I’m in favor of flex-time when it makes sense for employer and employee. Unfortunately, flex-time has been seen as the exclusive domain of mothers (often new mothers), rather than an equal opportunity for the whole workforce. Because of this inequality full-time employees are jealous and resentful of flexible schedules, rather than interested in working together to find work-life solutions that are good for everyone. A recent survey from Harris Interactive found that 59% of working men say that flex-time for working mothers causes some resentment among co-workers.
The trick as a manager is to create a culture of flex-time that benefits everybody — including yourself. There’s a pervasive worry among managers who are parents that if they grant flex-time it will negatively impact their own schedules, requiring the manager to pick up slack. I would suggest that this isn’t a matter of flex-time, it’s about having high-quality, motivated employees. An employee who isn’t performing, isn’t performing regardless of time in or out of the office. In fact, some research actually links working more hours with wasting more time.
One pervasive flex-time myth is that a flexible schedule = working from home. In some cases it does, but there are many jobs that require face to face contact with clients or customers. In those cases flex-time may mean working from the road. If there is significant commute time, it may be better to have the employee go to a nearby cafe, or go home and do some of the follow up so that the company is not paying for time spent in the car. Flex-time may also mean working different hours in the office — 8am to 4pm for example, if you need to pick up your kids after school.
Here are five tips for creating a strong flex-time culture that improves working conditions for everyone on your team.
1. Create a flex-time policy. It’s important to have clear parameters and definitions that can inform when you say yes and no to your employees. What does flex-time mean for your group? Does it include working from home? Which hours do you always expect employees to be available? Are there times of the year when it will be “all-hands on deck” and everyone will need to be in the office? How will you measure performance? Answering these questions will put everyone on the same page and manage expectations.
2. Use results-oriented management techniques. A results-oriented work environment (ROWE) evaluates employees based on their outputs, and not the number of hours they work. At the most ROWE-centric companies, like Best Buy, workers can come and go as they please, work whatever hours they need to from home or office. Some form of ROWE is important if you are instituting flex-time — there have to be goals that can be measured regularly apart from what you contribute while in the office.
3. Offer equal opportunity. Everyone — parent or not — should have access to flex-time if you are going to offer it to anyone. As a society we need to recognize that work-life balance issues are not just about children. Every employee can make a good case for needing more time, whether it’s to spend with an elderly or sick parent, a spouse, or for their own mental health. Keep bad feelings about flex-time to a minimum and make it a policy everyone can get behind.
4. Work collaboratively to schedule. In most offices you can’t have everyone working from home on the same day — someone usually needs to be in the office to respond to answer the phones, help with ad hoc projects, and do administrative tasks. My experience has been that without coverage things fall through the cracks. Create a workplan that ensures at least one person is around at any given time.
5. Set regular times for everyone to be in the office. There is a lot of value to face to face meeting, working together in teams and talking in person. Make sure that these important elements of your work environment don’t fall through the cracks by setting times when everyone needs to be in the office, for formal and informal meetings. (I would suggest at least two days when everyone has to be there at the same time.)
Helpful related links on managing flex-time:
- Quick answers about flexible work schedules from the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.
- David Javitch at Entrepreneur.com on the benefits of flex-time.
- Michele Martin makes a distinction between ROWE and typical flex-time arrangements.
- Lynn Terry writes about the disadvantages of a flexible work schedule.
