Innovative Workplace Flexibility Options for Hourly Workers

InnovatIve

for Hourly Workers

Workplace flexIbIlIty optIons

Researched and written by WFD Consulting

InnovativeWorkplaceFlexibilityOptionsforHourlyWorkers CorporateVoicesforWorkingFamilies1

AcknowledgmentsInnovativeWorkplaceFlexibilityOptionsforHourlyWorkersisaproductofCorporateVoicesforWorkingFamilies’WorkplaceFlexibilityProject.ThisreportwasresearchedandwrittenbyWFDConsulting.ThisresearchwassupportedbyagrantfromtheAlfredP.SloanFoundation.TheauthorswouldliketothankArleneJohnsonforhervisionandleadershipinmakingthisprojectarealityandKathleenChristensenforherguidanceandsupport.WearealsoindebtedtooursupportersatCorporateVoices,DonnaKleinandJohnWilcox,fortheirsponsorshipandencouragement.WearegratefultoEllenGalinskyandJenniferSwanbergfortheirexpertiseandadviceonthistopic.ThankyoualsotoDebbieMagalhaesforherassistanceinpreparationofthisreport.Wearegratefultoourparticipatingcompanies,BrightHorizons,Marriott,PNC,Procter&Gamble,andaconsumergoodsmanufacturerwhowishestoremainanonymous,forwithouttheirgenerosityandcooperation,thestudywouldnothavebeenpossible.AuthorsAmyRichmanDianeBurrusLisaBuxbaumLaurieShannonYoumeYai


TABLEOFCONTENTS

Overview 3 CaseStudies 17 BrightHorizons 17 ConsumerGoodsManufacturer 27 Marriott 37 PNC 46 Procter&Gamble 62 SurveyFindings 71

WorkplaceFlexibilityDefined 71 UseofFlexibility 72 SupportforFlexibility 79 FlexibilityCompatibility 85 FlexibilityImpacts 90

AbouttheSurvey 97


OVERVIEW

IntroductionLowerwageworkersarecriticaltothegrowthandprosperityoftheU.S.economy,butthissegmentofthe workforce remains underserved in both policy and research discussions. There is only faintrecognitionthatmorethan25percentoftheU.S.workforcearelowerwageworkerswhoearnlessthan$10 per hour (or less than $20,000 annually) and that significant expansion in this labor segment isanticipatedastheeconomygrows.1,2Estimatessuggestthatthemajorityofnewjobscreatedinthenextfewyearswillbe lowerwage.Greaterattentiontothiscategoryofworker—especiallytothefactorsthatenabletheirstability,contributionandproductivity—isvitalbothtothehealthofbusinessesandtothewell‐beingofthemillionsofindividualsinthelowerwageworkforce.Workplaceflexibility isoneoftheareas inwhichworkplacepolicyfor lower incomeworkershasbeenlacking but in which there is great potential for impact and change. Recent academic research andbusiness reports have demonstrated strong positive outcomes of flexibility for businesses andemployees.This researchon the“businesscase” forworkplace flexibilityhasproven tobe influential,bothingarneringtheattentionofbusinessandthepressandalsoindemonstratingthefeasibilityandimportanceofworkplaceflexibilityasabusinesstool.3However,thefocustodatehasbeenprimarilyonmanagement and professional workers, and relatively little attention has gone to how and whethervoluntaryflexibilitycanworkforlowerwageemployeesandtheiremployers.Littleisknownaboutwhatkinds of flexibility are successful in lower wage jobs, resulting in a common assumption amongemployers and managers that flexibility is less feasible, effective or necessary for these positions.Research shows that, for a variety of reasons, lower wage workers generally have less access tovoluntaryflexibilitythanhigherwageworkers.Butwhenitisavailabletothispopulation,flexibilitycanhaveequalorevenmorepowerfuloutcomes.4The purpose of this projectwas to create broader awareness of the positive business and employeeimpactsofflexibilityfor lowerwagehourlyandnonexemptworkersandtoprovidepracticaltoolsandinformationabouttheconditionsandpracticesthatmakeflexibilitypossibleandprofitable.Theprojectsoughttoanswerseveralresearchquestions.

• Whatmotivatestheprovisionofanduseofflexibilityforemployersandlowerwageworkers?• Whatarethecriticalsuccessfactorsfromboththeorganizationalandemployeeperspectives?• Howdoorganizationsdealwithandovercomethebarrierstoflexibility?• Howdo organizations ensure that business results have been achieved in the areas of talent

management,humancapitaloutcomesandfinancialperformance?

Basedonresearchinfiveorganizations,thisreportprovidesdocumentedsuccessfulflexibilitypractice,itsbusinessimpactandthepracticallessonslearnedfromcorporateexperiencewithflexibilityforlowerwagehourlyandnonexemptworkers.Thereportpresentsfivecasestudiesofflexibilitybestpractices,quantitative survey findings about flexibility use and impacts, and practical flexibility implementationguidesformanagersandemployeeswithconcretetipsandtools.


DescriptionoftheStudyDuring 2007 and 2008, five organizations that had already implemented flexibility successfully withsomeportion(atleast200employees)oftheirlowerwageworkforce(generallythoseearning$12perhourorless)foratleast12monthswerestudied.5Insomecasestheflexibilitythatisbeingdocumentedextends across the company; in other cases it has been implemented in a division or sector of thebusinessorwithinspecificworkteams.Companiesparticipatedinbothqualitativeandquantitativedatacollection. The participating organizations represent diverse industries (financial services, hospitality,child care and consumer products) and job types (customer‐facing workers as well as operationsworkers). Participating employees include child care providers, customer service representatives,operationsspecialists,productionworkers,administrativeassistants,salesagentsandothers.

WorkplaceFlexibilityDefinedTheflexibilitypracticesinvestigatedfallintothreecategoriesthataddressdistinctneedsoflowerwageworkers.Researchhasshownthatgiventhenatureoftheirjobs,economicconstraintsandfamilyneeds,thetypesofflexibilitythatarepossibleandbeneficialaresomewhatdifferentfor lowerwageworkersthan forhigherwageworkers. Thus the typesof flexibility studied include severalof the “traditional”forms of alternative work arrangements but also extend to include the flexibility that results fromgreateremployeecontroloverschedulingandfrompersonnelpoliciesregardingoccasionalorepisodicflexibility—twoareasinwhichlowerwageemployeeshavehistoricallyhadlessaccessthanexemptandhigherpaidemployees.

(1) alternativeworkschedules—schedulesthatdepartfromthestandardfivedayperweek,full‐time schedule, such as flexible start and end times, compressed workweeks, telework, andvoluntaryparttimewithproratedpayandbenefits(definitionsofthemostcommonalternativeworkschedulesareprovidedattheendofthereport);

(2) employee control over scheduling to accommodate personal preferences or familyresponsibilities—flexiblescheduling,selfscheduling,shiftswappingandcontrolofunscheduledovertime;

(3) progressive personnel policies for hourly workers that enable employees tomanage periodicandunscheduledpersonalandfamilyneedsandemergencies(sickleave,timeoffandtheuseofepisodicflexibility).


MethodologyThedataforthisreportcomefromseveralsources:reviewofcompanybusinessinformationconcerningflexibility policies and results, a quantitative survey, and qualitative focus groups and interviews. Thesurveywas conductedprimarily onlinewithmore than200managers andapproximately 1,300 lowerwage,nonexemptandhourlyworkerswhoutilizeflexibility.Asmallcomparisonsamplewasincludedofabout130employeeswhoperformcomparablejobsinthesamecompaniesbutdonotuseflexibility.6Printedsurveyswereusedinoneorganizationinwhichemployeesdidnothaveaccesstocomputersorthe Internet at theworkplace. (See “About the Corporate Voices Survey on Flexibility for Hourly andNonexemptWorkers”laterinthereportforadetaileddescription.)Twenty‐fivefocusgroups(21groupswithemployeesandfourgroupswithmanagers)and25interviewswere conducted with middle‐ and senior‐level human resources (HR) and line managers; in oneorganization, six individual interviews were conducted with first‐level managers in place of a focusgroup. Most of the interviews and focus groups were conducted in person; three groups withteleworkingemployees and four interviewswithmanagerswere conducted via telephone conferencecall.

BusinessDriversofFlexibilityFlexibility has often been positioned as simply an accommodation to employees, but the datasummarized in this report demonstrate that employers can gain tremendous benefit from providingflexibilityinwhenandhowworkgetsdone.Flexibilityasithasbeenimplementedinthesecompaniesisused as a management tool to address a variety of business needs: to effectively manage humanresources(recruit,develop,retaintalent),controlcostsandincreaseproductivity.Inchildcare,wherethereisashortageofqualifiedearlychildhoodteachers,flexibleworkoptionsisatalent strategy to recruit and retain individuals who are committed to their profession and to tap awiderlaborpoolthanmightbepossiblewithmorelimitedchoiceofworkschedule.Companies have found that offering flexible schedules and innovative time‐off policies contributes tobeinganemployerofchoiceforyoungerworkersintheircompetitivelabormarkets.Forpositionsincustomerserviceandsaleswithtypicallyhighturnover,flexibilityisawaytokeephighperforming employees in both the short term and the long term. These companies use flexibility torespond to the changing needs of their workers over the life course (going back to school, raising afamily)ortoretainmatureworkers.Flexible work options are being used in businesses with continuous operations that need weekendcoverageorwhosebusinesshoursextendbeyonda9‐to‐5,eight‐hourday.Thisincludesvoluntarypart‐timepositionsaswellasflextimeandcompressedworkschedules.Flexible schedules are an effectivemeans of managing personnel costs, in particular overtime costs,whichisawin‐winforemployeesandthebusiness.Flexibilityiscostandresourceneutralwhenplannedfor and personnel and productivity costs of unscheduled absences are avoided. By building flexibilityinto the staffingmodels, some of the companies reduce overtime costs and offer more control and


choice toemployeesover theirworkinghours. Inaddition, someof the companieshavedocumentedproductivitygainsandcycletimereductionsasaresultofimplementingflexibleworkoptions.Theseinnovationsinflexibilityareprovidingnonexemptandhourlyworkerswiththeaccesstoflexibilitythat has become more commonplace for professional‐level workers — not only the formalarrangementsbuttheoccasional,“just‐in‐time”flexibilitythatmaybethedifferencebetweenkeepingorlosingone’sjob.

FlexibilityBestPracticesThefollowingexamplesillustratehowseveralflexibilityoptionshavebeensuccessfullyimplementedinavarietyofhourlyandnonexemptjobs.Flextimeinproduction,operationsandothersettingsinwhichcoverageisessentialMostpeopleassumethatflextimewillnotworkinaproductionenvironment,butwefoundthatproductionteamsinseveralcompaniesdohaveflextimeschedules—eitherformalarrangementsoroccasionalflextimemanagedattheteamlevel.Inaconsumergoodsmanufacturingplant,employeesarrange,withtheapprovaloftheirworkteams,toeitherworkuptotwohoursattheendofthepreviousshiftoratthebeginningofthefollowingshift.Membersofone’sownshiftcover theirworkonthatday.This typeof flexibility isusedfrequently toenableshiftworkerstoparticipateintheirchildren’sextracurricularandsportsactivitiesortoattendaregularweeklyappointmentorclass.Inbankoperationsinwhichtheusualworkdayis8:00a.m.to4:30p.m.,teamshaveflextimeschedulesthatstartasearlyas6a.m.andendaslateas5:30p.m.;staffchoosestarttimesin15‐minuteorhalf‐hourintervalsupto8:30.Teamstypicallyhavedailyserviceleveltargetsthatmustbemetandeveryoneontheteam,regardlessofworkschedule,contributestowardmeetingthegoal.Intheseenvironments,theflexibleschedulesbuildteamworkandgreaterownershipofresults.Bothemployeesandmanagersalsoreportedthatstaffcanbemoreproductiveduringearlymorningandlateafternoonhourswhenthevolume of customer interactions is lower, allowing employees to complete tasks that aremore timeconsumingorrequireresearchormorefocusedattention.Inchildcarecenterswith11‐and12‐houroperations,flextimemeetsseveralbusinessneeds.Itisawaytohavestaffwithappropriatecertificationlevelsonsitealldaysothatthecenterisincompliancewithstateregulationsconcerningstaff‐to‐childratiosandtraining.Itisresponsivetothepeaksandvalleysofbusinessbymatchingstaffinglevelstothefluctuationincustomerdemand.Itenablesthedirectorstorecruithighqualitystaffcommittedtotheearlychildhoodfieldastheirprofessionbyofferingfull‐timeteachingpositionstostudentsenrolledincollegeorgraduateschoolcourses.Flexible“flexibilitypolicies”and“just‐in‐time”timeoffreducesabsenteeismandovertimeandincreasesretentionCompaniesofferseveralinnovativeexamplesof“just‐in‐time”timeoff.Successful“just‐in‐time”time‐offpracticesareafunctionofprogressivepersonnelpolicies,supportivemanagerattitudes,accurateknowledgeofpeaksandvalleysinworkdemands,andefficientschedulingtools.


Company flexibility and time‐off policies as they pertain to nonexempt and hourly workers arefundamentaltodeterminingwhetheremployeesareabletomanagetheday‐to‐daylifesituationsthatarisewithoutincurringpenaltiesinperformanceorcompensation.Employersinthisprojecthaveputinplacepoliciesandbenefitsthatprovidenonexemptandhourlyworkersaccesstoflexibility,bothformalarrangements and “just‐in‐time” flexibility. This type of occasional flexibility is greatly valued byemployeesandhasbecomemorecommonamongprofessional‐levelworkersbutisstilluncommonfornonexempt and hourly positions in which attendance policies are rigorously enforced. Participatingcompanieseitherhavepoliciesthatenableemployeestotakevacationtime,personaltimeandsicktimeinhourly incrementsratherthanwholedaysorthe individualmanagersallowemployeestotaketimeoff insmallunits.“Just‐in‐time”timeoffalsoreferstotheabilitytotakesinglevacationdaysonshortnoticeinsystemsinwhichvacationisoftenscheduledinweeklyincrementsseveralmonthsinadvance.Theabilitytousesomepersonaltime—eithervacationtimeorsicktime—insmallincrementsenablesemployeestotakecareofpersonalorfamilymattersastheyariseevenifthebulkofvacationtimemustbescheduledlonginadvanceandtakeninlargerunits.Thisreduces“call‐offs”andavoidsshortstaffingandovertime(abenefittobothco‐workersandthecompany)sincetheemployeecantakeoffanhourortwoinsteadofbeingoutforanentireday.Beingabletomakeupacoupleofmissedhoursatanothertimewithinthepayperiodalsohasatremendousimpactonworkerswhoarecountingoneveryhourofpay. Aswith using timeoff in small increments, the ability tomake up time is also less disruptive tostaffingsinceemployeesarenotforcedtocallinsickortakeanentireorhalfshiftoffbecausetheyneedtogotoanappointmentorbeanhourlate.Anecessaryelementofbeingabletoallowemployeestimeoffonshortnoticeisbuildingthecapacityfortimeoffintothestaffingmodel.Whilemanagersmightassumethiswouldmeanschedulingexcessstaff, that isnotnecessarilythecase.Managersreportedthat“just‐in‐time”flexibilityactuallyenablesthem to manage their existing staffing resources better because, they have found, allowing smallamounts of flexibility reduces the overall number of “call‐offs” or “call‐outs” (unscheduled absences)whichotherwiseresultinovertimecosts,stressandefficiency/effectivenessproblems.One company annually issues a certain number of time‐off “coupons” to call center employeeswithongoingperformanceincentivestoearnmore.Employeeslogontothecallcenter’sschedulingsystemtodetermineifthereareavailableslotsinthescheduletouseatime‐offcouponforagivenday.Incasesinwhichemployeesarehomewithasickchildorhaveanothertypeofpersonalemergency,theycancallthemanagerondutytocheckforavailabletime‐offslots.Time‐offpoliciesandofferingemployeesamechanismtohavemorecontrolovertheirscheduleshasenabledthecompanytoengageandretainyoungworkersinanindustryandlabormarketinwhichturnoveristypicallyhigh.Inacontinuousproductionenvironment,oneteamincorporatesenoughresourcesintothestaffingplansothateveryday,twoteammemberscangetthedayoff.Allteammembers’namesarelistedonthescheduleandasanemployee’snamereachesthetopofthelist,he/shehasthechoiceofeithertakingthe day offwithout pay orworking the extra day. Someemployees prefer the timeoff,while othersprefertheextrapay;thebenefitofthesystemisgivingtheemployeeschoiceandcontrolovertimeoff.TeleworkforadministrativeassistantsandcustomerservicerepresentativesTeleworkfornonexemptandhourlyworkersmaybethefastestgrowingflexibilitypracticeaspressuretoreduceoperatingcostsprovidesincentivesforbusinessestodecreaseofficespaceatthesametimethattechnologyadvancesmakeworkingathomemorefeasible.Asignofthisshifttowardteleworkasa


business strategy is that newemployees arebeing recruited for teleworkpositions in addition to themorecommonpracticeoftransitioningofficeworkerstoteleworkarrangements.Typically the administrative assistant position has had very little flexibility because being present atone’sdeskatalltimesofthedaytoanswerthephoneandprovidesupportformanagershasbeenthekeyrequirementofthe job.Althoughthetechnology isavailabletoperformkey jobresponsibilitiesofthe administrative assistant position effectively from a distance, manager attitudes have been thebiggest barrier to telework and other flexible scheduling options for support personnel. In oneparticipating company, a very results‐based organization in which many of the managers are quitemobilethemselves,administrativeassistantsareabletoteleworkveryeffectivelyoneormoredaysperweek. Administrative employees who are part of a team determine a coverage schedule amongthemselvessoatleastonesupportpersonisattheofficeeachday.Employeesproactivelycommunicatetheir schedules and contact information and utilize e‐mail, instant messaging and call forwarding tomaintainsatisfactorylevelsofaccessibilityandresponsivenessformanagersandcustomers.Therehasbeenanincreaseinthenumberofcompaniesthatareimplementinghomeagentprograms,whichisechoedintheexpansioninthenumberofteleworkingcustomerservicerepresentativesamongthecompanies inthestudy.Whilesomecompaniesaretransitioningemployeeswhoformerlyworkedonsitetoworkathome,othersinourstudyareusingteleworkasacomprehensivetalentstrategythatincludes recruiting, training and managing remotely. Telework has enabled these employers to staffhard to fill hourswith highlymotivated, high performing individuals by tapping new segments of thetalentpoolandrehiringalumniwhoselifecircumstanceshavechanged.Thesetargetemployeesincludeemployees in rural areas,mothers of young children, students and individuals with other schedulingrequirementswhowouldnotbeavailableotherwiseforeitherstandardweekdayhours,eveninghoursor weekend hours at the company office location. Telework also helps companies to retain valuedemployeeswith significant family commitments; some telework for a couple of days eachweek andcomeintotheofficeotherdays,andsomemoveintoapart‐timeteleworkpositionforaperiodoftime.Withoutteleworkoptions,managersandemployeesreport,theemployeesinquestionwouldprobablyhave quit their jobs altogether. Equipping employees to telework has provided companies withincreased capacity to handle unexpected situations — everything from inclement weather to anunexpectedly high volume of calls. Having employees set up to telework allowsmanagers to rapidlydeploystafftochangingworkpriorities.Team‐basedcompressedworkweekschedulesAlthough compressed workweeks are common in some occupations and industries, we found moretypesof jobs inwhich compressedwork scheduleswere successful andmorepositiveoutcomes thanprevious research had indicated. For example, a child care center director viewed the compressedworkweek schedule as a strategy to provide more staff continuity and consistency and reduce theamount of unscheduled absences. Although teacherswere not in the classroomone out of five dayseachweek,byworkingfourlongerdays,teacherswereabletocovertheentire10hoursofoperationonthedaystheywereworking.Thismeansfewerpart‐timeemployeesfillinginatthebeginningandendofthedayandmoreoverallconsistencyinstaffing.Afteraninitialadjustmentperiod,parents(customers)indicatedtheyweresatisfiedwithbeingabletoseethesameteacherintheclassroomatthebeginningandendoftheday.Thecompressedschedulesproducetheintendedresults—moreproductivityandlessunscheduledabsenteeismasstaffareabletotakecareofpersonalneedsontheirweekdaydayoff.Reductioninemployeework‐relatedexpensessuchastransportationandchildcarecostsareadditionalbenefitsfortheemployeeswithcompressedworkweeks.


