We’ve seen a lot of changes take place in the past 22+ months. People were forced to work from home, the workplace environment changed, and employers had to find alternative ways to keep their employees productive and happy. All of this has led to the need for flexible scheduling — not just to meet the needs of employees but for the benefits of employers as well.
While some may believe that most employees are perfectly content with working from home, that just doesn’t seem to be the case. For most employees, the challenge of balancing work and home responsibilities is too much to handle. Many have to share the same workspace as their spouse and juggle the responsibilities of taking care of kids. For these individuals, coming to the office gives them the freedom and space to work uninterrupted, which is a win-win for them and the employer.
This, among many other reasons, is why flexible scheduling has to be executed thoughtfully and carefully to ensure employees have a work-life balance that enables them to produce high-quality work efficiently.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
After 2020, the data was unclear as to whether employees preferred flexible schedules or not, or weather it made sense for employers. After all, we were still trying to figure what the new norm was.
But after 2021, it’s clear that employees will forgo pay raises, retirement plans, and even vacation time for a chance to work wherever they want. And employees that offer remote work and flexible scheduling are seeing a 25% drop in employee turnover. This makes sense considering 77% of job seekers specifically look for flexible scheduling when job hunting.
What does this mean for employers? It means you get more productive and satisfied employees! 73% of those that have flexible schedules say it makes work more enjoyable. When people have a better work-life balance, they tend to also be more productive while working fewer hours.
Here’s How it Works!
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for planning a flexible work schedule. You’ll have to cater your employees’ schedules to your specific business model and needs. But here are the most common types of flexible scheduling:
- Compressed schedule: Typically, this means your employees work 4 ten-hour shifts instead of the usual 5 eight-hour shifts. This gives your employees an extra day to rest, make appointments, and spend time with family.
- Flexible daily schedule: This gives your employees the freedom to come and go as they please as long as they are working eight hours a day. Some might choose to come in early and leave early, vice versa, or take a longer lunch and work later.
- Flex-time schedule: This flexible scheduling type involves a lot of trust between management and subordinates because it’s based on the work getting done rather than the hours worked. This will become more common in 2022 with the use of data analytics and AI technologies.
Using Automation to Track Flexible Scheduling
As you can tell, flexible scheduling can get complicated. But luckily, there are some solutions such as employee scheduling software to help you track the hours employees work and ensure the work is getting done. With chat features, digital clock in capabilities, alerts, calendar integrations, time and attendence policies, and different time tracking options, you can make flexible scheduling work for your business.
At InfiniTime, we provide a robust toolset for companies large and small to manage flex scheduling. The latest data collection tools, calculation engine, reporting tools, and intuitive user interface makes it very easy to get information processed quickly and efficiently. Users find in depth scheduling and leave management that is fully integrated and works as one cohesive management system.