Flextime is a flexible work schedule policy that allows employees to choose when their workday starts and ends, as long as they meet the daily, weekly or monthly target hours set by their employer. The guidelines around how flextime works vary from company to company. For example, one company’s flextime might allow employees to choose their start and finish time each day. While another company’s flextime might allow them to choose between five eight hour days and four ten hour days. Flextime can also include working remotely on certain days of the week. According to a study conducted by PowWowNow:
- 70% of employees feel that a job is more attractive if it allows flexible working schedule
- 47% of employees don’t have flextime encouraged in their workplace
- 58% of workers believe that working outside the office can make them more motivated
- 67% employees wished their company had flextime.
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Flextime in different countries
- In the USA, employees may adjust their log-in and log-out time as long as they put in 40 hours minimum work hours per week.
- In Italy, working parents and employees with health issues can work part time.
- In Germany, employees may request for reduced work hours and even work on an on-call basis.
- In the Philippines, along with flextime other work schedule options are also available like a compressed work schedule and working on the go.
- In India, flextime is still being discussed and it may be adopted on a large scale in the time to come.
Benefits of flexible work schedule
Better work life balance: Flextime is very important to employees because it allows them to create a work schedule that works well with their personal life. They are able to better manage both their personal life as well as their work life.
Improves physical and mental health: With the freedom to create their personalized flexible work schedule, employees have more opportunities to focus on their physical and mental health. Instead of working on a schedule predetermined by their employers, employees are able to create, modify their work hours to fit in time for a gym or yoga class or even have more time to spend time with their families when more members are present.
Professional development: Flexible work hours can also be utilized by employees to engage in professional development activities like joining a master’s degree or doing some industry specific certification. Which would have been difficult in a traditional ‘9 to 5’ work culture.
Employee acquisition and retention: Offering employees the freedom to create their own work schedules is beneficial to employers as well. As a highly sought after benefit among employees, flextime can help attract top talent. Flextime gives the employers a level of differentiation and can help them land high performing and loyal employees.
Flextime helps employees maintain a work life balance which is highly important to most employees. Which can in turn make them stay at the same company for a lot longer, improving the company’s retention rate.
Increased productivity: Letting employees work during hours when they are mentally and physically available that is when they are free from distractions and they have already figured out their personal things can help improve productivity.
References:
- Flextime: An Integral Part of Your Company’s Return to Work Plan | TalentCulture | April 7, 2021
- Why Everyone Is Talking About Flextime | ActiTIME | January 2021
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