Full‐timebenefitsat30hoursSomeof theemployersoffer full‐timebenefitsat30hoursasaway toattractandretainhighqualitystaffwhomaybestudents,havesecondjobsorhavesignificantfamilyresponsibilities,makingitdifficulttowork40hoursperweek.Italsoenablesthesecompaniestostaffhardertofill latedayorweekendshifts.Thisisatotalrewardsdifferentiatorintheirindustriesandaneffectivetalentstrategy.Careerflexibility—flexibilityoverthelifecycleWe found that employers have implemented career flexibility— an emerging talent strategy that isbeingutilizedinthecompetitionforkeytalent—asawayofattractingand,moreimportantly,retainingnonexemptandhourlyemployeeswhoarecommittedtotheir industries. Inhospitalityandchildcare,workersjointhecompanyatanentryleveland,throughflexibilityandothersupports(suchascompany‐sponsored continuing education or tuition reimbursement), are able to develop skills and experienceandmoveupthroughtheorganization.Inourstudy,severalmanagersanddepartmentheadsbeganinlower‐paidpositionsthemselves.Itisnotuncommonforworkerstojointhesecompaniesearlyintheirworkcareers,evenaspart‐timeworkers inhighschoolorcollege;continuetoworkparttimethroughschool;becomefulltimewhentheygraduate;andthenchangetheirhoursormovetoadifferentroleforaperiodof timewhentheystarta family.Severalparticipants in thestudyhadmoved fromteamlead ormanagement positions to other positions in order towork part time, telework or havemorecontrolovertheirhoursatcertainpointsintheirpersonalorfamilylives.Someolderworkershadjoinedthe company recently expressly looking for flexible working situations, while others were long‐termemployeeswhodesiredmoreflexibilityintheirworkschedulesforpersonalorfamilyreasons—tocareforafamilymemberortohavemoreleisuretime.Employee‐designedschedulesforcontinuousoperationsIn some companies, scheduling by employee preference is replacing the traditional bidding system,therebygivingemployeesmorecontrolovertheirschedules.Whenonecompanywenttoacontinuousoperation (24 hours x 7 days all year), management approached the two teams involved in theoperation and challenged them to develop the work schedules. The two teams came up with quitedifferentsolutionsthathavebeeninplaceforseveralyears.Andinbothcases,theymovedawayfromseniority‐based scheduling.One teamdeveloped an annual schedule that indicates all an employee’sworkdaysanddaysofffarinadvance.Employeesthensubmittheirvacationrequests,whichgetaddedtothemasterschedule.Employeesstillhavetheopportunitytoswapshiftsoruseflextimeasneedsforflexibilitycomeuponshortnotice.Theotherproductionteamadopteda“just‐in‐time”time‐offsysteminwhicheveryday,twoteammemberscangetthedayoff.Employee‐managedshifttradesAtcompanies inthestudy, forthemostpartemployeesarearrangingshifttradesand informingtheirmanagersratherthanmanagersbeinginthemiddleoftheprocess.Thishasseveralpositiveeffects—itempowers employees to solve problems; increases teamwork, reciprocity and ownership of thesolution; reducesmanagement time; and speeds decision‐making.On a smaller scale, but usedmorefrequently, employees cover hours for each other in situations inwhich they need time off on shortnotice.Companiesusevarioussystemsfordocumentingshifttradesandoccasionaladjustmentstoworkhours,aswellasmechanismsforinformingcustomersandco‐workers;theseincludeschedulespostedinprominentlocations,onlinestaffcalendarsandmoresophisticatedcomputer‐basedstaffingsystems.


KeySurveyFindingsThesurveyresultsdemonstratethatlowerwageworkersutilizeawidearrayofflexibilityoptionsandthatflexibilityusehaspowerfulbenefitsforenhancingthewell‐beingandproductivityoflowerwageworkers,aswellastheeffectivenessoftheorganizationsthatemploythem.

• Useof formal flextimeandcertainoccasional flexibility/time‐off strategies isprevalent.Halformoreofrespondentsoccasionallyadjusttheirworkhoursforpersonal/familymattersorusevacationtimeinhourlyorpartialdayincrements,andfourin10useformalflextime.Takingpaidtimeoffonshortnotice, tradingshiftswithco‐workers, takingtimeoffduringtheworkdaytotakecareofpersonal/familymattersandtakingadditionaltimeoffwithoutpayareusedbyatleastone‐thirdofsurveyrespondents.

• Someoccasionalflexibilityandtime‐offoptionsareeasiertoaccessthanothers.Themajorityof employeeshave relatively littledifficulty accessing vacation time inpartial day increments,occasionallyadjustingworkhoursortradingshiftswithco‐workers.Buttakingbreakswhenyouwantto,takingtimeoffduringtheworkdayandtakingadditionaltimeoffwithoutpayaremoredifficulttoaccess.

• Employees utilize multiple formal and occasional flexibility and time‐off options to meetbusiness and personal needs. In examining thewide and varied options, we discovered thatemployeesutilizeamosaicofdifferentflexibilityoptionstomeettheirworkandpersonalneeds.Onaverage,respondentsuseaboutfourtypesofflexibilityortime‐offstrategies.

• Women aremore likely to use various flexibility options thanmen.Women aremore likelythan men to be using both formal and occasional flexibility including flextime, compressedworkweek, teleworking, occasional adjustment of start and end times, shift trades with co‐workers,andtimeoffduringtheworkdayforpersonal/familymatters.

• Youngerworkersaremorelikelytouseoccasionalflexibility,whileolderworkersuseformalarrangementsmoreoften. The youngest respondents are less likely tomake use of flextime,compressed workweeks or teleworking. They are more likely, however, to make use ofoccasionalflexibilitysuchastradingshiftswithco‐workers.

• Employees with children aremore likely to use flexibility than other employees, especiallyemployeeswithveryyoungorschool‐agechildren.

• Managers are the main conduit for information about flexibility options, especially foremployeeswhohave formal flexibleworkarrangements.As such, it is important tonote thatabouttwo‐thirdsofmanagershavetheinformationneededtoassistemployeeswithflexibility.Co‐workers who use flexibility themselves are the next most common resource on flexibilityoptions.

• Thetypesandnumberofflexibilityoptionsusedhaveanimpactonemployeesatisfactionandflexibility“fit.”Theuseofseveral typesof formal flexibility,occasionallyadjustingone’sworkhours as well as the number of flexibility options used all influence flexibility “fit” andsatisfaction.7 The highest satisfaction and flexibility “fit” is among employees who usecompressedworkweeks.Theeaseofuseofflexibilityoptionsandthesupportforflexibilityfromvarious company constituents are also related to flexibility “fit” and satisfaction with acompany’sflexibilityopportunities.

• Managersandemployeesagree that flexibilityhaspositive impacts for thebusinessand fortheemployee.Thereisstrongagreementamongflexibilityusersandtheirmanagersconcerningthe positive influence of flexibility on productivity, customer service, employee work‐lifeeffectiveness,stressandwell‐being.


• Havingflexibility“fit”isstronglyrelatedtoemployees’connectiontotheiremployerandtheirwell‐being.Employeeswhohavetheflexibilitytheyneedhave55percenthigherengagement,55percentlessstress,and45percentlowerturnoverintentionthanemployeeswhodonot.

• The use of formal flexibility arrangements, the number of flexibility arrangements, and theease of access to occasional and time‐off strategies all predict higher engagement, lowerturnoverandlessstress.

• Morethan80percentofmanagersandemployeessayflexibilityis importanttorecruitmentandretention,andalmostaquarterofemployeesusingflexibilitywould leavethecompanyiftheydidnothavetheopportunitytoworkflexibly.

• Managers and employees, regardless of their experience with flexibility, concur that thenatureofnonexemptandhourly jobsaswellas thecurrent levelofworkloadare themainbarriers toaccessing flexibility. Inaddition,employeescitecompanypoliciesandsupervisors’attitudes,andmanagerscitecoverageneedsaskeyobstaclestotheuseofflexibility.

• Nineoutof10respondentswhodonotcurrentlyuseflexibilitywoulddosoifitwereofferedwithout penalty. Lack of access to flexibility options in their current positions is the primaryreasonthatmoreemployeesdonotuseflexibility.

• One in five respondents is regularly expected to work overtime with little or no advancenotice. One‐fifth of employees say their managers, without asking first, assume they areavailableforovertimeasfrequentlyasseveraltimesamonthandreportthatrefusingtoworkextrahourswouldjeopardizejobadvancementorretention.

SuccessFactorsSuccessfulimplementationofflexibilityinlowerwagehourlyandnonexemptenvironmentsincludesbetteruseoftechnology,staffingaccordingtodemand,crosstraining,managementpracticesthatencourageemployeeinvolvementandteam‐basedsolutions,consistentuseofclearpolicies,leadershipandaccountabilityforsupportofflexibility,andintentionalcommunication.BuildflexibilityuseintostaffingmodelstomaintainproductivityandavoidcostsofunscheduledabsencesA cornerstone of creating successful flexible schedules is thorough knowledge of the workflow andpeaksandvalleysindemand,coupledwithsufficientstaffingresourcestodesignalternativeschedules.Apparentlimitsonstaffingresourcesmayindicatethatcreatingmoreflexibilitywouldnotbepossible.Often, unscheduled absences and other time‐off events actually mask the fact that the number ofavailablestaffisconsiderablylessthanthenumberofpersonnelresourcesinthestaffingmodel.Whenmanagers understand thehidden costs they are already incurring fromunscheduled absences due tolackof flexibilityoptionsandaddressthe issuesbybuilding insufficientstaffingresources,proactivelymanaging scheduling and enabling some schedule flexibility, they find they can maintain or reduceoveralllaborcostsbyavoidingovertimeandunplannedstaffingissues.Employeeswhoarecrosstrainedandaredesignatedas“floaters,”aswellasretireesandsubsarebuiltintothestaffingmodelstofillslotsand provide coverage for peak times or for employees who have requested time off. Historicalinformationaboutstaffingneedsaswellasonlineschedulingsystemsarevaluabletoolsformanagerstopredictstaffingneedsanddesignflexibleschedules.


Engageemployeesindevelopingteam‐basedflexibilitysolutionsthatmeetbusinessandpersonalneedsStarting with a solid understanding of the business parameters, asking employees what they want,listeningtotheirideasandbeingopentocreativenewwaysofschedulingarekeytodesigningtherangeofflexibleworkoptionsthatwillworkforemployeesandthebusiness.Whileitmayrequiremoretimeinitially, involving employees in developing the potential flexible work options and getting teamconsensus and supportbuilds commitment tomeetingbusiness goals andownershipof the flexibilitysolutions.Thisprocessofthinking“outsidethebox”isoftenessentialtodevelopinginnovativesolutionsthat will meet business as well as employee needs. Pilots of potential flexibility solutions that areevaluatedafteraspecifiedperiodoftimeandthenrevisediftheyarenotmeetingtheintendedpurposehavehadpositiveresultsthatthenareexpandedtoincludemoreemployeesoveralongertimeperiod.EmpoweringemployeesandtrustSuccessful flexibility requires selecting and hiring responsible people, clearly communicatingexpectations,providingthenecessaryinformationandtools,andthenempoweringandtrustingthemtodelivertherequiredresults.Inworkgroupsinwhichflexibleworkpracticesarecommonplace,managersencourage andexpect employees to resolve issues, develop solutions anduse themanagersmore asresourcesandforfinalapprovalofschedulingchanges.Employeesaremorelikelytoagreetocoverfortheircolleaguesknowingthattheircolleagueshaveand/orwillcover fortheminexchange.Employeeempowermentfromlessonslearnedaboutworkingflexiblygeneralizetootheraspectsoftheworksuchthat teammembers takeongreater responsibilityandaccountability foroverall teamfunctioningandresults.Both managers and employees note the importance of mutual trust and respect in the success offlexibleworkarrangements,particularlywhenemployeesareteleworking.Themanagermusttrustthattheemployeesareworkingastheywouldbeiftheywereintheoffice,eventhoughthemanagercannotsee them. Agreements on expectations and objective measures of performance are important. Inproductionenvironments,inwhichsystemsarealreadyinplacethatprovidemanagerswithinformationaboutproductivityandperformanceagainstgoals,evidencesuggeststhatemployeeswhoteleworkareactuallymoreproductivethanemployeeswhoworkattheofficelocation.Createaccountability,provideinformationandsupportformanagerstopromoteflexibleworkpracticesintheirunitsIn companies in which success of flexible work options has been sustained, there is leadership andsupport from the organization. Senior managers connect flexibility to their corporate values andunderstandtherelationshipbetweenflexibilityandemployeeengagement;theysupportmanagersandholdthemaccountableforprovidingflexibilitytotheiremployees.Thecompanyinvestsintrainingandcommunication on implementation of flexible work arrangements for employees, managers and HRprofessionals;theyprovideopportunitiesformanagerstodiscusstheirexperiences,problemsolveandsharestoriesofsuccessfulflexibilitythroughouttheorganization.Developclearpolicies,proceduresandguidelinesandutilizethemtoensureconsistent,fairtreatmentConsistencystandsoutasoneofthemostimportantfactorscontributingtothesuccessofflexibleworkpractices. Clear flexibility policies, guidelines and abusiness‐based flexiblework arrangement requestprocessprovidethe infrastructureandguidance foremployeesrequesting flexibleworkarrangementsandmanagersapprovingflexibilityrequests.Thisguidanceisparticularlyimportantformanagersfacedwithdifficultdecisionsorcompetingrequests,especially iftheflexibilityguidelinesareclearaboutthebusiness considerations that must be met for flexible work arrangements to be approved. Equity is


achieved through all employees having access to a fair and consistent flexibility process, but theflexibilitydecisionsandapprovalsmayvarydependingonthenatureofthework,coverageneeds, jobrequirements, etc. In companies inwhich flexibility is beingutilizedeffectively,managers enforce thepoliciestoensurefairnessandequitywhilealsobeingopentoandsupportiveofflexibilityasabusinessand management tool, and they approve requests whenever possible. Where existing companyflexibility policies do not address the needs of nonexempt or hourly positions, HR is often a goodresource for linemanagers,providingguidance incraftingappropriate flexibleworkoptionpolicies. Insome cases, employee committees have proposed flexibility options and guidelines that were thenapprovedbymanagement.CommunicationEffective communication is even more important to high performance when workgroups utilizeflexibilitythanwhenteammembersallworkonthesamescheduleinthesamelocation.Postingweeklyand daily schedules online or in strategic locations, as well as updating in real time critical businessinformationsuchasdailyproductivitytargetsandstatusondeadlines,ensuresthatallstaffareinformedaboutexpectationsandstaffavailabilityregardlessofthehoursorlocationofwork.Makingthestaffingschedules readily available and communicating the coverage parameters also facilitates employeerequests forany schedulechangesor timeoffandempowers themtoproactively findsolutions, thussaving management time and enhancing employee ownership of the arrangements. Managers areproactiveaboutconnectingwithemployeestomotivatethem,keepthemengagedand integratenewteammembers.Employeesareexpectedtokeeponeanotherandthemanagerinformedaswell;teammembers use e‐mail, logs, phone messages, instant messaging and other communication tools toconvey updates on deadlines, resolve customer issues and exchange otherwork‐related information.Clearly technology tools can support real‐time access to colleagues andmanagers and access to keybusinessinformation.CrosstrainingCrosstrainingandtheabilitytobackupcolleaguesisoftenaprerequisitetoimplementingflexibleworkarrangementssuchascompressedworkweeksandflexiblestartandendtimesthatinvolvevariedshifts.Teamscollectthe informationonwhichemployeesarecrosstrainedandcanfunctionasbackupsanduse that information todetermineworkschedulesand toquicklymakeadjustmentswhenemployeesare out for any reason. Havingmultiple staffmembers knowledgeable on key processes ensures theworkgroupwilldelivertheexpectedresultsregardlessofindividualworkschedules.TechnologyandtoolsConstantimprovementsintechnologyenablemorewidespreaduseofflexibleworkpracticesinseveralways.Onlineschedulingtoolsthatbuildincoverageparametersandtime‐offguidelinesgiveemployeesmorecontrolandflexibilityintheirschedules—torequestaregularschedule,tradeshifts,orschedulevacationorothertimeoff—andassistmanagerstoprojectstaffingneeds,approverequests,andtrackandmonitorarrangements.Thisempowersemployeestotakemoreownershipofthearrangementsaswellasproactivelyfindsolutionstoschedulingconflictsandreducestheoveralltimespentbymanagersonworkschedules.Callmanagementsystemsandothermanagementtoolsthatprovideinformationaboutstaffavailability,dailyworkloadandprogress against goals enable individual employeesaswell as theworkgroupas awholetoanticipatedemand,manageworkflow,adjuststaffingandavoidlastminutecrises.


Technology now enables effective telework with connectivity to communication and informationsystemsandmonitoringofperformancecomparabletoon‐sitework.Virtualmeetingsusingwebinars,videoconferencing and teleconferencing support effective teammeetings and training. In addition, e‐mailandinstantmessagingkeepmanagersandemployeesaccessibletooneanother.Evenwith the benefits of technology,managers are challenged to find creativeways to build strongrelationshipsandkeepemployeesandworkgroupsmotivatedgivenincreasedworkdemandsandvariedworkarrangements.Somemanagershavedevised innovativeapproaches forconductingperformancereviews,givingrecognitionandon‐boardingnewteammembers.FlexiblecareersIn industry sectors with competitive labor markets, recruiters, HR professionals and line managersconceptualize andmarket flexibility as a business tool to recruit, develop and retain high performingemployees across the life cycle.Managerswho interactwith employees at key decisionpoints in theemploymentcycle,whoarefamiliarwiththecompany’sflexibilitypoliciesandwillingtothinkcreatively,can offer flexiblework options as a strategy to help employees achieve their longer term career andpersonalgoalsaswellasmeetthebusinessneeds.Initiatingconversationswithemployeesabouttheircareerplansaspartoftheperformancemanagementprocessoratcriticaljuncturesandexploringtheopportunitiesforflexibilityhaveenabledbusinessestoretainvaluedemployeeswhomtheywouldhaveotherwiselost.

