Without time flexibility we may be gobbling up employee’s lives and contributing to their disengagement.
Flextime. How flexible is your time at work? An important ingredient in fostering employee engagement is to offer employees flexible hours of work so they can respond to other important elements in their life and use their time at work most effectively.
According to a recent Globe and Mail article about 70% of companies offer some kind of flextime and flextime has become more common in the last 10 years.
Types of Flextime. Here are some of the types of flextime:
- 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.
Take time. Take your time to consider the important role of time in employee engagement for all the people in the workplace.
Concerns with flextime. Management-Issues recently ran a short article on flextime. Click here to read, Mixed views on flexible working. Here is a short statement from the article: Managers are among those most likely to ask to work flexibly, despite the fact that a fifth find such working arrangements a hassle to manage because they potentially create division and accusations of favouritism.
The key question. How can we flex time to create benefits for employees, families, the organization, and customers?
Bonus question. Alan Lakein, author of How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, was an early time management expert. He offered a lot of tips but my favorite was to keep asking yourself:
What is the best use of my time right now? Don’t just read it, ask it. What is the best use of your time right now? Now go do it.
Photo Credit: Tunnels of Time by http://flickr.com/photos/fdecomite/406635986/
Hi David,
Yes to flex time! I have seen so many benefits from those who are able to use it. Both to themselves and to the company.
The list of types is great too- so many possibilities. Thanks! (linked to this in my latest post)
-Melina