Gone are the days of 9 to 5. As today’s workers balance their jobs with family and other obligations, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the work doesn’t have to get done at a certain time, or in a certain place. In fact, a great way to entice prospective employees is to offer them a flexible schedule.
But employees at your company have always worked 9 to 5! Is it feasible to change that? It is if you plan it properly. There are all types of flexible schedules, implemented in all different ways. If you’re concerned about logistics, you may find some more feasible than others. Here’s a rundown of the basic types of flexible work schedules and how you can implement them in your company.
Part-time Work
Perhaps the most common form of flexible hours is a part-time schedule. If a dedicated employee you’d rather not lose has a major life change that no longer enables them to work 40 hours a week, you can adjust their schedule so they only work, say, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You retain at least some of their exemplary work, and they have the extra time they need. You can either hire another parttime employee to pick up the slack, or redistribute the workload among your other current employees.
Compressed Workweek
Maybe someone is willing to work fulltime, but has one day they can’t come in. A compressed workweek allows them to stay an hour or two late on the other four days they work, to make the time they miss and still get in their 40 hours.
As long as the office doesn’t close right at five—and particularly if you allow or encourage other employees to stay late sometimes—this is a perfectly feasible schedule adjustment to implement into your company.
Flextime
Flextime allows employees to set their own hours from week to week. They have a certain number of hours they’re required to work each week, but when they do it is up to them: e.g., coming in early Monday and working until 1 or 2, then coming in at noon on Tuesday and working into the evening. As long as employees keep track of their hours on their timesheet (or, more likely, in a time and attendance app), this should be no problem either.
Remote Work
What if you need to reach an employee, and they’re not at work? You’re not sure what schedule they’re working this week, or when they’ll be in, but there’s an issue only they can address. This is where remote working comes in handy.
The pandemic proved that almost any 9 to 5 job could be done from home in a pinch. Through the magic of Zoom, Google Docs, and a host of other apps, work can be done from anywhere. Studies show, productivity not only doesn’t suffer when employees are allowed to work from home, it can actually improve.
They can work when they want, break when they want, and you can always reach them if you need them. As long as the workload gets finished when it’s supposed to, everyone is happy. You can also implement a partial remote schedule, wherein employees come into the office a few days a week, but work remotely the rest of the time.
Implementing a flexible schedule for your company may take a bit of logistic planning, but it’s perfectly feasible and well worth the effort. You can improve productivity, increase employee retention, and generally have happier employees and a better dynamic within the company.