ChallengesViewingflexibilityasabusinesstool,notanentitlementManagersexpressconcernthatonceemployeeshaveaflexibleworkarrangementinplace,theytreatitasanentitlementanditwillbedifficulttomakeanychanges.Managersmayassumethatifflexibilityisimplementedtheywillbeexpectedtoapproveallrequestsforaflexibleworkarrangement,wheninfactthey should modify or deny those requests that will not meet business needs. For teleworkers thisincludesclearmessagesconcerningcreationofaprofessionalbusinessatmosphereinthehomeoffice,availabilityforworkhoursandchildcarearrangements.Itiscriticaltosetexpectationsattheoutsetthatflexibleworkarrangementsmustmeetbusinessneeds,willbereviewedonaperiodicbasisandmayberenegotiatedifbusinessrequirementschange.Managerandemployeetrainingandtheuseofarequestprocesscanhelppositionflexibilityappropriatelyasabusinesstool.ManagementsupportTheprimarybarriertobroaderimplementationofflexibleworkarrangements isvariability inmanagersupportatdifferentlevelswithintheorganization.Managers’heavyworkloadsandcompetingprioritieshampertheirabilitytointroducenewworkpracticesthatwouldrequireanyadditionaleffort.Further,concerns about monitoring performance, achievement of productivity goals or service levels byemployees working on different schedules and at different locations, and confidence in establishedoperating practices inhibit their willingness to consider new ways of working. Those unfamiliar withmanaging flexible work options may not have the information or tools to manage arrangementseffectively.Inconsistenciesinmanagement’ssupportforflexibleworkpracticesacrossdepartmentsandwheretherehasbeenturnoverinmanagementwithinthesameunitcauseemployeedissatisfactionandturnover.Creatingaccountabilityforpromotingflexibleworkpractices,providingmanagertrainingandcoaching,andpublicizingtheresultsofsuccessfulpilotscanaddresstheseconcerns.


MaintainingcoverageOneofthemainbarrierstoofferingflexibleschedulingisnotbuildingenoughresourcesintothestaffingmodel to achieve the level of coverage necessary to meet the business demands. Perennialunderstaffing can be a barrier to implementing flexibility. The desire to implement flexibility is anopportunity toexaminehow thework is currentlybeingdone: Is thereanopportunity to redesignoreliminatelow‐valueworkandincreaseflexibility?Often, unscheduled absences and other time‐off issues are masking the fact that the number ofavailable staff is considerably less than the number of paid personnel resources. When managersunderstand the hidden costs they are already incurring from unscheduled absences due to lack offlexibility options and address the issues by building in sufficient staffing resources, proactivelymanaging scheduling and enabling some schedule flexibility, they find they canmaintain or enhanceproductivity. They can alsomaintain or reduce overall labor costs from having themajority of workresourcesavailableattheirregularwages,therebyavoidingovertimecosts.ProvidingconsistencyandcontinuityBusinesses must ensure that consistent quality and customer service are maintained regardless ofemployees’work schedules. It is critical thatemployeesormanagerswith requisitequalificationsandknowledgeareavailableand thatcommunication toolsand technologyareutilizedso thatemployeesandcustomershavereadyaccesstoinformationduringallhoursofoperation.Involvingtheworkgroupin designing the flexible work schedules, cross training employees on all key work processes, andimplementingtechnologyandcommunicationtoolsforessentialinformationcanhelpensureconsistentservicequality. Furthermore, theuseof flexible schedulescanhelp retainhighperformingemployeeswhose knowledge and expertise have direct and long‐term impact on productivity and customersatisfaction.AddressingpoorperformanceSomemanagers,particularlythosewhohavenotmanagedindividualsonflexiblearrangements,worryabout howperformance ismanagedwhen employees areworking different schedules or in differentlocations.Flexibilitydoesnotincreaseperformanceproblems,butitdoesshinealightontheissuewhenpoorperformersarenotbeingcoachedormanagedeffectively.Whenindividualsarenotperformingupto expectations and are abusing flexibility arrangements, themorale of the entireworkgroup can beaffected.Poorperformanceshouldbeaddressedwiththeindividualemployeeratherthanjeopardizingtheavailabilityofflexibilityforanentireworkgroup.Performanceshouldbemanagedaccordingtothedeliveryofresultsusingproductivityreportsandothermanagementtoolsregardlessofworkschedules.Arequest for flexibility isanopportunity toestablishgoalsanddiscussperformanceexpectations inaresults‐basedframework.SchedulingmeetingsandtrainingswhenallcanattendManagers have the challenge of planning staff meetings and conducting trainings at times when allemployeesintheworkgroupcanattend.Managersmayhavetopayovertimeifemployeesareaskedtocomeinontheirdaysofforattendmeetingsafterregularbusinesshours.Whilemanagerstrytolimitthesesituations,itishelpfultosetexpectationsattheoutsetthattherewillbetimeswhenemployeesareaskedtoaltertheirworkschedulesortocomeintothecentralofficeforsuchevents.Workgroupsthat have implemented telework extensively are also taking advantage of newmeeting and trainingtechnologies that enable employees to participate including teleconference, videoconference, virtualmeetingsoftwareandcomputer‐aidedinstruction.


TrackingflexibleschedulesandtimeoffSome flexible schedulesand time‐off strategies, suchascompressedworkweeks,part‐timeschedules,and incremental use of vacation and sick time, require that timeworked and time off be tracked inhours;however,companytimetrackingsystemsoftenusedays.Thismayresultinadditionalpaperworkoruseofasecondtrackingsystembymanagerandemployeetodocumentwhathourstheemployeehas worked and what time off he/she is entitled to. Some companies have implemented humanresources information systems that capture work time in hourly units, while in other companies,managershavecreatedExcelspreadsheetsandotherdatabasetoolstotrackworkhours,vacationandsicktime.

ImplicationsandConclusionsIn this study,we have examined flexibility frommany different perspectives and in so doing,we canmakesomeconclusionsaboutsuccessfulimplementationofflexibility.Wefindthatitisnotonlyformalflexible arrangements that produce these impressive results but progressive personnel policies and aworkculturesupportiveofoccasionalflexibilitythatgiveworkersaccesstoavarietyoftime‐offoptionsandcontrolovertheirworkschedules.Whencompaniesprovideemployeeswithanarrayofflexibilityand time‐off options and an environment in which it is possible to access flexibility opportunitieswithout barriers, employees develop their own strategies to use the options that best meet theirindividual needs and satisfy business requirements. The unique characteristics of employees, both atwork and personally, suggest that there is no “one‐size‐fits‐all” flexibility solution. An approach thatencompassesamorecomprehensiveflexibilitystrategyismorelikelytosucceed.Whilespecifictypesofflexibility and time‐off strategies may lend themselves to better outcomes for employees andorganizationsthanothers,thereislittledoubtthatavarietyofoptionsenablesabetterflexibility“fit”tosuit the unique characteristics of employees. We find that the use of multiple options has an evengreaterinfluenceonwell‐being,work‐lifeeffectivenessandbusinessresults.Companiesthathavecreatedsuccessful flexibilityoptionsfortheir lowerwageworkersreceiveahighreturn on their investments because of the many positive impacts on employees and the business:better recruitmentandretentionof talent, increasedengagement, lower levelsofstressandburnout,greater productivity and effectiveness, better customer service, and finally more positive financialresults.


CASESTUDIES

CaseStudy:BrightHorizons

Childcarecentersofferflexibleschedulestoattractandretainhigh‐qualityteachersandofferextendedhoursofcaretomeettheneedsofchildrenandparents.

BackgroundBrightHorizons,foundedin1986andheadquarteredoutsideBoston,MA,managesmorethan600childcare centers for many of the world's leading corporations, hospitals, universities and governmentagencies across theUnited States and internationally. Their centers provide a variety of flexible childcare options for companies and working families, including worksite child care and emergency childcare.BrightHorizonshasmorethan18,000employees,thevastmajorityofwhomarehourlyworkers.BrightHorizonsofferssalariesforearlychildhoodteachersatorabovemarketrate. BrightHorizonsoffersarangeofschedulingoptionsinordertoattract,retainandengagequalifiedchildcareproviders.Thechildcarecenterdirectorshavetoconsiderstateregulationsregardingthenumberandqualificationsofteachersineachclassroom,theeffectofschedulechangesonthechildrenincareandtheirparents,and theneedsandavailabilityof theircenter’semployees.BrightHorizons’centersvary— someare locatedat corporateworksiteswhileothers are independent; someare smallwhileothers havemany classrooms; and each has unique qualities reflecting its director, teachers, parentsandchildren.

BusinessDriversEachBrightHorizonscenterislikeasmallbusiness,withasfewas10orasmanyas50teachers.Withstatemandatedstaffingrequirementsandextendedhoursofservices,onemightexpectlimiteduseofflexibility.WhilenotallBrightHorizonscentershave implemented flexible schedulingpractices,manycenter directors, with the support of regional managers, have recognized that teachers at differentstages in their lives and careers need scheduling flexibility and, as a result, have developed creativestaffing strategies. For all, recruitment and retention of quality employees is an incentive to offeringflexibility in an effort to meet both business and employee needs. In some cases, candidates forpositions indicated limitson theiravailabilitybecauseof familyobligations, schoolora second job. Inordertohirethesecandidates,directorshadtobewillingtoconsider“nontraditional”scheduling(i.e.,something other than full time over five days each week). In other cases, teachers who had beenworking a “traditional” schedule determined that managing their work and personal responsibilitieswouldbeeasieriftheyhadalternatives.Inmostcases,itistheemployeewhocomestothedirectorwitharequestforaflexibleschedule.Somedirectors, however, need to fill a particular schedule gap and therefore hire with a nontraditionalscheduleinmind.Becausemanyofthecentersareopenfor10or12hourseveryday,somecreativityand flexibility are necessary to cover the hours while meeting best practice teacher‐to‐child ratios,whichareoftenabovethestate‐mandatedteacher‐to‐childratios.Certaintimesofthedayrequiremore


coverage than others, and breaks also need to be factored in. Directors find that in most cases theflexibilitytheygivetheirteachersisreciprocatedwhentheyneedcoverageforemployeeswhoareout.

“When flexibility works well in an employee’s life, it makes for a better employee.”—Teacher“I think [the reasonwe introduced flexible schedules]was a combinationof necessityandafeelingofsupportfortheemployees.”—RegionalManager

HistoryEach center has a somewhat different history in terms of introducing flexiblework arrangements forteachers. Because of the nature of the industry and the demands of caring for children, flexibleschedules as well as some day‐to‐day flexibility are important tools to attract and retain qualifiedteachersandensurethatappropriatecoverageisavailableinalloftheclassrooms.Insomecases,anewdirectorproposedthe ideaof flexibleschedulesto“changethingsup.”Atothercenters,directorsand/orteachersheardaboutsuccessfulimplementationofflexibleschedulesatothercentersandwereopentotrying itthemselves.Somecentersbeganflexibleschedulingbecauseoftheneeds of one or more current or prospective teachers who needed particular times of the day offbecauseofobligationsoutsideofwork.One center that implemented compressedworkweeks to increase staffing consistency and to reduceabsenteeism began the process by “mapping schedules” — looking at the children’s schedules andhavingtheteacherstogetherfigureoutclassroomcoverage.

“Theteachersknowthatthefour‐dayworkweeksmaynotbenecessary,buttheywantittoworksotheybuyintoit.”—Director

ProgramDescriptionScheduling flexibility for center teachers includes part‐time, compressed workweeks; working acustomizedschedule;swappingshifts;andvaryingstartandendtimes.Flexibleschedulesallowfortherequired classroom coverage over an extended day while also meeting the needs of the teachers.Teachersalsoflextheirschedulesoverthecourseofayear,insomeinstancesworkinghourstomirrorthe public school year and taking school vacations and summers off or on a part‐time schedule.Flexibility is also utilized by students, who are grateful to schedule work around their classes andincreasetheirhoursduringschoolbreaks.Formal flexibleworkarrangementsare incorporated into theweekly schedule; this includespart‐timeschedules,compressedworkweeks,nontraditionalhours,andvaryingstartandendtimes. Inaddition,thereisasignificantamountofadhocflexibility—swappingshiftswithpeers,coveringforcolleagueswho need to leave for an appointment, or filling in for colleagueswho are out because of illness orvacation.


Schedules vary greatly; full time is defined as at least 30 hours per week, which allows for manyscheduleoptions.Part‐timeschedulesarecrucialforstaffcoverageofextendedhoursandworkwellforthelaborpoolthatBrightHorizonsattracts(i.e.,students,mothersofyoungchildren,etc.).Foracenterthatisopen7a.m.–6p.m.,theearlyshiftmaybe7a.m.–3p.m.andthelateshift10a.m.–6p.m.Therearemany variations of this. One example is a teacherwhoworks eight‐hour days: the early shift onMondaysandThursdaysandalternateFridays.Anotherexampleisateacherwhoworks8a.m.–6p.m.everydayexcepthavingWednesdaysoff;acollegestudentcoversherclassroomonWednesdays.Oneteacherworks8a.m.–6p.m.TuesdaythroughThursday,7a.m.–6p.m.onFridayandhasMondaysoffbecause she has another job. Another teacher’s schedule is Monday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. and TuesdaythroughFriday10a.m.–5p.m.Someteachershave“splitshifts” inwhichtheyleavemid‐dayandthencomebacktothecenter. Insomecases,collegestudentswork7a.m.–10a.m.,beforetheirclassesorinternships.BrightHorizonscentersutilizeavarietyofcommunicationandplanningtoolsintheirscheduling.Postingweekly and daily schedules for all to see plays an important role in the smooth implementation offlexibleschedules.Alloftheteachershaveaccesstotheinformationtheyneedtofindcoverage,andtheparentsareable to seewho’sworking.Parentsappreciateknowingwhospecificallyhasbeen in theirchild’sclassroomandhearingfromthatpersonabouttheirchild’sday.Iftheteacherisnotworkingatpickup time, shewill leave a note for the other teachers so they can be informedwhen parents askquestions.Classroomsalsohavecommunicationnotebookstorecordimportantdailyinformationaboutspecificchildren.

“Inourclassroom, ifsomeonecan’tcover it,we’llcoverashiftonourown.We’llplanwithourownschedules.”—Teacher“Teachers do swap shifts a lot. Usually they will swap with different schedules, forexamplea7–4fora9–6.Theywriteanoteandputitonthemasterscheduleformetoapprove.”—Director“Themasterschedulegoesouteachweek—theschedulesinyellowaresetschedulesso they can’t change. The rest are flexible so I canmove them around. The pink arethosewhoflipschedulingonFridays.Ialsodoadailyschedulebecausepeoplecallout.”—Director

The overall philosophy and policy of Bright Horizons supports flexibility. At the center level, someteachersarehired into theirpositionswitha flexible schedulewhileothers change their schedulesastheir circumstances change. Teachers apply for a flex schedule by notifying their supervisor of theirrequest.Thereareotherteacherswhopreferatraditionalscheduleanddonotparticipateintheformalflexibleworkarrangementsalthoughtheyaccesssomeadhocflexibilitywhentheyneedhourscoveredortheycoverhoursforcolleagues.

“Whenhiring, Iaskwhattheiravailability istoseehowitwill fit intoourschedule. If Iknow Ineedsomeonetostartat3:30,workingapart‐timeschedule, Imaygetahighschoolstudentwhowantstoworkafterschool.”—Director

In the corporate child care centers, it is oftenhelpful tohave staffworking longer shifts because thecorporation’semployeesareworkinglongershifts.


“[Corporation]doescompressedworkweeksandflexibleworkarrangementsfortheiremployees,sothataffectswhathappensatourchildcarecenter.”—Director

Impacts/BenefitsImprovedrecruitmentandretentionThemostsignificantbenefit for thecenters is therecruitmentandretentionofqualifiedteachers inaprofessionwitha limited laborpool.Manycentershaveteacherswithgreat longevity,whichsupportsthe center’s attractiveness to parents and also reduces costs associatedwith hiring and training newemployees.The resultingcontinuity incareprovidersalsosupports theexpertise thecenteroffers,aswellasenhancingthecenterculture,building long‐termrelationshipswith families,collaboratingwithcolleagues and advancing one’s career at Bright Horizons. Parent satisfaction at centers is high, andteachersbelievethatthisisdueinparttothebenefitsoftheflexibilitytheteachershave.

“Asaworkingparent,Iwouldn’tbeabletoteachifthiscenterweren’tasflexibleasitis.”—Teacher“Withoutflexibility,Iwouldn’tbeabletoworkhere.Iftheyneededmetobehereuntil6,Icouldn’tbecauseI’masingleparentandIneedtopickupmychild.”—Teacher“Teachers will be more flexible with each other and work with each other andcommunicatewitheachother, if the company is flexiblewithus. Itmakesuswant toworkhereandtostayhere.”—Teacher“Flexibility isavaluabletoolwhenyouhavereally,reallygoodstaff.Staffingchildcarecentersisveryhard.Idon’twanttolosemyteachersbecausethataffectstheclassroomandthedynamics,soIwilldomybesttoretainthem.”—Director

EmployeeswhoarealsoundergraduateandgraduatestudentsFlexibility allows students to work at the centers, scheduling their work hours around their classschedules.Many of the students are able toworkmore during the summer and during their breaks,whichbenefitsthecentersbecausesomeoftheregularstafflooktotakevacationduringthesetimes.Inaddition,someofthesestudentsworkatthecentersfulltimeaftertheygraduate,comingwithnotonlytheirearlychildhoodeducationdegreebutalsoexperienceatthecenterandanestablishedrelationshipwithatleastsomeoftheircolleaguesandsomeofthefamilies.Essentially,thecenterishelpingtobuildthenext generationof child careproviders and center leadersby training studentswhohavealreadyindicated their commitment to educating young children. Bright Horizons has several directors whoadvancedtheircareersusingflexibilityinthisway.

