With employees getting squeezed by greater demands both at work and at home, can flextime help you get their best and keep them sane? Check out some of the pros and cons offered by this modern approach to work life.
Timing is everything and it’s especially true in our work lives. Businesses need to ask increasingly more of employees. They, in turn, have increasingly demanding personal lives that often clash with the old-school 9-to-5 work schedule.
The solution for lots of organizations has been flextime. Whether that means shifting schedules or telecommuting or even partial retirement, the concept can be attractive to both employers and employees. But is it right for your company? That can depend on a lot of factors. Take a look at some specifics to see if flextime works for you.
Advantages of Flextime:
- Raises employee morale
- Frees employees of added family/personal pressures
- Improves productivity
- Cuts lateness, absenteeism and overtime
- Reduces traffic congestion (and the related stress)
- Increases employees’ sense of freedom and personal responsibility
- Prevents burnout
- Helps retain quality employees
- Reduces requests for personal time off
- Offers a competitive hiring advantage
- Lightens managers’ workloads
- Provides cross-training opportunities
- Helps company offer extended customer service hours
Read more about the advantages of utilizing flextime with your business here.
Disadvantages of Flextime:
- Reduced control and oversight
- Less diligent employees can be distracted in a home setting
- Different schedules can increase overhead and operating costs
- Implementation can require unexpected time and resources
- May create impression of “special treatment”
Clearly, flextime offers a lot. However, these benefits can hinge on just how dependable and accountable the individual employees are. When handled carefully, flextime can enhance both the employee and your company.
