Flexible Work Schedules' Impact on Organizations

For decades, the workweek of nine-to-five, Monday to Friday, has remained unvarying for millions of workers. Balancing both a personal and a professional life has proven to be very stressful. Many companies have sought out different methods of dealing with this problem, not only to benefit the employee, but also the company. The most implemented method is known as flexible work schedules (also referred to as flextime, flexible hours, flexible work arrangements, flexible options, job-sharing, compressed work weeks, flexplace, telecommuting, flexible scheduli

Employers are not the only ones who benefit with these types of arrangements; employees receive a great amount of benefits as well. Flextime allows employees to set their own work pace, resulting in renewed enthusiasm, dedication, and even enjoyment of work. The Business Research Lab, a market research firm, says flexible scheduling makes for "happier and more loyal employees" (Rice, 2000, p. 62). Also, they are able to fit family, community, and social commitments into their schedules without jeopardizing work hours. This gives employees a number of opportunities, such as continuing with their education, going to doctor's appointments, spending more time with their children, and relaxing. Workingwomen can take advantage of flextime by being able to continue their professional career, and at the same time raising a family. As a result of allowing work arrangements employees can avoid heavy traffic and lengthy commute time, which will ultimately reduce stress. More importantly, flexible schedules offer employees a better balance between their jobs and their personal lives. As Dudley Bane, a senior consultant at Benefit Consultants Northwest, says, "It gives wholeness to people" (Burke, 2000, p. A14).

We reduced overtime 36 percent and we were able to accommodate a growth in customer needs that was occurring at the same time without having to add more people. We had the proper staff. We just didn't utilize it properly because we had the traditional 8-to-5 mentality (Verespej, 2000, p. 25).

Fallacies about the productivity of employees are customary in many organizations. Managers believe that flexible work options will reduce their employee's output, and cut the company's profits. A recent survey, sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), found that CPAs on flex become more efficient with their time and, because they are grateful for the arrangement, work harder (Dreike Almer & Kaplan, 2000). These findings are supported by various comments from CPAs, such as:

Flexible work schedules have obviously caused a great impact in organizations. When employees have more control over their lives, when they have a say in when, where, and how they get their work done, and when they are given the opportunity to balance their work and personal lives, they become more, loyal, more committed, more motivated, less stressed, and most of all, more productive. Times are changing, and if more companies do not embrace this concept, they will be keeping their head in the sand.

Myths of customer service deterioration tend to surge in the decision of flex implementation. For companies to attract and keep customers, they must provide an exclusive, unmatchable customer service. This would explain such a concern other this issue, but actually, if well planned out, having alternative work options can ensure that there is continues coverage - even up to 24 hours a day (Capowsky, 1996). Moreover, there are ways to schedule more employees to be available during the busiest hours, without forcing the company to hire additional staff that is not necessary at other times (Capowsky, 1996). An important factor to consider when concerned with customer service and flextime is the size of the company and the number of employees with the arrangement. Rodgers and Associates' Rupert states, "Coverage won't amount to much if you only have two people out of 500 employees working a flexible arrangement. If you have a large number of people working flexibly, you have a more fluid character to your workforce" (Copawsky, 1996, pp. 16-17).

Without flextime, Hewlett-Packard would of probably fallen in debt.

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Approximate Word count = 2792
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)