“WhenIdecidedtogobacktoschool,[thedirector]toldmetofigureoutaschedulethatwillworkforme,andwe’llmakeitworkforthecenter.”—Teacher“IworkfulltimebutleaveatnoononTuesdaysandThursdaystogotomyclasses.”—Teacher


CompressedworkweeksTeachersfindcompressedworkweeksbeneficialforanumberofreasons.Teachersusetheirdayofftoattendtoappointments,doerrandsand“regroup.”Thefrequencyofteacherscallingoutsickorneedingtimeawayfromworkforappointmentsislessenedasaresultoftheirflexiblescheduling.Someteacherswhonowworkfourdayseachweekindicatedthatitwouldbestressfultogobacktoafive‐dayschedulebecausetheywouldthenhaveonlySaturdayandSundaytogetthingsdoneandmanyoftheservicesthey need are not open on weekends. Teachers with compressed workweeks also save money incommutingcosts(i.e.,parkingandgas).Mostoftheteachersdon’ttaketheirflexibilityforgrantedandwilldowhattheycanforthecenterinreturnfortheflexibilitytheyhave.Atonecenterinwhichallteachersusecompressedworkweeks,thereismorecontinuityonadailybasis—thechildrenarewiththesameteachers formostorallofeachday.Thecenter’ssizeandhoursofoperationmakeitpossibleforalloftheteacherstoworkcompressedworkweeks.

“Theygavemetheflexibility,soIthinkit’smyresponsibilitytoworkmyneedsaroundthatschedule.”—Teacher“I like my schedule because I have children at home … I can schedule all theirappointmentsonWednesdays.”—Teacher“Theteachers[usingcompressedworkweeks]arelessstressed.Theycanworkhereandstillgotoschoolorgetasecondjoborbeavailabletogetsomeovertime.”—Director“It’sstillexhaustingworkingfourdays,buttheteacherstendtobemorerefreshedthanwhenthey’reworkingfivedays.”—Director“It’snicetohaveadayoffinthemiddleoftheweek…ithelpsyoubreakuptheweek.”—Teacher

SuccessFactorsEmpoweringemployeesDirectors find that empowering employees to figure out how to flex their own schedules whilemaintainingnecessarycoverageofclassroomsbenefitseveryone.Teachersaremore likelytoagreetocover fortheircolleagues,knowingthattheircolleagueshaveand/orwillcover fortheminexchange.Manytimes,shiftsareswappedbetweenteachers,andthedirectorisinformedafterthearrangementshavebeenfiguredout—makingthedirector’sjobeasierbutstillgivinghertheopportunitytoapproveor deny the requested switch. If someone needs coverage for certain hours, there’s almost alwaysanother teacherwhowants the extra hours. Depending on ratio requirements and overtime costs, arequestmayormaynotbeapproved.Often it’s a simple switchwitha co‐workerwhohas the samequalificationsorclassroomexperience,sothatateachercangotoanappointmentoraschoolmeetingoccurringatatimesheisscheduledtowork.

“Iftheyneedmetoswitch,I’mflexiblebecausethey’reflexiblewithme.”—Teacher


“IfIneedtochangemyschedule,Iaskmyco‐teachersandweworkitout.IfIask[thedirector],she’lltellmetoaskmyco‐workers.”—Teacher“Manyofusarecertifiedforvariousagegroupssowecancoverforanotherteacher.”—Teacher“Idon’thavealldaytomicromanagetheteachers’schedules.Myrule is:Figure itoutandaslongasIknowaboutitanditjiveswiththecenter,it’sfine.”—Director

ThinkingcreativelywithsupportfromregionalmanagersThinkingcreativelyand“outofthebox”iscriticaltosuccessfulschedulingflexibility.DirectorsofBrightHorizons centers have the support of their regional managers regarding scheduling, and flexibility isconsistent with the corporation’s values and efforts to show their appreciation for all employees.Requests fordifferent schedules shouldbeconsidered,although thedirectordoeshave theoptionofsayingno if a request is not good for the center. Clearly the teacher‐to‐child ratiosmandatedby thestate drive the scheduling needs. The centers being open longer than eight hours each day alsonecessitatesacreativeandinnovativeapproachtoscheduling.Onecenterkeepsalistofsubstheycancall if they’re having trouble covering a shift— usually past employeeswho have left to go back toschool.OthernearbycentersintheBrightHorizonssystemarealsoasourceofbackupstaff.

“Ifthedirectorconsidersthestaff’srequestsandthecoveragethat’sneeded,theycanfigureouthowtobeflexible,aslongasthey’recreativeandopen‐minded.”—Teacher“Itwouldbeeasiertosetaschedule. I’mgivingupa lotofmytimeeachdaytomakethiswork,but I know it’sworth it. Flexible scheduleshelpyouwhenpeople callout.”—Director“Youhavetoseethebiggerpicturetomakeitwork.”—Director“It’slikefittingapuzzletogether,pluggingintheteachersasneeded.”—Director“It’sanumbersgame,tomaintaintheratiorequiredbyregulations.WecancallotherBrightHorizonscentersintheareaifweneedto[togetsubstitutes].”—Director“I’m constantlyhearing frommy regionalmanager thatweneedhappyemployees tohave happy kids. We need to appreciate our employees … pretty typical of thecompany.”—Director

ProvidingconsistencyforchildrenYoungchildrenneedconsistencyofcaregivers,andparentsprefertoseefamiliarfaceseachdaywhentheydropoff andpickup their childrenat the center. Somedirectorsperiodically send letters to theparentswithalloftheteachers’namesandschedulessotheyknowwho’sscheduledtobeatthecenteratanygiventime.Ifcoverageisneeded,thedirectortriestoarrangeforsomeonewhohasworkedinthatclassroombefore—someonethekidsandtheparentsarefamiliarwith.

“Wehaveoursetschedule,sothefamiliesandthekidsknowtheroutine…theyknow,unlessthere’sanote,they’regoingtoseemeeachmorning.”—Teacher


“Havingaconsistentteacherisemotionallybetterforcertainages,especiallyfordropoffsinthemornings.”—Teacher“Centersshouldn’tbesoflexiblethatthechildrendon’thaveaconsistentcaregiver.”—Teacher“Theteacherswhoworklongerdaysareprovidingahugebenefittomeandthefamilies,becausetheyarehereatdropoffandpickup.”—Director

CommunicatingCommunication isessential—among teachersandalsobetween thecenterand theparents.Weeklyanddailyschedulesarepostedateachcenterforalltosee,andifateacher’sscheduleischangingorateacherisoutfortheday,thatinformationispostedaswell.Teachers’notesandalogarealsokeptineachclassroomsoateacherreturningtothecenterafteradayoffcanreadaboutwhathappenedinherabsence.Theteachersareveryproactiveandgoaboveandbeyondwhatisrequiredofthem;inmanysituationsinwhichateacherisoutonedayaweek,she’llcheckinbyphonewithacolleaguethenightbeforeshereturnssothatsheisuptospeedwithwhathappenedbeforeshewalksbackintothecenter.Theteachers’commitmenttothekidsandtoeachotherisindicativeofthecaringprofessiontheyarein.

“I haveMondays off and [my co‐teacher and I] talk everyMonday night … I get therundown of what happened on Monday so I know what to expect on Tuesday.”—Teacher“Ineedtomakesurethateverythinggetscommunicated.Sincetheteachersareoutondifferentdays,Iusee‐mailalot.”—Director

Using“floaters”aspartofastaffingmodelHavingextrapeopleonthescheduleallowsformoreflexibilityinscheduling.Manycentershavefloatersonstaff—part‐timeorfull‐timestaffmemberswhocangointoanyroomatanytimeasbackupstafftocoverbreaksandplanningtimeandfillinasneeded.Thesefloatersarethenfamiliarwithwhathappensinallof theclassrooms,and thechildren recognize themso the floaters caneasily cover for teacherswhoareout.Floatersarethereforecrosstrainedandcanbeanintegralpartofastaffingplantomeetthedemandsofprovidingcareoveranextendeddaywithstrictteacher‐to‐childratios.

“Cross training gives us lots of flexibility. Parents will know the teacher already, sothey’renotalarmediftheusualteacherisnotthere.”—Director

Team‐basedflexibleschedulesolutionsFor flexiblescheduling tosucceed, it’s important tohaveagroupof teacherswhoworkwell togetherandrespectoneanother.Consensusandsupport fromtheteamtotrydifferentwaysofscheduling isimportant.Theteachersoftencredittheirdirectorforcreatingschedulesthatworkforthe individualsandthecenterandforsupportingtheteachersintheireffortstodesignaschedulethatthey’rehappywith. Teachers are empowered to come upwith solutions to scheduling issues and then present thesolution to the center directors for approval, rather than presenting the issue to the director andexpectinghertocomeupwithasolution.


“Weneedtoworkwellintherooms,trusteachotherandcommunicateinordertotakecareofthechildren.”—Teacher“We have weekly team meetings and monthly team meetings where we can work[schedulingissues]out.”—Teacher“Weorganizethescheduleasagroupsotheteacherscanheareachother’sreasoning.”—Director“Wegobysenioritywhendecidingwhogetswhichdayoff.When there’sanewhire,currentstaffhavetheoptiontoswitchtheirdayoff.”—Director

Challenges/BarriersRecognizingflexibilityisnotalwaysfeasibleAlthoughBrightHorizonsencourages theuseof flexible scheduling, thereare timeswhen,due to thesizeofthestaffatacenterortheschedulesofotherteachers,arequestforflexibilityhastobedenied.Thiscanbechallengingbecausestaffseeothersworking individualizedschedulesandmayresentthattheir request could not be approved. Centers that are unable to hire extra staff because of financialconstraintsmay be less able to offer flexible schedules andmay bemore challengedwhen teachersrequestalternativeschedulesorneedtimeoff.Inmostcases,directorstrytoavoidpayingovertimeduetothenegativeimpacttotheoverallfinancialwell‐beingofthecenter,sotheymustwatchtheteachers’schedulestobesuretheyarenotworkingtoomanyhours.Ifarequestforaflexibleworkarrangementisdenied,thedirectorisexpectedtogiveabusinessreasonforthedenial.

“It’s about fairness, not necessarily alwayswhat youwant to do. Just because you’reflexibledoesn’tmeanthatyou’realwaysgoingtogetwhatyouwant.”—Teacher“I’dliketodothefour‐dayworkweek,buttheonlywaythatwouldhappenisifwehaveanotherassistantintheclassroom.Iusedtodoacompressedworkweek,andIlovedit.”—Teacher“Swappingshiftsisnotanoptioniftheteacherwillthenbeworkinglessthan30hours.Thenit’snotachoice—theyhavetotakevacationtime.”—Director“Because I’m following a consistent kind of approach [to approving or denyingrequests],Ifeelsafer.”—RegionalManager

AddressingperformanceissuesTeachersanddirectorsagreethatperformanceissuesareindependentofflexibleschedulesbutmustbeaddressedwhentheyoccur.Incasesinwhichanemployee’sperformanceisslippingandsheisusingaflexibleworkarrangement,thedirectorneedstomeetwiththeemployeetodiscussthesituationandadjust the teacher’s schedule toone thatwillbetter supportherperformancewhilealsomeetingherschedulingneedsandtheneedsofthecenter.Compressedworkweeksaregoodfitsforsometeachersbut not for all teachers; some find that working four 10‐hour days is too exhausting and leads to


burnout.It’snota“one‐size‐fits‐all”situationasnoteveryonecanworkthesameschedules—teachersanddirectorspartnertofigureoutaschedulethatworksforboththeteacherandthecenter.

“Berealisticaboutwhathoursyoucanwork.WhenIwasdoing7:30–3:30,itdidn’tworkout,butIkepttryingtomakeitwork.Youhavetobeabletoassesswhatyoucando.”—Teacher“Ateachermayreallyenjoythecompressedworkweek,butifthey’renotabletogettoworkontimeorifthey’renotabletodemonstrateafulllevelofenergy,theirschedulewillhavetobechangedback.”—RegionalManager

All‐staffmeetingsDirectorsalsohavethechallengeofplanningstaffmeetingssincetheremaynotbeatimewhenalloftheteachersareworking.Teacherssometimeshavetocomeinontheirdayoff,butdirectorstrytolimittheseoccurrences.MaintainingstaffingconsistencyandcontinuityAs a consequence of flexible schedules, parents may find that different teachers are in their child’sclassroomondifferentdays.Someparentscomplainaboutthis,althoughtherealityof10‐to12‐hourextendedcentercare impliesthatthesamestaffarenotabletobothopenandclosethecentereachday. Centers try to minimize the variation, but the longer workdays and the teachers’ schedulingflexibility doesmean that parentswill seedifferent teachersondifferentdaysof theweek.Directorshavefounditishelpfultoassuretheparentsthattheotherteachersarejustasqualifiedastheteachertheyareaccustomedtoseeing.Sharingthescheduleandinformationabouttheteachers’qualifications,aswellasmanagingtheparents’expectations,ishelpful,asispreparingthechildrenattheendofoneday withmention of who they will be seeing the nextmorning when they come back in. A positiveconsequenceofschedulingflexibility is improvedteacherretention,which inturnprovidesmorelong‐termcontinuityforthechildren.

“Parentswantconsistency.Theydon’twanttoseedifferentpeopleeveryday.Kidsandparents feel comfortablewith people they know; they don’twant to see a stranger.”—Teacher“We try to tell parents about any changes in schedules or upcoming vacations inadvance,orassoonaswecan.”—Teacher“Youhavetolookatcontinuityforthekids.We’renotgoingtothrowinanewteacherthatthekidsdon’tknow.”—Director

Implications/ConsiderationsforOtherEmployers

Thedirectorsandtheteachersagreeontheimportanceofallinvolvedbeingwillingtothinkcreativelyandtryschedulingthatisdifferentfromwhattheyareaccustomedto.Directorsmustbeabletolistento the needs of the teachers, and the teachers must be willing to give back, not merely ask forschedulingflexibility.Postingeveryone’sschedulesishelpfulsothatteacherscanlookatwhomightbeavailabletoswitchwithorprovidecoverage.


For child care providers, it is important to consider the consequences of changing schedules for thechildrenandtheparents,whomaybeapprehensivewithlessconsistencyintheteacherstheyseeeveryday.The experience of the Bright Horizons centers is that not everyone wants a flexible schedule orcompressedworkweek.Whilesomedirectorsmayfearthattheywillbeinundatedwithrequests,thisisusuallynotthecase. “It’seasiertoimplementthanyouthink.”—RegionalManagerFlexibility is beneficial to all constituencies: Teachers appreciate the ability to better manage theircommitments outside of work, directors are better able to attract and retain qualified employees,childrenandparentsbenefit fromhaving teacherswhoare less stressedandmore likely to stay, andBright Horizons in turn benefits from the success of the center.While somemay be hesitant to tryflexible scheduling at a child care center, the overall experience of teachers and directors at BrightHorizons has been positive as they have seen the benefits of successful implementation. With thesupport of the regional manager, the center director and the staff, flexible scheduling is a win‐winsituation.


CaseStudy:ConsumerGoodsManufacturer

Aconsumergoodsproductionplantoffersarangeofschedulingoptionsdevelopedandmanagedattheteamleveltomeetproductivitygoalsandmanagecostswhilealsogivingemployeesmorecontrol

overtheirworkschedules.

BackgroundA largeplantofaU.S.‐basedconsumergoodsmarketingandmanufacturingcompany isknownwithinthecompanyforcreativityandcontinuousimprovement.Innovativeprogramsinitiatedattheplantareoftendisseminatedtoother locations.The facilityoffersa rangeofschedulingoptionsdevelopedandmanagedattheteamlevelthatareutilizedtomotivateemployees,meetplantproductivitygoalsandcontrolcosts.

BusinessDriversThebusinessdriversforflexibilityhavecomefromthecompany’scorporatevaluesaswellasbusinessneedstoboostproductivityandcontrolcosts.Thecompanyvalueswork‐lifebalanceforemployeesandacknowledges that production schedules,which includeweekendwork and 12‐hour shifts, do creatework‐life challenges for employees. The company looks for ways to help employees manage theirpersonalandfamilyneedsandboostmorale.Flexibleworkpracticesareconsistentwithcompanyvaluesandverymuchpartoftheiroverallemployeevalueproposition.Several years ago, the need to go to continuous operation prompted the design of new schedules.Consistent with the plant’s continuous improvement philosophy, teams were given the task ofdeveloping the work schedules. Each team built in certain types of time off as a feature of thecontinuousoperation;thesehavebeeninpracticeeversince.Control of labor costs is another driver of flexible scheduling. The need to limit overtime expensesmotivatedthedevelopmentofapoolofcross trainedemployeeswhofill in forstaffonvacation.Thecost of carrying an additional teammember who is cross trained can be offset by the savings fromavoidingovertimecoststocoverothers’vacations.

HistoryThe plant has developed many flexible work practices. Consistent with its continuous improvementphilosophy, plant management encourages employee involvement in developing high performancework practices and problem solving. Many of the flexibility options currently available have beenemployeeinitiated.Insomecases,anindividualemployeehasaneedorasuggestionforaflexibleworksolutionandbrings aproposed idea for flexibility to themanageror theemployee committee that isresponsible for guidelines. The idea is oftenpiloted and, if successful, rolledoutmorebroadly in theplant.Otherflexibilitypolicies,suchasoccasionalflextime,wereincorporatedintotheworkprocessesfornewproductsbyhighperformanceworkteams.Oncepiloted,thesepolicieshavebeenrolledoutto


otherteamsthroughouttheentiredepartment.Otherflexibilitypractices,suchascrosstrainingofreliefpoolworkers,weredevelopedbyateamleaderasanapproachtocontrolovertimecosts.

“Someonefromtheoutsidehadthatasanoptionpreviouslyattheirwork.Wethrewthatideaouttheretothemanagementteam,andtheysaidwecouldtryitandifit’sachallenge,itwouldberevisited.Itworkedoutwellenoughtokeepitandspreadittoeveryone.”—Manager

ProgramDescriptionOccasionalflextimeEmployeesarrange,withtheapprovaloftheirworkteams,toworkuptotwohoursattheendofthepreviousshiftoratthebeginningofthefollowingshift.Membersofone’sownshiftcovertheirworkonthatday.Employeesmustgive24hoursnotice.Thistypeofflexibilityisusedfrequentlytoenableshiftworkers to participate in their children’s extracurricular and sports activities or to attend a regularweeklyappointmentorclass.Althoughtheflextimepolicyisnotapermanentchangeofschedule,thereisnolimitonhowmanytimesperyearanemployeecanuseflextime.ShifttradesThe shift trade (also known as shift swap) policy enables employeeswithin the same department totradeonetofourdaysperweekortotradeuptosixweeksonceinacalendaryear.Itgivesindividualsamechanismtochangetheirworkscheduletotakecareofpersonalorfamilyneeds.Employeesmustfindtradepartnerswhohavesimilarqualificationsandclassifications;also,thetradingpartnerassumesthepayandsenioritystatusoftheotherpartnerforthattimeperiod.Overtime,employeesfindshifttradepartners forwhom it ismutuallybeneficial. Shift swapping ismore commonamong secondand thirdshiftworkers.ReliefpoolA pool of employees cross trained on all jobswithin a team is built into the staffingmodel to covervacationandothertime‐offevents.Whilethereliefpooladdsstaffingresources,itactuallysavesontheovertimecoststhatwouldhavebeenpaidtocoverstaffingshortagescreatedbyvacationdays.(Thefirstyear the returnwas 130–135 percent).Given the complexity ofwork processes and the estimates oftime‐offcoverageneeds,onereliefpersonperteampershift isplannedintothebudget.Thejobsarechallenging because the relief pool workers do different jobs on a regular basis, sometimes movingamong three different roles in a single day to cover multiple two‐hour flextime situations. Theyfrequently get retrained to keep their skills and knowledge up to date as the technology and workprocesseschange.Vacationinhalf‐dayincrementsThehalf‐dayvacationisaplantwideinitiativeintroducedinthe1990sandisusedfrequentlyforfamilyevents,medicalappointmentsandotherpersonalneeds.Employeescanuseuptoeighthalf‐daysperyearandmustgive24hoursnotice.Thedifferentshiftstendtousethefronthalforlaterhalfdependingontheshift.Forexample,ifsecondshiftemployeeshavetotraveltoattendachild’sawaysportsgame,theycanuseahalfvacationdayandthenbebackatworkforthesecondhalfoftheirshift.


