higher level of commitment when an organization provides access to more flexible work arrangements
• Improved productivity: flexible arrangements can provide uninterrupted time for creative, repetitive or highly detailed work; they can also help take advantage of different work styles (early energy vs. late energy); flexible arrangements may also help to reduce tardiness and absences due to personal commitments.
• Improved service: a flexible approach to working time can potentially be used to extend service delivery, improve customer relations and deal with time zone differences.
• Cost savings: reduced staff turnover, training costs and possibly accommodation costs contribute to improving competitiveness.
• Improved recruitment: more flexibility can attract potential staff members when vacancies arise, especially in a situation where applicants can make comparative evaluations of job offers; skilled and experienced people may be attracted back into the workforce, and a match can be achieved between skills and current market shortages.