Melina Murray

I am a huge proponent of flex time. Granted, there was a time (way in the past) where I tried to subscribe to the “8 hour workday”. But I quickly unsubscribed when I realized the benefits of flex time.

A sampling of the reasons I believe in flex time are:

Some people work better during non-traditional hours. In allowing them to set their own schedule, the work they produce is of a much higher quality.

It takes a huge burden off someone’s shoulders when they know they can take care of personal needs during the work day, whether a doctor’s appointment, sports game, or child’s school party.

Having the time during the day to work on a hobby or attend an event helps create the work/life balance that leads to greater motivation and productivity.

David Zinger recently asked “How can we flex time to create benefits for employees, families, the organization, and customers?” in his post An Employee Engagement Rx: Flextime. He even added a great list of different kinds of flex time:

• • Daily Flex – Different hours on a daily basis, as long as the number of hours remain the same
  • Variable Flex – Standard working hours with occasional flexibility
  • Day of the Week Flex – Work extra hour 4 days a week and get an afternoon off.
  • Extreme Flex – Work anytime anywhere as long as you get the job done.
  • Core flex- Must be at the office for core hours, say 10 to 2 but free to start and finish at different times.

It seems smaller companies are more apt to offer flex time, but larger companies are catching on. It is a culture change, and change can be scary for many. (It doesn’t have to be!)

The story of two creative people at Best Buy who created and rolled out their own flex time program called ROWE is worth a read. Here is a link to the Workforce.com article about the program: Throwing Out The Rules of Work.

It doesn’t matter what size company you are, flex time can make a significant (positive) difference. Happier employees = more productive employees = growth and revenue!