UnpaidtimeoffInseveralofthecontinuousrundepartments,theteamshavedevelopedstaffingmodelsthatbuildinupto two extra people per shift. Depending on the workload, vacations, sick time, etc., there is theopportunity for twopeople to takeadayoffwithoutpay. Teamshavedifferent systems fordecidinghowandwhenteammembersgettochoosewhethertheywanttoworkextrahoursthatweekorwouldprefertohavethetimeoff;someteamssimplyrotatetheteammembernamesandwhenyournamereachesthetopofthelist,itisyourchoice.Otherteamstakeintoaccounthowmanyhoursanindividualhasalreadyworkedsothatpeoplewithfewerhoursgetachancetoearnovertime.Weekendhoursarerotatedsothatnoone,regardlessofseniority,willbeforcedtoworkeveryweekend.Employeessignupat the end of their shift to request the time‐off slot for the following day. It is possible that staffingneedswillbelightthefollowingdayandmorethantwoslotswillbeavailable.EmployeedesignedschedulesforcontinuousoperationsSeveralyearsago,whentheproductdivisionwent toacontinuousoperation—24hoursx7daysallyear — management approached the two teams involved in the operation and challenged them todevelop theworkschedules.The twoteamscameupwithquitedifferentsolutions thathavebeen inplace for several years. In both cases, theymoved away from seniority‐based scheduling. One teamdevelopedanannualschedulethat indicatesall theemployees’workdaysanddaysoff far inadvance.Employeesthensubmittheirvacationrequests,whichgetaddedtothemasterschedule.Employeesstillhavetheopportunitytoswapshiftsoruseflextimeasneededforflexibilitytocovereventsthatcomeuponshortnotice.The other production team adopted a “just‐in‐time” time‐off system. The team incorporates enoughresources into the staffing plan so that every day, two teammembers can get the day off. All teammembers’ names are listed on the schedule, and as an employee’s name reaches the top of the list,he/she has the choice of either taking the day off without pay or working the extra day. Someemployeespreferthetimeoffwhileothersprefertheextrapay;thebenefitofthesystemisgivingtheemployeeschoiceandcontrolovertimeoff.

Impacts/BenefitsEmployeesatisfactionandmoraleThemostsignificantbenefitofprovidingflexibilityishighermoraleandsatisfaction.Inanenvironmentin which employees are asked to work weekends, long shifts and frequent overtime, providingschedulingtoolsthatgivethemsomecontrolovertheirhoursboostsmoralewithoutaddingcost.

“We are the happiest group. And yearly we have attitude surveys, and we have thelowest rateof absenteeism… . Everybody in [ourdepartment]would saywe’rea top100company.”—Employee“I think it’sgreat, frommypersonalexperience. I’veseensomanywin‐winsituations,wherepeoplearegenuinelyappreciative,knowingtheyhavetheabilitytouseit.Theytendtogiveyou110percent.They’reveryappreciativethatyou’reworkingwiththemandhelpingwiththeirfamily.”—Manager


“Itrulythinkmoraleisthebiggestthing.Wedon’tcareifit’sawagepersonorsalariedperson, we expect the job to be done. If you need to adjust your hours to fit yourschedule,youstillneedtofinishyourwork.”—Manager“Wheretheyruncontinuously,weexpectalotofouremployeesalotofthetime.Sowetrytogivethemflexibilityandhelptomanagetheirlife.It’salmostanobligation,givenourexpectationofthem.”—Manager

Greaterabilitytomanagepersonal/familyresponsibilities,especiallyforsecondandthirdshiftsPoliciesthatgiveemployeescontrolovertheirschedulesandtimeoffonshortnoticeenableemployeesto participate in important events outside of work as well as manage everyday personal and familysituationsthatarisewithoutincurringperformancepenalties.

“Whenyouhavekids’activities…especiallyifyou’reonsecondshift,youtendtomisseverythingafter5:00.Youmayhaveachildwithasportsactivityandneedtodoitforfourtofiveweeks….”—Employee“Sometimeswhen you have both spousesworking here, if they have day care issues,he’ll tradewithsomeonewithanoff‐dayshiftsothathiswifewho’sworkingdayshiftcanswitchdaycareresponsibilities.”—Employee“Partofitiswecantrytoavoidan‘usvs.them’[mentality];wetrytobeallonthesamepage.All thesepracticesaresomethingthatsalariedemployeesareexpectedtohave,andifwecanofferthesamethingforoperators,that’sagoodthing.”—Manager“Itreducestheamountofcorrectiveaction,communicationIhavetohavewithpeopleinmydepartment,becausethey’renotgettingintoabsenteeismproblems.It’sgoodforemployeesbecauseitallowsthemtoadjusttochangesintheirlives.”—Manager“Lettingthewagepoolhavemorecontrolofhowtheydotheirworkandhavework‐lifebalance. When you feel you’re in control of your hours, you don’t have to take avacationtogotoadentistordoctor’sappointment.”—Manager

ReducedabsenteeismandovertimecostsTheabilitytotradeshiftsandadjustworkschedulesonoccasionreducestheinstancesofunscheduledabsencesdramaticallyandsavesthecompanyoncostlyovertime.Employeesdonothavetousetheirpaid time‐off days for instanceswhen they are actually available towork but just need to shift theirhours.

“Gettingtodayshiftsisveryhardandverylimited.Iftheydidn’thaveshifttradethenalotofpeoplewouldprobablyhavealotmoreabsenteeism.”—Employee“Herewetrytohavework‐lifebalance.Wetrulydo.Whereindividualscanworkeveryday and still be able to take care of needs outside of theworkplace. There’s a lot ofpeopleherewithlotsofdifferentbackgrounds,andsurewehaveabusinesstorun,butcan we run it while having flexibility? We can with our hourly people, so we do.”—Manager


“I believewe’re avoiding long‐termmedical leave, because individuals are able to doshifttrades,ortheyhavesiblingswhocanworkoneshiftandtheycantakecareoftheparent.”—Manager

SuccessFactorsEmpoweringemployees—employee‐initiatedsolutionsAstrikingaspectofflexibilityattheplantisthatmostflexibilitysolutionsemanatefromtheworkteams.Consistentwiththeplant’scontinuousimprovementphilosophy,highperformanceworkteamsidentifyscheduling and work‐life problems and test potential solutions. While management establishes thebusiness requirements, guidelines for how thework is done are developed by employee committeesandvotedon.GuidelinesarereviewedbyHRbeforedepartmentsimplement.

“Ithinkitwasusinitiatingthechange,andHRsawitwasagoodthing.”—Employee“Westartedaguidelinecommitteeandstartedaddressingtheissuestheoperatorshad.Flextimewasoneofthethingsonthewishlistsforoperators.[Oneteam]testeditoutyearsago,anditdevelopedfromthere. Ifonepartofthedepartmentcoulddo it….”—Employee“Policy — management owns that. Guidelines — we allow operators to vote on it.”—Manager“There were parameters [set bymanagement] onwhat had to be in place, but thentherewasaprettyopenfieldofguidelines—whatemployeeshelptoestablish.Aslongasit’snotdetrimentaltobusiness.Ithastobefairandequitabletoeveryoneinvolvedand needs to pass votes. Once in place, the team can’t revisit the guideline for 12months.Butafterwardstheyhavetheopportunitytorevisitandtweaktheguideline.”—Manager“Oneofthefirstthingswedidwasshifttrading.Itoriginatedwithoneofmyemployees.Hehadasoninhighschoolsports.Hewantedtotradefromsecondshiftwithouttakingvacationsoheproposedit,gottogetherataskteamandbroughtupalltheissuesandrulesandgotitthroughleadership.Thattomewasbigbecauseitallowedwagepeopletoworkadifferentshift.”—Manager“Wedohave to listen to thepeopleon the floor. If theycomeupwithan idea,don’tdismiss itoutofhandbecauseyou can’t figureouthow tomake itwork,butput theonusonthemtofigureitoutwithparameters.‘Sowhydon’tyouworkonthat,andhowwouldyoudothat?’They’reverycreativeworkersandmaybeabletocomeupwithaway that’s cost neutral and perceived as a benefit to them. [If] the person feels hewasn’tlistenedto,whatmayhavebeenagoodideanevercomesforward.”—Manager“Iwashiredintoahighperformingworksystem.Thesuggestioncameupfromoneoftheworkers that ‘Ihaveadoctor’sappointment, and I’mgoing tobe latea coupleofhours, and why can’t I flex those two hours?’ They put together a proposal to the


project start up manager. [Management] thought it was a good idea. That’s how itstarted in the department, and it grew as other operators in the department werejealousofitandwantedtoimplementitintheirplatformaswell.”—Manager“Wedon’twanttheemployeestobejustoperatingthemachine,buttobethinkingaswell.”—Manager“Ifyourcultureisbasedontrustandrespect,it’llwork.Butifyoudon’t,youwon’ttrustthe operators to manage themselves. Yes, there was a lot of front work andcommunication, and lookingatwhatworks,butonce that communication’sdoneandyougotoverthat,anditwasworking,youdon’teventhinkaboutitbecauseit’spartoftheculture.”—Manager

Team‐basedflexibleschedulesolutionsWhileitmaytaketimeinitiallytoinvolveteammembersindevelopingtheflexibleschedulingoptions,the process creates solutions that meet the business needs and builds ownership of the system.Innovationandcompromisearebothrequiredforschedulingalternativestosucceedinanenvironmentinwhichsenioritywasformerlythemaincriteria.

“Wehadathree‐daysessionwherealltheideaswerethrownout.Alltheseniorswereable to voice their opinions, and it all came out. It didn’t work perfectly right away,therewerelittleholespeopletriedtoworkout,butIthinkeventhehigherseniorscameon board and realized it was good. It works. It was just getting the mindset of theseniorityoutoftheway.”—Employee“Ifyou’renotgoingtobeateamplayer,it’snotgoingtoworkforyouwhenyourequestflexibility.”—Employee“Theoperatorsmanageit.Iftheywanttodoashifttrade,theysigntheformandgiveittotheteamleaderandtheysignoff.It’sveryself‐managed.Flextimeisthesameway—yousignthesheetandhavetheteamleaderinitialit.Teamleadersreallydon’thavetomanagethisatall.”—Manager“Employees have to be creative and bring different proposals and understand thatproposalsmaychange,andbeabletobringitbacktopeerstogettheirconsensus.Youhavetohaveindividualswhoaredriventoresolve.”—Manager“Asteamleaders,we’refortunatewherethecultureisoperatorinputdrivenanddrivesalotofdecisions.Soifthere’sasystemorprocessdrivenbyoperators,wedon’thavetomanage the day‐to‐day detail, they run it andmaintain the system and keep it up todate. In general, the culturehasevolved intoa self‐managedadministrativeaspectofthesystem.”—Manager

Clearpolicy,consistentapplicationClear flexibility policies provide the framework for decision‐making, and consistent enforcement bymanagers creates an environment in which employees believe they are being treated fairly. NewmanagerscanturntoseasonedmanagersandHRforhelpinhandlingunfamiliarsituations.


“Youneed tobeawareofwhat thepaperwork isandwhat itmeans. If there’sa shifttrade,we typicallypost it on theboard. Everybodyknows in thenext twodays. Thenyoutakeitofftheboardandfileit.Youdon’thavetodoanythingdifferenttomanageinthisenvironment.Justknowtherulesaroundtheflexibilityuseandworkaroundthat.”—Manager

“Beconsistentinhowyoulookatsituations.Oneofthethingswenoticearoundhereispeople perceive things as being inconsistent because they don’t have all theinformation. But for thosemaking the decisions, they look at how they’ve looked atotherrequestsandtrytobeasconsistentaspossible.”—Manager

“Having specific guidelines helps you be able to manage all these different types ofarrangements,onhowmanyhalfvacationdaysorunpaidtime‐offdaysyoucanuse,etc.Havespecificguidelinessoifsomeonecomesuptoyouquestioning,youcanexplaintothemwhy.”—Manager“Youhavetohaveasetofrules,andit’salwaysbettertohaverulessetupbyoperatorsthatmanagementcanlivewithsoit’stheirrules.Andbewrittensothatwayit’smoreconsistent.”—Manager“We have documents in place, but it’s hard for new supervisors to go througheverything. We’re trying as they come in new to really reinforce with them thateverybodyisa24‐hourresource.Soifyou’reinasituationwithoutananswer,don’tfeelyouhavetocomeupwithananswerbyyourself;drawonotherpeople.Gettherightanswer, and don’t create turmoil by making the wrong decision without the rightresource.”—Manager

CrosstrainingandusingfloatersaspartofastaffingmodelHavingcross trainedemployeesbuilt into thestaffingmodeloneachteamtocover forvacationsandother timeoffavoidsovertimecosts.Althoughthestaffingmodel is“heavier” thanaminimalstaffingmodelwouldsuggest,ifthemodeldoesnotaccountfortimeoff,itwillactuallybemoreexpensivetofillinbypayingovertimethancarryingextrastaffatregularwagecosts.

“Tomakemost of the stuffwork, you can’t be completely bare boned on your staff.We’renot—becauseofseasonalneedsandbusiness,itmakessensetohaveacertainnumberofpeople, but youhave tohave that andalso cross train them. If yourplantdoesn’thavethatinplace,you’llneeditpriortoimplementingflexibility.”—Manager“Oncewedecided thatwas the right thing todo,wepulled together task teamswithoperatorsandaskedwhattrainingwasneededandwhatskillspeopleneededtohavetocontributetotheteams.”—Manager

ManagementsupportPlantleadershipandmiddlemanagersaresupportiveofprovidingflexibilityinemployeeschedulesandexpectsupervisorstofindwaystoenableemployeestosolveschedulingissueswhilemeetingtheneedsofthebusiness.Schedulingsolutionshavebeenpartofplantoperationsoverseveralyears,andmanyplantleaderswerepartofthehighperformanceteamsthatdevelopedinnovativeworkpractices.


“You should be able to give a good reasonwhy you can’t do that. A lot of times, it’sturning back to the individual and asking how they would do it. And they think itthroughandrealizeit’snotaseasyastheythoughtitwouldbe.”—Manager

“Thediscussionas team leaderswas, ‘HowamIgoingtoschedulethis?’ Itwasa littlemore work for me. It’s another thing I have to take into consideration for dailyschedules.It’sjustabitmorework.”—Manager

ToolsandtechnologyManagershavedelegatedmanyoftheroutineschedulingtaskstoemployeeteamleads.Reportsarerunandposteddailytoshowthestaffingdemandandwhethertherearetime‐offslotsavailable.Employeesalso use the computer scheduling system to request vacation time. Some information, such as shifttrades,involvesmanualprocesses.

“Wehaveaclipboardthatweputinourregularshift(7–3),andifwewanttocomeintwohoursearly,weputtheadjustedtimeonitsothesupervisorknowswe’regoneforthosehoursandalsotheotherpeopleweworkwithwillknow.”—Employee

“Wehaveitonaclipboard.It’snicebecauseit’sfasterandit’svisual.Butyoucan’tdoitfromhome.Todoitfromhome,you’recallingtheteamleader.”—Manager

Challenges/BarriersRecognizingflexibilityisnotalwaysfeasibleAlthough use of flextime on short notice is valued by many employees, it can leave the teamshorthanded. Some smaller teams do not have the elasticity to absorb the extra workload whensomeoneisusingflextime,especiallywhenthereisanunexpectedworkproblem.

“Weprettymuchrun365daysayear,andit’sgoingtobreakdownhardmorethanonceaweek.Witha24‐hourworkday,they’rehappeningevery24or36hours… .Wehadaguywhoflexedandwehadtwochangeoversandtwostartupsandwehadanemergency,andwehadfourpeopledoingtheworkofsixpeople.”—Employee“Wehavetohavefourpeoplerunningthesystemsallthetime.Becausetheyknowtheyhavecertainweekendsoffandcertaindaysoff.You’refullystaffedallthetimeand you reduce certain overtime; the only overtime is your normal vacation. Youcarryoneoperatorheavy,butyou’renotkillingthefourpeople.Ifyouonlyhadfourpeople,you’dbeaskingthemtoworkeighthourseveryday.Thatoneextrapersonsavesmoney for the company,nodoubt, just in thehealthof theworker and losttime.”—Employee

Viewingflexibilityasabusinesstool,notanentitlementBusinessleadershavetoperiodicallyreevaluateiftheflexibleworkoptionsaregoodfinancialdecisions.Forexample,frequentuseofhalf‐dayvacationsconcentratedincertainshiftscouldcauseanincreaseinovertimehoursandcosts.


“Balancing andmaking sure operators realize there’s still a business to run, and youcan’t finddifferentways toget themoff tomorroworoutearly. Sometimesyoucan’talwayspleasethem,butyoudothebestyoucan.Youhavetobalancebusinessneedswithemployeewants.”—Manager

AddressingperformanceissuesAbusebya few individuals is a concern forbothemployeesandmanagers. It is important toaddressindividual performance issues or misuse of flexibility so that the availability of flexible schedulingalternativesforanentireteamisnotjeopardized.

“Afewpeopleareabusingit…peoplewillonlyputupwithitsomuch.Ifyouabuseit, someone’s going to come back to you — either a team member or leader.”—Employee“How do you keep this program going and there isn’t favoritism, and individualsaren’tabusingtheprograms?TherewereindividualswhowouldtakeiteveryFridayor every Monday. And you just can’t allow that. It’s meant to be used when it’sneeded,notasaconvenience.”—Manager“Alotofmakingsurepeopleareleveragingflexibilityfortherightreasons,andnotforpersonalgains.Thatthey’renotplayinggameswithit,whichtendstohappen.Onan individual basis as [abuse of the policy] comes up,we try not to ruin it for theteam. It starts at the team leader level and have them deal with it, then we getinvolvedifitisnotresolved.”—Manager“Wedon’twanttochangethese,becauseoperatorscameupwiththese.Wewanttodealwiththeindividualinsteadofpunishingalltheoperators.”—Manager

Implications/ConsiderationsforOtherEmployers

Theuseofflexibleschedulingpracticesatthemanufacturingplanthasbenefitsforemployees,supervisorsandthecompanyasawhole.Employeesfeeltheyhavemorecontrolovertheirschedulesandhavetheopportunitytoattendeventsorappointmentsbecausetheyareabletotaketimeoffinsmallerincrementsorshiftthehourstheywork.Throughcrosstrainingandthoughtfulscheduling,managersareabletoprovidenecessarycoveragewithoutincurringasmuchovertimecost.Theflexibilitypracticeswerenecessitatedbyaswitchtocontinuousplantoperations;byempoweringtheoperatorstodevelopschedulingoptions,thecompanyhasinplacevariationsofflexibilitythatworkforeachteam.Thesuccessoftheseflexibilityprogramsisinpartduetotheownershiptheoperatorsfeelandalsobenefitsfromthepilotingprocess,improvingtheprogrambasedontheexperiencesofasmallergroupbeforeexpandingtheprogramtootherteams.Coveringshifts24hourseachdaycanbeachallenge;theflexibilityprogramsthatareinplacenowaddresssomeofthework‐lifeconflictsthatshiftworkpresents.Theabilitytomanageone’stimeandfeelsomecontroloverworkhoursandsomeabilitytoattendtoappointmentsoreventsofimportancewithouttakinganentirevacationdayisquitevaluabletoemployees.Theflexibleworkprogramsinplacealsorecognizethatfewerseniormembersofthe


workgroupneedflexibilityaswell,sosenioritydoesnotalwaysdeterminewhoisabletoflextheirhoursorswapashift.Crosstrainingandcreativestaffingmodelssupporttheabilityofteamstoworkflexibly.Whilethisrequiressomeinvestmentoftimeandeffortbymanagersinitially,thereturnontheirinvestmentissignificantintermsofproductivityandretention.Whilemanufacturingplantenvironmentsmaynottraditionallybethoughtofasidealforimplementingflexibility,theteamsatthisplanthaveshownthatwithsupportfrommanagementandinnovativethinkingonthepartofoperators,thebenefitsofflexibleworkpracticesarenumerous.


CaseStudy:Marriott

Globalreservationandcustomerservicerepresentativescanuseflexandtime‐offcouponsonline,whichenablesthemtochooseschedulesthatfittheirlivesandtake"just‐in‐time"

timeoffinfull‐day,half‐dayandhourlyincrements.Theseinnovativeflexibilityoptionshavesignificantlyreducedturnoverandareakeyrecruitmentandretentiontool.

BackgroundMarriottInternational, Inc.,firstestablishedin1927asasmallrootbeerstandinWashington,DC,hasgrown into aworldwide hospitality companywithmore than 3,000 lodging properties located in theUnited States and 67 other countries and territories and is considered a leader in the hospitalityindustry. With its corporate headquarters in Bethesda, MD, Marriott employs 152,000 peopleworldwide, of which 105,000 are employed within the United States. Among U.S. workers,approximately75percentarecategorizedashourlyworkers.Marriott has a longhistoryofprovidingemployeebenefit programs toworkers in frontlinepositions,such as food and beverage workers, housekeeping, and rooms operations. The company’s strongcorporate culture and inspiring core values are keys to continued growth, success and associatesatisfaction. “People first” is the foundation ofMarriott's corporate culture and successwith a beliefthattheirassociatesaretheirgreatestassetsandkeytodeliveringsuperiorcustomerservice.Marriottdemonstrates commitment to associates through a wide range of innovative programs, training andadvancementopportunities.Marriott’sGlobalReservationSalesandCustomerCareCenter,locatedinSaltLakeCity(SLC),isa24/7call center operationwith 200 associates (sales agents) on site and 90 agentswhowork from homemakingreservationsforcustomers.Thecallcenterhassuccessfullyimplementedavarietyofinnovativeflexibilityoptions.

BusinessDriversSLC is a very competitive labor market for call centers, with many large call/operations centersrepresentingvariousindustriescompetingforqualifiedemployeesinallshifts.Highturnoveriscommon—more than150percent.Adapting to the generational changes and interests of youngerworkers iscritical to competing for talent in the lowerwageworkforce in thismarket. Lastminute timeoff andflexibility is very important to this age group. Marriott is therefore utilizing flexibility to attract andretainassociatesinacompetitivelabormarket,especiallytheyoungergenerationofworkers,manyofwhomarestudentsandworkingmothers.SeventypercentoftheMarriottworkforceintheSLCGlobalReservationSalesandCustomerCareCenterareGenerationYandyounger,andthemajorityof themarestudents.Thisflexibilitystrategyisnotonlyanattractionandretentiontool,butitmeetsMarriott’sgoal of engaging and motivating associates to provide superior customer service as a competitiveadvantage.


“Asacompany,it’simportanttoalignourvalueswiththevaluesofassociates.Andtheirvaluesarechanging—theyaremorefocusedonfamilyandpersonallife.”—Manager“Lastminutetimeoffandflexibilityisveryimportanttothisagegroup.Alargeportionofourassociatesdecidetogotoamoviethenightbeforeandwanttomorrowortodayoffandsothatlastminuteflexibilityisveryimportant.”—Manager

HistoryOver the past decade, the flexiblework options have evolved in response to intense competition fortalentandtheneedsofthechangingworkforce.TheSLCmanagementutilizedannualassociateopinionsurveys and an associate council to identify needs and create innovative solutions. Themanagementteamlistenedtotheideasofassociatesandwasopentonewwaysofscheduling.Asaresult,theideasof“just‐in‐time”flexibilityandtime‐offcouponsevolvedintothearrayofflexibilityoptionstheyhaveinplacetoday.

“Anassociatecouncilbroughtuptheideaandaskediftherewasanywaytheycouldgetcouponsorsomethingthatwouldgivethemanhouroffduringtheday ifneeded.So,wefigureditoutandcreatedthetechnologytotrackit.”—Manager

ProgramDescriptionAtMarriott’sGlobalReservationSalesandCustomerCareCenter,associateshavetobeonthephonefor92percentofthetimewith30minutesfor lunchandtwo15‐minutebreaks inaneight‐hourshift.Thereareavarietyofoptionsforassociatestochooseschedulesthatsuittheirlivesaswellastimeoffinfull‐day,half‐dayandone‐tothree‐hourincrementsforatotalofupto30–40daysoffayearcombiningpaid and unpaid time off. Most of the flexible work options can be requested online on the newinternallydevelopedWebstation.Withthissystem,associatescansitattheirdeskandlogontorequesttimeoff,pickupovertime,pickup theirdaily schedule, tradeshiftsandusea flexcoupon, subject tomanagerapprovalandcoverage.Whenassociateswanttosignupforaflexibleworkoption,theylogonto the Web station, and the system prompts them to enter key information including name, desknumber,shift,thedatestheywantflexibility,howmuchtimeofftheywantandsoon.Paidtimeoff(PTO)Associatesaccruevacationandsicktimebasedonhoursworked.Theaverageintheirfirstyearisaboutoneweek.PTOisaccruedwithtenure,uptofiveweeks.PTOpromotionsarealsoofferedasincentives.IftheSLCcenterhasadifficultstaffingday,oftenaholiday,theywillofferthosewhoworktheirshiftanextrapersonaldayintheirPTObank.Associatesalsoaccruepersonaldays— fivedays in the firstyearandtwoadditionaldaysaftersevenyears of service. There aremany ongoing annual incentives to accrue additional personal days off aswell. For example, if an associate is first in sales for the quarter, he or she can choose to get fouradditionalpersonaldays.


“Ilikepersonaldaysbecauseit’snicethattheygiveusthatoptionandwedon’thavetoexplainourselvesorwhyweneedthedayofforwhatwe’redoing…anditdoesn’tgoagainstyouinthesenseofattendance.”—Associate

FloatersThestaffingmodelattheSLCcenterincludesdesignatingafewassociatesasfloaterswhosejobitistopickupshifts,whichensurescoverageandallowsgreaterflexibilityforassociates.TradingshiftsAssociatescaneasilyrequestshifttradesthroughtheWebstation.

“You can sign up on the computer and say ‘This is my shift — I need the day off.’Someonecangoinandsay,‘Oh,Icanworkthosehours’andtheypickupyourshift.It’sanicewaytogettimeoffwithoutusingyourcouponsbecauseyoucangetsomeonetopickupatradeandyoucankeepyourcouponforanotherday.”—Associate

“Just‐in‐time”flexibility—flextimecouponsAssociates have access to “just‐in‐time” flexibility through theuseof flextime coupons,which canbeused inone‐hour incrementsorup to threehours inoneday.Flextimecouponsare requestedonlineusingtheWebstationtodetermineavailabilityandareapprovedbyamanagerbasedoncoverageuptofiveminutesbeforetakingthetimeoff.Associates earn15 coupons after training andeach year thereafter, aswell as having access to themthroughongoingincentives.Flextimecouponsmaybeused“just‐in‐time”ifavailableandinconjunctionwithothertimeoff.Theydon’thavetobeusedinconsecutivehours,andanassociatemayuseoneatthe beginning of their shift, one to extend their lunch, and one to go home early based on hours ofoperation.Businessrequirements,coverageandhoursofoperationgoverntheuseofflextimecoupons.For example, the Marriott’s 1‐800 desk hours of operation are 9 a.m.–1 a.m., and associates arerestrictedfromusingflextimecouponsinthefirstorlasthoursthedeskisopenbecausethattendstobewhenthereislessstaffavailable.

“It’sgreatbecauseyoucanusethemtotakeuptothreehoursoff—youdon’thavetotakeafulldayoffandloseyourfull‐daypay.Youstillgetfivehourspayifyoutakethreehoursoff.”—Associate

UnpaidtimeoffTime‐offcouponsmaybeusedinone‐dayorone‐half‐dayincrementsandprovideaconvenientwayforassociatestogetunpaidtimeoffinadvanceoronshortnoticebasedonindividualneedsandbusinessrequirements.Associatesget16one‐daytime‐offcouponsaftertrainingandeachyearthereafter.Theyearn the coupon back one year fromwhen they used it. Associates have ongoing incentives to earnmoreaswell.Accesstoanduseoftime‐offcouponsisbasedonavailableslots(basedoncoverageandstaffing).TheassociateusestheonlineWebstationtocheckavailabilityandrequesttimeoffusingtheiravailable coupons. Availability of time‐off couponswill vary based on business needs and howmanyassociatestheycanaffordtohaveoffatanygiventime.Anassociatemayalsorequesttimeoffonshortnotice,fortakingcareofasickchildforexample,bycallingthemanagerondutyandaskingifthereareanyslotsavailabletotakethedayoffwithoututilizingvacationoratime‐offcoupon.Ifaslotisavailablefortheirshift,themanagerjustschedulestheassociateoffwithoutpenalty.


“Even if it’s same day, my kids are sick or I want to go to a concert— if the spot’savailableandIhaveacoupon,they’llapproveit.”—Associate

DowntimeAdditionalopportunities forunpaid timeoffoccurwhenthere is “downtime”or lower thanprojectedcallvolume.Thisoptionisentirelybasedonhowmanystaffareprojectedtoberequiredtocoverthecenter’scallhandlingneedsthatday,anditisavailableonafirst‐come,first‐servedbasis.AssociatescanlogontotheWebstation,whereinformationaboutanticipateddowntimeisposted.Theycanmakearequestforthesamedayorfuturedatesbyenteringtheirnames,requestedshiftendtimeorwhattimetheywouldliketogetoff.Thisisawin‐winbecauseifassociatesarenotneededonthephonestheycanrequestthetimeoffwithouthavingtouseacoupon.Ifthemanagerondutylooksatthedatabaseandseestheyneedtosendfivepeoplehome,theygotothedowntimelisttodeterminethefirstfivepeopletoletoff.

ParttimeAssociatesmayworkaminimumof20hoursperweekonapart‐timeschedule;however,studentsmayworkaminimumof16hoursperweek.Associatesare required toworkat least four five‐hour shifts;studentscanworkatotalof16hours,butaminimumofeightofthosehourshavetobeonSunday,andtherestcanbeanytimeduringtheweek.Students,associatesworkingsecond jobsand long‐tenuredassociateswhohaveworkedattheSLCcenterforsevenyearsormorecanrequestset‐hoursschedulesforasix‐monthperiod.Associateswhoareworkingsecondjobshavetopresentpaystubstohaveasetscheduleapproved.Studentshavetopresenttheirschoolscheduleatthebeginningofthesemesterandthentheygetaschedulefortheentiresemesterandsignacontractagreeingthattheywon’tchangeit.Withaschoolschedule,associatesonlyhavetowork30hoursaweek,whichisconsideredfulltimeforstudentsonly,and receivebenefits.Thoseassociateswhoareworkingonahospitality servicedegreeareeligiblefortuitionreimbursement.Moststudentsworknights,whichhelpsoutwithcoveragesincefewerpeopleprefernights.

“OnethingIlikedwhenIstartedasanassociateinhighschoolisthattheyworkedwithmyschedule.NowI’mincollegeandaweekbeforethesemesterstarts,IsetaschedulesoIwon’tworkduringmyschoolhoursandIknowwhenIcandomyhomework,etc.”—Associate

OvertimeOvertime needs based on daily and future call volume projections are posted weekly on the Webstation. To determine overtime, management compares expected call volume and daily staffingprojections,andtheypostthenumberofstaffandhoursneededonWebstation.Associatescanrequesttoworkupto12.5hoursaday,sevendaysaweekifthetimeisavailable,basedonstateovertimelaws.Overtime ispaidat timeandahalf. InCalifornia, forexample,employees cannotworkmore than sixdaysstraightormorethan12hoursperday.Occasionallytherewillbemandatoryovertimeifthecallvolumeisparticularlyheavy.Remotework—homeagentsSLChasahomeagentpilotunderwaywith90customerservicerepresentatives.Thisinitiativeisaimedatrecruitingagentsinruralareastoworkfromhome,whichisawin‐winbecauseitoffersemploymentopportunities topeople in rural areasandenablesMarriott to reachadifferent segmentof the labormarketandrecruitassociatesbeyondthecallcentergeographicareas.Therehasbeenanoverwhelming


response, and the pilot has been very successful. Marriott hopes to expand the pilot and offer theoptionofworkingfromhometoon‐sitecallcenterassociatesinthefuture.Creative use of technology (even while working out some technology glitches/challenges) enableseffectiveremotetrainingforagents,teammeetingsandmonitoringofperformance.HomeagentsareinitiallyprovidedessentialequipmentincludingaPC,flat‐screenmonitor,headsets,phoneandMarriottwelcome packet of orientation materials. Group training is provided as a group via video webcasts.Associates log on and off the system, which monitors their start and end times and plug‐in time.Managers have the ability to log in remotely to observewhat agents are doing and dial into agent’sphonestoobservecallsasawaytomonitorperformanceandprovidefeedbackandcoachingsimilartothe monitoring and coaching provided for on‐site associates. If there is background noise that’sdistracting,forexample,adisciplineregimenisinitiated.Home agents work 40‐hour‐per‐week shifts and, similar to on‐site agents, use preference sheets torequest their schedule forone call period,or fourweeks. Scheduleapproval isbasedon their “stats”(numberof callshandledandnumberofcalls converted toa reservation)andadherence/attendance.Home agents use the time‐off coupon system to request time off for full or half days or flextimecoupons to request time off in one‐ to three‐hour increments if there are slots available. To ensureadequatecoverage,uptofiveday‐shiftagentsandfivenight‐shiftagentscanbeoffatanygiventime.Home agents help providemuch needed overtime coverage because it is easier for them to pick upovertimeonshortnoticefromhomethanitisforsomeonewhowouldhavetodriveintotheoffice.Regular teammeetings, held virtually, are an essential means of keeping home agents engaged andconnected,somanagersfindcreativewaystobuildintimeforfunandsocialization.Homeagentsseemtobegenerallyperformingat levelsequaltooraboveon‐siterepresentatives.Thearrangementisworkingwellforassociatesandthecompany.Thepilotprogramhasexpandedinotherlocations, and currently over 400 associates are working as home agents with plans for continuedgrowthto600associateslaterthisyear.

“Associates loveworking fromhomesotheywant todotheirbest for thecompany.TheyareveryproudtobeworkingforMarriott,appreciatetheircolleagues,thequalityofagents,goodbenefitsandhavingtheopportunitytoworkathome.”—Manager

Impacts/BenefitsFlexibleworkoptionshavehadveryfavorable impactsonindividualsandthebusiness.Associatesandmanagersareverypositiveabouttheworkenvironmentandvarietyofflexibleworkoptionsavailable.Theprocessandtechnologythatenableseasy,often“just‐in‐time”accesstotimeoffgivesassociatesagreatdealofcontrolovertheirschedulesandempowersthemtomanagetheirjobresponsibilitiesandpersonalcommitments.AssociatesexpressgreatsatisfactionwiththeworkenvironmentandhowproudtheyaretoworkforMarriott,whicharekeyengagementfactors.ThevarietyofflexibleworkoptionsisagreatattractionandretentiontoolforMarriottinacompetitivelabor market— especially with the younger generation of workers. It’s what differentiatesMarriottfromotheremployersandcallcenteroperationsinthearea.Tenyearsago,turnoverwas150percent;


nowit’s60percent,duelargelytoflexibleworkoptions.Thereisgeneralagreementamongassociatesthattheflexibilitytheyhaveiswhatkeepsthemthere.Someassociatesreportedthattheydidn’texpecttostaywiththecompanyforverylongwhentheyfirstbegan—buttheydon’tknowofanyotherplacewhere theywould getmore flexibility, so they have stayed (many for two years ormore).Managersreportthatincreasedretentionoftenuredassociatesresultsinincreasedproductivityaswell.

“A differentiator from competitors is the factwe they don’t have set shifts or set hours.Whenyoucomein,itisyourshift.”—Manager“Wehave the longesthoursandoffer themost flexible school scheduleseven thoughwepaylessthanothercallcenters.”—Manager“Offeringflexibilitysendsthemessagethatwereallycareaboutyou,wewantyoutospendtimewithyourfamilyorhavetheopportunitytogooutwithfriends…butwe’realsoheretorunabusinessandhere’swhatweneedfromyou.”—Manager“Thosewho leave this asa first joboften comebackand say theydidn’t knowhowgoodtheyhadithere.”—Manager“Idon’tknowofanyotherjobenvironmentthathasasmuchflexibilityforhourly[workers]ormanagement.”—Manager

SuccessFactorsConsistencyThere aremany factors that contribute to the success of flexiblework options in the call center, butconsistencystandsoutasoneofthemostimportant.Theclearflexibilitypoliciesandrulesprovidetheinfrastructure and guidance for associates.Managers who “stick with it” ensure fairness and equity,which are critical to success. Managers are supportive and approve requests whenever possible butenforcethepolicy.

“Youhavetobeconsistent—thelineistheline,becauseassoonasyoupushthelinethey’llpushitagain.”—Manager“Theprofileofpeoplewehireispeoplewhoneedguidelinesandrules,andweneedtobeconsistentinenforcingthem.”—Manager

InvolvingassociatesindesigningflexibilityAsking associateswhat theywanted, listening to their ideas andbeing open to creative newways ofschedulingwere key to designing the array of flexiblework options thatwork for associates and thebusiness.

“Oneofthebestthingswedidisweaskedthemwhattheywanted.Theytoldusandwefiguredouthowtodoit.”—Manager


TechnologyThe technology that was developed internally is user friendly for associates and is much less laborintensiveformanagersthanthepreviousmanualsystem.TheWebstationenablesassociatestorequest“just‐in‐time”flexibilitytomeettheirneedswhileensuringbusinessneedsaremet. Ithelpsmanagersprojectstaffingneeds,approverequests,andtrackandmonitorarrangements.

“Withoutthetechnology,itwouldbeanightmaretomanage.”—Manager

Varietyofflexibilityandtime‐offoptionsThevarietyofflexibleworkoptionsandcreativetools,suchastime‐offcouponsandflextimecoupons,empowers associates to design work schedules and arrangements around their lives and personalcommitmentswhile ensuring thatbusiness requirements aremet. Incentives andpromotionsprovideongoing opportunities to earn even more flexibility. Part‐time schedules and the ability to workovertimemeettheneedsofthosewhowantminimumhoursandotherswhowantovertime.PlanningcoveragetomeettheactualneedThe staffing model, coupled with technology that helps plan staffing and coverage needs, enablesflexibilitytoworkwell.Managersareabletopredictstaffingneedsandoffertimeslotswhenassociatescanchoosetorequesttimeoff.Associatesdesignatedasfloatersfillslotsandprovidecoverageforthosewhoareout.Managertraining,commitmentandsupportMarriottinvestsheavilyintrainingformanagersbecause90percentoftheirjobismanagingandtakingcare of their people. Training includes how to communicate with employees and deal with difficultsituations.Managers alsomeet regularly to discuss challenges, share experiences and problem solvewitheachother.Theyarecommittedtomakingflexibilityworkforassociatesandthebusiness.

“MymanagerisoneoftheverybestpeopleI’veworkedfor.”—Associate“Asmanagers,wetalktogetherandproblemsolvehowto‘savepeople’whoareonthefenceandthatwemayloseduetodiscipline,attendance,etc.”—Manager“Oneof the reasons I’veworkedhere for so long isbecauseofmymanagerandhowgreat they’ve always been to me — what’s kept me here is the people and themanagement.”—Associate

CollaborationandteamworkManagersandassociatescollaboratetoensuresuperiorcustomerserviceandeffectivemanagementofflexibility.Associatesworktogethertobackeachotherupandensurecoverage.

Challenges/BarriersProvidingthewidearrayofflexibleworkoptionsforMarriottassociatesattheSLCGlobalReservationSales and Customer Care Center is not without some challenges. The many options available aresometimes difficult formanagers to overseewhile ensuring coverage and superior customer service.Often there are delays formanagers in approving requests for time off. They have towait for some


statisticstocomefromtheOmahacallcenterandothersitesbeforetheycanapprovealltherequests,whichmeansthatmanagerssometimescannotapproverequestsasfarinadvanceastheywouldlike.Anotherchallengeisnotalwaysbeingabletogivelastminutetimeoff,whichisparticularlyimportantforyoungerassociateswhowill“calloff” if theycannotget timeoffat the lastminutetogooutwithfriends, for example.Managers also feel that creatingmechanisms to govern the system to preventabuse,beingimpartialandensuringconsistencycanbechallengingaswell.

“When there is a situation where the associate truly does warrant a chance to staydespite extended time off, sometimes we can’t do it because as soon as we’reinconsistent, then itbringsupawholeother issueof fairness,andpeopledon’tknowwhere theystandand theypush the rulesbecause they’veseenothersgetawaywithit.”—Manager

Managing home agents poses specific challenges, particularly in clearly defining and managingexpectations. Initiallysomehomeagentsdidnotunderstandthenatureofthejobandthattheyweregoingtobetiedtothephonecontinuouslythroughouttheworkday.Someexpectedthatcallswouldbeintermittent and there would be time for housework or caring for young children.Managers had toemphasize that thisarrangementwasnota replacement forchildcare,and thatassalesagents, theyneededtobeavailableontheirshiftstocoverhoursofoperationfrom6a.m.–1a.m.Insomecases,ifacrisiscomesupinanassociate’slife,homeagentsjustquitratherthantrytoworkthingsoutbyusingflexibleworkoptions.Ittakesmoretimeforhomeagentstolearntheelementsofthejobbecausetheyarenotintheofficetosee,hearandobserveeffectivepractices,and in turn, it takesmore time frommanagers to trainandcoach new associates. Home agents needmore teammeetings to stay connected, and because theynevermeetfacetoface,managershavetofindinnovativewaystoengageandmotivatehomeagentsthrough virtual meetings and creative team‐building activities. And finally, providing technology toensuretheeffectivenessofhomeagentsandsuperiorcustomerserviceremainsatoppriority.

Implications/ConsiderationsforOtherEmployersMarriott’sSLCcallcenterprovidesmanyideasandlessonslearnedthatotherorganizationscanutilizetoenhance the use of flexibility to meet the needs of a lower wage workforce and the business. It’simportanttotargetflexibilitytotheneedsandrealitiesoftheworkforceandlocallabormarket.Askingemployees (through surveys, focusgroupsoremployeecouncils)what typeof flexibility theyneed toremainsatisfiedandengagediskeytodesigningflexibleworkoptionsthatareacompetitiveadvantagefortheorganization.Thewidearrayofflexibleworkoptionsandtheabilitytogettimeoffand“just‐in‐time” flexibility at the SLC center provide theworkforcewithoptions, choices and a senseof controlover their work schedules. However, clear policies, guidelines and systems that both managers andemployees comply with ensure consistent, equitable implementation, which is so important toeffectivelymanage flexibility. Leveraging technology tomanage and track flexiblework arrangementsandtoenableeffectiveoff‐siteworkisanimportantkeytosuccess.Carefulplanningforstaffingneedsandhavingadditionalresourcesasabackuptocoveremployeeswhoareoffenablewideuseofflexibilityasastaffingtoolwithoutputtingextraburdenonothers.Teamwork


andcollaborationbetweenemployeesandmanagers iscritical toensure flexibility iswellmanagedtomeetbusinessandemployeeneeds.Whenteamsorworkgroupsareempoweredtodeterminehowtocover theworkandbackeachotherup, flexiblewaysofworkingcan increaseteameffectivenessandperformance.


CaseStudy:PNC

Bankoperationsdepartmentsoffercompressedworkweeks,telework,flexiblestartandendtimes,andpart‐timeoptionstomeetcustomerneeds,controlcostsandengageemployees.

BackgroundThePNCFinancialServicesGroup,foundedin1852,isthenation'sfifthlargestbankbasedondeposits.HeadquarteredinPittsburgh,PA,PNCisadiversifiedfinancialinstitutionthatincludesmorethan2,500retail branches in 13 states and the District of Columbia, specialized financial businesses servingcompanies and government entities, and leading assetmanagement and fund processing businesses.The company had more than 59,000 employees in the United States and abroad. PNC has beenrecognizednationally forthewidearrayofwork‐lifesupports itofferstoemployees, includingbackupchild care, elder careand flexibility.A varietyof flexibleworkoptions including flexible start andendtimes, compressed workweeks, telework, and part‐time schedules are used in departments withinbanking operations in many locations to meet customer needs; control costs; and boost employeerecruitment,engagement,productivityand retention.Supportivemanagement,access to flexibilityonanoccasionalbasisandhighlevelsofteamworkcontributetosuccessfulimplementationofflexibility.

BusinessDriversQuality of life is one of PNC’s seven values and an important component of working at PNC. PNC isgrowing rapidly through acquisitions; as a consequence, managers and employees are experiencingheavierworkloads due to frequent systems changes. This both limits opportunities for flexibility andpresentsnewopportunitiesformanagersandemployeestothinkcreativelyabouttheuseofflexibilityto offset increased work demands. The rationale for implementing flexibility with PNC nonexemptemployees varies across departments. The need to control costs through efficient staffing and spaceutilization, even as bank services and hours of operation expand beyond the traditional ones, hasmotivated the introduction of telework, flexible start and end times, and part‐time positions. Inaddition, flexible work practices have increased PNC’s success at recruiting and retaining strongperformersfromdiversesegmentsofthetalentpooltofillshiftsthathadpreviouslybeendifficulttofill.

HistoryFlexibleworkarrangementswereintroducedinoperationsdepartmentsinmanydifferentways.Inonedepartment, a senior manager learned about successful use of compressed workweeks at anothercompanyand challengedhisdirect reports toexperiment in their teams.Onedepartment introducedflexiblehourswhenthenewworkgroupwasformedin2000aspartofanefforttocreateanewteamculture,easethetransitionfromotherpartsofthebusiness,andenhanceemployeeengagementandretentiongivenheavyworkloads.Othermanagersofferedearlierstarttimesasanoptionforemployeeswith family responsibilitieswho could not addwork time at the end of their shifts, and the need toprovide coverage at the end of the day to alignwith extended hours at the branchesmotivated the


introduction of later start and end times. In another case, a new manager proposed the idea ofexpandingflexibleschedulesto“changethingsup.”Inotherdepartments,flexibilitystartedinresponsetoarequest froman individualemployeewithaspecificneedforcertainworkhoursorawork‐from‐homearrangementandwasexpandedovertimeoncethebenefitsforthebusinessandtheemployeewere evident. New online banking services and technological advances have presented both thedemandandtheopportunitytoimplementmoreflexiblewaysofworkinginordertoattractachangingtalent pool; expand hours of operation beyondMonday to Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; and interact withcustomersinnewways.

“Wewere ina staffmeetingwithmymanager several yearsago.Hehadbeenout toCalifornia visiting another bank that had a compressed workweek program. … Thereweresixorsevenmanagersthatworkedforhimandhe justthrewitoutonthetableandsaid,‘Thinkabout[flexibility].Ichallengeyoutofigureouthowthiswillwork.’AndIjust looked at him and thought, ‘This guy hit his head. Imean, it’s production, it justwon’twork.’”—Manager

ProgramDescriptionSchedulingflexibilityvariesacrosstheoperationsdepartmentsanddependsonthenatureofthework;often teams utilize one type of flexibility option primarily with other types of flexibility used tosupplement.Flexibilityuseinfourdifferentteamswillbedescribedtoillustratehowthenatureoftheworkandthetypesofflexibilitycomplementoneanother.CompressedworkweeksOnedepartmentof26implementeda9/80(ascheduleinwhichemployeeswork80hoursinninedaysinsteadof10)compressedworkweekschedulemorethanfiveyearsago;currently19staffincludingthemanager,twosupervisors,andtwoteamleadersutilizethecompressedworkweekoption.Inaddition,fivestaffmembershavefive‐dayscheduleschoosingamongthreeflexiblestartandendtimes,andtwostaffworkpart‐timeschedules.Aftersixmonthsofservice,employeescanrequesta9/80schedule, inwhichtheyusuallyhaveMondaysorFridaysoffeveryotherweek,althoughafewemployeesrequestadayother thanMondayorFriday.Teammemberswork8.5hourswithahalf‐hour lunch inweekoneand10.5hourswithahalf‐hourlunchinweektwo.Managersandteamleadersparticipateinthe9/80scheduleaswell.Schedulescanbechangedtwiceperyear.The department schedule is posted online and with a manager’s ultimate approval, employees areempoweredandexpectedto findsolutionstotheirneeds forschedulechangesor timeoffbytradingshiftswithco‐workers,workinghalfshiftsontwodaysratherthanone,consideringco‐workers’needswhen they request vacation time, etc. Employees respect the department’s operating principles andguidelines: flexibility is a privilege and not an entitlement, employees need to be flexible andcooperativewithotherteammembers’needsfortimeofforoccasionalneedstochangehoursduringexceptionallybusyworkperiods,andnomorethanthreeteammemberscanbeoutonanyday.Timeoffaroundholidaysisrotatedacrosstheteamratherthanassignedbasedonseniority.Teleworkandotherflexibleschedulesinthee‐mailteamThe advent of onlinebankingbrought new customer requirements and creatednewopportunities toutilize flexiblework options for the designated e‐mail teamwithin the customer service department.


Threeyearsago,spacelimitationsandthedifficultyoffindingweekendcoverageledtotherecruitmentof part‐time telework employeeswhowould respond to customer communications via e‐mail. Thee‐mail team has tripled as the number of online banking customers and e‐mail communications hasincreased.Halfoftheteamteleworksexclusivelyandhalfusesacombinationofflexiblestartandendtimes,sometelework,andcompressedworkweeks.Flexibleworkarrangementshelpkeepproductivityandmoralehighandenablethedepartmenttohandlethepeaksandvalleysincustomerrequestswithlimitedovertimecosts.Theavailabilityoflaptopseasesweekendcoveragebecauseemployeesaremorewillingtoworksomeweekendhoursiftheycandoitfromhomeandavoidthecostandtimeassociatedwith commuting to the downtown area. Part‐time employees, many of whom are parents of youngchildren,canvarytheirhoursdailyaslongastheycommunicatetheirscheduletothemanagerandtheteamcanmeetits24‐hourturnaroundservicelevelgoal.Part‐timeemployeesworkingfromhomearealsoabletoincreasetheirhoursondayswhentheteamworkloadisheavy.Themanagerutilizesseveralcommunication and information tools — frequent e‐mail and instant messaging to keep the teamconnected and up to date on deadlines, daily goals and staff availability, as well as system logs andproductivity reports to track individual and team workload and performance. Productivity reportsindicate that employees can handle 50 percent more cases per day when teleworking, which isattributed to the lack of distractions and interruptions when working from home, as well as theincreasedmotivation forhighperformance inorder tocontinue the flexibleworkpractices.The teammeetsonsiteoncepermonth,whichenhancesteamcohesionandon‐boardingofnewstaff.FlexiblestartandendtimesBank operations teams that perform a variety of CD, bank check and ATM‐related functions offernumerousoptionsforflexiblestartandendtimesfrom6–9a.m.until2:30–5:30p.m.,dependingonthenature of thework and customer interfaces.Management‐level employees—managers, supervisorsand team leads— coordinate their schedules so that at least one is present during all shifts. Crosstraining of staff on several jobs allows coverage when team members with specific knowledge orresponsibilities areout. Flexiblehours enable employees to share rides, optimize theirworkhours tocoincideefficientlywithbusschedules,anddropofforpickuptheirchildrenfromchildcare.Inaddition,employees can make up two hours within the same calendar week or pay period to accommodatemedicalappointmentsorpersonalneedsduringtheirregularworkinghours.FlexibleschedulesandteleworkincollectionsThecollectionsdepartmentusesacombinationofflexibleschedulesandteleworktorecruitandretainexperienced credit counselors to cover Monday to Friday 8 a.m.–9 p.m. and weekend operations.Flexibilitycontributestoanannualturnoverratethat isconsiderably lowerthan industrystandards.Atypicaldaytimeschedulethathasbeeninplaceforalmost10yearsisfourdaysof8a.m.–5p.m.andashorter fifthdayeitherduring theweekorweekend.Thisprovidesphonecoverage for the teamandenablesemployeestohavetimeonaweekdaytohandlepersonalmattersandscheduleappointmentsthatmay not be possible on Saturdays or Sundays. Some employeeswork a later 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.shift,which leaves someweekdaymorninghours forpersonalneeds.Managersalsoareassigneddayandeveningshiftssothereisalwaysasupervisoravailable.Thedepartmentalsohirescollegestudentsfor evening shifts and will adjust their hours to accommodate their course schedules. Within theseparameters,employeesalsohavetheflexibilitytomakeuphoursonanotherdayorshiftifneeded.Telework opportunitieswere initiated in the collections department as a pilot to relieve office spaceissuesand to respond to requests fromemployeeswithextremely longcommutes.The teamusesanonlinecalendar,e‐mailandinstantmessagingtocommunicateschedulesandaccessibilityandexchangetimely information. Teleworkerswork in theofficeonedaypermonth tomeetwith their supervisor,


connectwithco‐workersandcatchuponadministrativematters.Employeerequeststochangeshiftsorto teleworkareprocessedas soonasanopening in theschedulebecomesavailableandoftenby thefollowingpayperiodonceemployeeshavedemonstratedacertainlevelofproductionandperformance.Ratherthanasaburden,theemployeesviewthe12–13hoursextendedservicehoursasopportunitiestochooseworkschedulesthatfittheirlifeneeds.

Impacts/BenefitsFlexiblework arrangementshave significant benefit for bothemployees and thebusiness. Employeesaremoresatisfiedandengagedandbetterabletomanagetheirpersonalandfamilyresponsibilities.Thebankenjoysbettercoverageforextendedweekdayandweekendoperations,higherretention,reducedabsenteeism,andstrongerproductivity.ProductivityManagersandemployeesreportthatgreaterproductivityispossiblewithflexibleworkschedulesthanwith standard hours. Early and late in the day, when there are fewer interruptions and distractions,employeescanprocessworkfasterandmoreefficientlyandcompletetasksthatrequirehigherlevelsofconcentration.Eventhecomputersystemshavebetterresponsetimeearlyintheday.Staggeringstaffscheduleswithintheteamalsocontributestoanefficientflowofworkthroughoutthedaysothatteamgoals and deadlines are routinelymet; in some groups, those on the early shift and late shifts havespecific responsibilities that maximize the entire team’s resources. Staff availability late in the dayprovidesfasterturnaroundtointernalandexternalcustomers—requeststhatcomeinlateinthedaycan be responded to the same business day rather than on the following day, as had been the casepreviously.

“We[useflexibility inourdepartmentunder]theguiseof it’snotgoingto[negatively]impact the business from a morale perspective or a productivity perspective or anovertime cost. It won’t happen if it’s going to impact cost,morale or the customer’soutcome.”—Manager“[Anemployeeusingcompressedworkweek]canaccomplishsomuchmoreintheextra1.5hoursheworkseachday,becausethere’snooneaskinghimquestions,hecanreallydohiswork.”—Manager

“We’rehereat6:00a.m.;wegetsomuchworkdonebythetimetheotherpeoplecomein.It’squiet.”—Employee

“Wetrytoresolve[certaintypesofrequests]andfaxthembackasquicklyaswecan.Wehaveaturnaroundtimepolicy,within24hoursofrequest.We’vebeenabletotopthat[standard]becausewe’reherelater.Nowthatpeopleareonthelateshift,peopleare working on [those requests]. It’s a win‐win situation because people are gettingmoreexperienceandwe’reexceedingthebusiness’stimeline.”—Manager “We’veactuallybeenabletohelpwithresearch.Normallywhenyouleaveat4:00/4:30,youhadtopickup[theresearch]thenextday,butnowpeopleareonthelateshift,sotheycantakecareofitthatday.”—Manager


“Whenyou’reherelaterthephonedoesn’tseemtoringasmuchsoyoucandothingsthatyounormallywouldn’tbeabletogettothroughouttheday.”—Employee“The flexibility in our work schedules benefits me with our new system. We have adeadline toanswerwhetherornotwewant topayor return [certain] items.The factthat Idohavepeoplecoming inearlier… isabenefitsincethesystemisnowuponanormalbasisveryearly.”—Manager

“Thesystemsthatwegetintoseemtobemuchfastertheearlieryou’reherebecausethevolumeisn’tthere.Soyou’reabletoaccessreportsanddoalotoftheresearchandthingsthatyouneedtodomuchfaster.”—Manager

“When all our paperwork is done, another department has to do the checks, so our

deadline is 11:30 or 12:00. Well if you have a heavy, heavy day … we have [anemployee]whostartedat6:30inthemorning.Theearlierthatshecangetchecksdonethemore[itisa]benefitfortheotherdepartmentweneedtodealwith.”—Employee

“When the customers call and they have problems with an ATM withdrawal orwhatever, theyneedcopies fromus.Andwe’rehere theextrahour toget thecopiesout to [another location]. So they can get started on the customer inquiry quicker.”—Employee

ReducedovertimecostsFlexible start and end times, compressed workweek schedules, part‐time positions, and telework allreduceovertimecostsbyproviding lateafternoonandweekendcoverageaspartof theagreeduponwork hours. On occasion full‐time employees shift their weekday work hours to cover additionalweekendtimesandpart‐timeemployeesaddmorehourstocovertheharder‐to‐fillslots.ReducedunscheduledabsencesThemostprevalentresultofflexibleschedulesisthereductioninunscheduledandunexcusedabsences.Evenwithmoreflexibilityandvariabilityinworkschedules,thereisactuallymoreoverallpredictabilityin staffing resources and lessdisruption to theoperation.Whenemployees are able to set schedulesthatfittheirpersonalandfamilysituationsandwhentheyhavepermissiontomakeupsmallamountsof time for unanticipatedemergencies, thenumberof “call offs” is dramatically reduced. In addition,employees are more aware of the impact of unscheduled absences on team overall workload andperformanceandwillavoidtakingunplannedtimeoff if itcould jeopardizeaccesstoflexibility forthegroup.

“There’s been a reduction of time off fromwork. I’ve seen it onmy end, definitely.”—Manager“Theobviousthingisithelpswithemployeescallingoffalotoftimes.”—Manager“Instead of having six people call off … we’d rather have you work a schedule thatwouldn’t have us taking corrective action [because of absenteeism].Most peoplewillwanttodotherightthing.”—Manager


“I’ve noticed with the compressed [workweek], the attendance level is better.”—Employee

“Youknow, theattendance level goesup. Youdon’t havepeople callingout.Becausepeoplearethinkingtwiceaboutwho’sactuallygoingtobeinthedepartment.Therearesometimesyouhavetocallout,it’stotallyunavoidable.But,you’regoingtothinktwicebeforemakingthephonecallinthemorning.”—Employee

“They’dratherhelpyouthanhaveyoucalloff.”—Employee

“Youcall and tell themyou’re running into traffic (oranaccident).Mostpeopledon’ttakea lunchtomakeupthetime;that’susingflextime.As longasyoumakeitup, it’sfine.”—Employee

“Everyday,[anemployee]comes in latefiveminutes,andthemanagerspeakstoher.

She’s said, ‘I know,but it’smybus.’Themanager says, ‘Asopposed tome takingyoudownthepathofcorrectiveaction,let’sadjustyourschedule.Itwon’thurtthebusinesssomuch.Letmeadjustyourschedulesothatyoudon’tgetintoaproblem.’Wedothatfrequentlybecausetransportationintheinnercityisanissue.Andasbestaswecan,wemake our flexible start time.Now,when I say flexible, the unitmay start at 8:00 but[thatemployee]startsat8:15or8:30.”—Manager

“The benefit is not losing productivity for that day. You’re not stuck dealing with sixpeoplewho’vecalledoff.”—Manager

ImprovedrecruitmentFlexibleschedulesandteleworkhavebeensuccessfulrecruitmenttoolstofilllesspopularweekdayandweekend hours. PNC has been able to tap new segments of the talent pool and rehire alumni withchangedlifecircumstances—mothersofyoungchildren,studentsandindividualswithotherschedulingrequirementswhoarenot available for either standard8 a.m.–4:30p.m.weekdayhoursorweekendhours.

“IknewaboutitwhenIappliedandthatwasabigsellingpoint.”—Employee “Thefirsttimewedidthis[telework]itwasbecausetheteamadvertisedforaweekend

person to answer e‐mails and they got absolutely no applications whatsoever.”—Employee

“Ilookatthejobpostingsandifit’s9–5Idon’tevenapply.”—Employee “Intoday’ssocietywithsomanyworkingmoms,somanyfolksthataregoingtoschool,

a company really has to look at away to get out and attract the folks… if youdon’tallowflexibilityyou’regoingtogetaworkforcethatyoumaynotwant.Becausethosefolkswillfindacompanythatwillreallyworkwiththem.”—Manager

SatisfactionandretentionFlexibility’s strong influence on employee satisfaction and retention is apparent: Employees indicatethat access to flexible work practices differentiates certain departments from others and PNC from


otheremployers.Theabilitytouseflexibilityisasignificantfactor,anditisoftenmoreimportantthansmalldifferencesincompensationindecisionsaboutpostingforotherpositionsinternallyorleavingthecompanyaltogether.

“The employee satisfaction piece is the most significant piece of it. One of the corevaluesatPNCiswork‐lifebalance.Ihaveyoungmotherswhoaresohappytobeabletoattendtheirchildren’sprogramsandtheydon’thavetotakethedayoff.Tobeabletodo that and get the work done — you can’t ask for anything more than that.”—Manager“You lead your life and you control your job asopposed to your job controlling you.”—Employee“It’sreallysatisfying,everyonecandowhattheyneedtoaslongastheworkisdone.”—Employee

“Alotofpeopleenvyourdepartmentbecauseoftheflexibility.”—Employee

“Idon’teverlookto[applyforanotherjob]becauseIlikethetimethatIstart.I’vebeenaskedtopostforotherjobsbutI’vechosennotto.”—Employee

TimesavingsandcommutingcostsFlexible start and end times and telework both produce measurable savings in time and money.Employees who can time their shifts to coincide with public transit schedules or to avoid rush hourtraffic can save at least one hour per day in overall commuting time. Teleworkers save on time andmoney inproportiontothenumberofdaystheyworkfromhome. Inaddition,theabilitytoteleworkincreases the pool of employees who are willing and available to cover weekend shifts when therequirement to commute to the downtown headquarters can be a deterrent — less frequent busschedules,theinvestmentintimecommutingversusthecompensationforafewhoursofwork.RealestatesavingsforPNCPNC’s technologynow supports deliveryof several typesof customer service functionsby employeeswhoteleworkforeitherpartoralloftheirworkhours.Teleworkarrangementsinthecallcenter,e‐mailteamandcollectionsteamhaveenabledthecompanytosaveonrealestatecostsbyreducingrequiredspace for certain functions while expanding services without adding office space in others. Mostdepartmentsrequirestafftocometotheofficemonthlyormorefrequentlyformeetingswithmanagerstohandlecertainadministrativetasksandfortraining.EnhancedteamworkandownershipAnunexpectedbenefitandperhapsanunderlyingsuccessfactorisenhancedteamworkandownership.Without exception,workgroups have developed heightened understanding and accountability for theoverall team goals and objectives. Communication and management tools that provide informationaboutdailyworkloadandstaffingkeepteammembersapprisedofcurrentexpectationsandthegroup’sresources. Although flexiblework arrangementsmay be negotiated at the individual employee level,employeeslookbeyondtheirowntaskstoanticipatewhatwillbeneededinorderfortheteamtomeettheir daily service level goals. Employees are appreciative of the opportunity to have flexible workarrangements and realize that flexibility is a privilege contingent upon fulfillment of business needs.


Knowing that access to flexibility depends on achieving high performance against targets andacknowledging the reciprocity thatmakes flexibilitywork for the group, employees aremotivated tohelpeachotherandwillingtocoverforcolleagueswhomaybeout.Ratherthanleavingtasksundoneforthelatershiftstodealwith,employeeswhoworkearlyshiftstrytostayaheadoftheworktoavoidacrunchorcrisislaterintheday.

“They’realigned.Everyonehas theirown individualworkloadandgoals,but theyalsohavebecomealigned,andnowhaveteamgoals.Wehaveabulletinboardinthefront,andeverydaytheyputupontheboardwhatthey’reworkingon.Everyonewillpitchintomeettheday’sgoal.”—Manager“Teamwork is important for this towork.Wehavea lotof individualswhohavebeen‘good’attheirjobanddedicated.Thosepeoplehavenowbranchedoutandarenotonlylookingattheirownjobsbutlookingatothers’jobsandhelpingthemout.”—Manager

“Ifsomebodyisoutsickplusyouhavepeopleoutwiththecompressedworkweek,thenweallpulltogethertomakesureeverythinggetsaccomplished.”—Employee“Tome, I think itmakesallof youremployees leaders.Becauseeveryone stepsup tomakesurethattheirjobisdoneandeverybodyelse’sjobisdone.”—Employee

“Wewouldlose[ourflexibleschedules]ifwedidn’tproduceormeetourgoals.Everysooften[ourmanageris]beingevaluatedandshehastoproducenumbersthatsaythisisworkingorit’snotgoingtobeallowedtocontinue.”—Employee“Sometimesyouhavetogivesomethingup.Youcan’tsay I’mtakingthisandnotgivebacktothemanagerandteam.”—Employee

SuccessFactorsEmpoweringemployeesandtrustSuccessful flexibility requires selecting and hiring responsible people, clearly communicatingexpectations, providing the necessary information and tools, and then empowering and trustingemployees to deliver the required results. In workgroups in which flexible work practices arecommonplace,managersencourageandexpectemployeestoresolveissues,developsolutions,andusethemanagersmoreasresourcesandforfinalapproval.Employeeempowermentfromlessonslearnedaboutworkingflexiblygeneralizetootheraspectsoftheworksuchthatteammemberstakeongreaterresponsibility and accountability for overall team functioning and results. In many productionenvironments, systems already in place provide managers with objective measures of performance,which should reduce concern about whether they can effectivelymonitor productivity of employeeswhouseflexibility.

“We let themwork out the [schedule] conflict amongst themselves, and if they can’tresolveit,thentheybringittous.”—Manager


“People take ownership of their day as if you have your ownbusiness. You getmoreloyalty.”—Employee

“Youhavetohaveresponsiblepeoplewhowillworkwithoutasupervisorstandingover

them.”—Employee “Ithinkthemanagementandsupervisorstrustusenough….Theyseewhatweputout.

They have numbers. We have goals we have to make. They see what we do.”—Employee

“You have to have people who are self‐starters and who understand what they’re

requiredtostartforthattimeframe….It’snotreallyhardtomanagebecausewehaveagroupthatprettymuchunderstandswhattheyneedtodo.”—Employee

“Imakethemmanagethat.Idon’twanttobethebadguy.Youknow,youcanmanagethatamongyourselves,you’readults.Andtheydo.Theydoaprettygoodjobofthat.Ifthemanagersupdatethatcalendar…everything ison it.So ifyouwantaday,yougoonline,youlookatthecalendar,youseewho’soutandthenyoutrytomanageit.Ifitcan’tbemanaged then that’sbetween [theemployee]and themanager towork thatout.”—Manager

“Workathomeisnotabigissue,aslongasyousendtherightpeoplehome.Youhave

to bewilling to followup—not controlling, but knowingwhat’s going on… . At anygiventime,ifI’mlookingforanindividual,Icanlookonthecalendarandseewhereheis.”—Manager

“In our department there’s about eight of us. They can tell what we’ve done. The

statistics would be right there and I really think they appreciate the fact that we docome inearlybecauseyouget somuchmoredonewhennoone’saround.And ifwewent in there and didn’t do our work for the first two hours because there’s nosupervisor,I’msurethey’dputascreechinghalttoit.”—Employee

ThinkingcreativelyBeingopen‐mindedandthinking“outsidethebox” isessential todeveloping innovativesolutionsthatwillmeetbusinessaswellasemployees’needs.Managerswholistentoemployeeideasandarewillingto experiment and pilot a potential solution have experienced very positive results. After a specifiedperiod of time, the manager and employee or workgroup can evaluate whether the flexible workpracticesaremeetingtheintendedpurpose.Bysettingexpectationsandestablishingtheparametersattheoutset,managersshouldnotfeeltheymustagreetoschedulesorotherflexiblearrangementsthatwillnotbebeneficialtothebusinessorthattheirapprovaltotrysomethingcannotbechangedinthefuture.

“[Mymanager]cametomeandsaid,‘Whyaren’tyouapplyingforthisjob?’andIsaid,‘Ican’talwayscomeinonSaturdayandSunday.’Shetoldmeshe’dgetmealaptop.Wedidthiswithoutaskinganybodyanditjusttookoff….”—Employee


“Be open‐minded and … think about what you can make work internally with youremployees.Youcan’talwaysmakeeveryonehappy,butifit’sgoingtobenefityouasadepartmentmanager,Idon’treallyseethatyou’regoingtoloseanything.”—Manager

“Don’t be closed‐minded about it. If you review their work needs and the businessneeds,youdon’twanttomissoutonsomethinggood.”—Manager“Thefirst thing is tothinkoutsidetheboxandgetawayfromthementalitythatworkhas tobedoneduring a certain timeperiod. Then listen to theemployeesor ask theemployeesforsuggestionsonhowtheymightbeabletoaccomplishtheirworksothattheyhavesomebuy‐intothearrangement….Managersshouldopenitupandcertainlynotmakeanypromisesthatwe’rejustgoingtoturneverythingupsidedowntogetthework done, but employees have a lot of good ideas to offer, and be open to thoseideas.”—Manager

“It was just in a general Friday afternoon conversation … ‘Let’s try it for a month,

everybodyhavingtheopportunitytostartahalfhourearlier,butyouunderstandthatwe’redoingthisasamonthtrial.Ifit’snotworkingthenwe’reeithergoingtogobacktotheoldhoursorwe’regoingtogobacktothesplitshift.’Andtheyfoundthatitworked,and justgradually itevolved intoa littlebitmore,buteverythingwasdoneonaone‐monthtrial.”—Employee

FlexibilitythatfitstheworkAfundamentalaspectofsuccessfulflexibilityisdesigningarrangementsandschedulesthatarealignedwiththenatureofthework—workflow,peaksandvalleysindemand,specifictasks,andperformancerequirements.Managersmustbeknowledgeableabouttheworkrequirementsandbeabletoseparatetrue requirements and deliverables fromwork practices and habits thatmay not be essential to thedeliverables. Once the requirements are explicit, themanager and employees can consider how theworkmightbeaccomplishedandresultsachievedinnew,moreflexibleways. “Ourproofdepartmentisreallyanafternoonintoeveningshift,sothere’snowaythat

we could schedule people to come in [earlier], there’s nothing for them to do.”—Manager

“Idobelieveyouhavetocustomizethearrangementtothenatureoftheworkandthe

serviceassociatedwiththatworkandtheregulatorycompliancetokeepthereputationandintegrityofthecompanywhereitneedstobe.”—Manager

“You have to be not only flexiblewith thework schedule but you have to be flexible

withtheworkarrangements—whodoeswhatpieces.Youcan’thaveapersoncominginat6:30whocan’tgetintouchwithpeople‘til9:00.”—Manager

“Youreallyhavetowatchandmanagethattomakesurethattheworkishereandthat

there’s enough for everyone to do. You certainly don’twant peoplewith downtime.”—Manager


“What I asked themanager todowas tohelpmeunderstand theworkflow. Someofthemcomeinat8:00;issomeoftheworkshowingupat8:00sowecanstagger?Andthenwecansitdownandsaytopeople,‘Nowwhowouldreallyliketocomelater?Whowouldreallyliketocomeearlier?’andworkitoutthatway.”—Manager

“It’snot justamatterof changing thehours.Someworkdoesn’t come 'til8:00 in themorning; some comes at 6:00 in the morning. But if you don’t have the people toprocessitinaproductionenvironment,itwon’tgetdone.Whenthatworkdoesn’tgetdonethere’sacustomerimpact,andifwehaveacustomerimpact,that’sanunhappycustomerandthat’saproblem.”—Manager“You’vegottoknowwhatyourneedsare,whatservice levelsare inplacesothatyoudon’t jeopardize service levels, youdon’t jeopardize any typeof compliance issues orrisksoranythinglikethat.Soyou’vereallygottoknowyourbusinessandmakesureyouunderstandwhat coverage you need. If you’re supporting the front line, you have toknowwhattheirhoursaretomakesureyouaccommodatethat.”—Manager

CommunicatingEffectivecommunicationisevenmoreimportantwhenworkgroupsutilizeflexibilitythaninsituationsinwhichtheworkgroupallworkonthesamescheduleinthesamelocation.Weeklyanddailyschedules,daily goals, status on deadlines, etc., are posted online or in strategic locations so that all staff areinformedaboutexpectationsandstaffavailabilityregardlessofthehoursorlocationofwork.Managersare proactive about connecting with employees to keep them engaged and to integrate new teammembers, and employees are expected to keep one another and the manager informed as well.Technology tools, such as e‐mail and instant messaging, provide real‐time access to colleagues andmanagers.Makingthestaffingschedulesreadilyavailableandcommunicatingthecoverageparametersfacilitatesemployeerequestsforanyschedulechangesortimeoffandempowersthemtoproactivelyfindsolutions,thussavingmanagementtimeandenhancingemployeeownershipofthearrangements.

“Onthedaythatsomeoneisnotworking[becauseofhiscompressedworkweek],theyhavetosendane‐mailtothegroupsayingthesearethethingsthatneedtobedone,and they assign to someone else who’s covering it. It’s become routine now.”—Manager

“If we have an issue or an account with a problem, we can [instant message] themanager,andshecangetbacktous. If thecustomer isonthephonewithus, it’s likeshe’ssittingacrossthedeskfromusattheoffice.”—Employee

Team‐basedflexibleschedulesolutionsWhileitmayrequiremoretimeinitially,involvingtheteamindevelopingflexibleworkoptionscreatesbuy‐inandbuildsemployeeownership.Startingwithasolidunderstandingofthebusinessparametersinvolvingtheteamcangenerateinnovativesolutionsthatwillreflectemployees’preferencesandneeds.

“Inoneofourconferencerooms,weputuptheschedulesofeveryonesotheycouldseehow the scheduleswouldwork— the times,week one andweek two, and how youwouldequateyourvacationhours.Ithelpedhavingthemockup.”—Manager


“When it startedup itwaseverybody in theroom… .Theyrolled itout tous, ‘This iswhatwe’dliketodo…howdoyoufeelaboutit?’”—Employee“Lotsofgroupmeetings.Ihavetoadmit,Icouldn’tgrasphowitwasgoingtowork.Ourmanagerdidagoodjobofexplainingit.Wetooksurveysontheschedulesandwetriedto accommodate as many individuals as possible … . We got from management thescheduleoptionsandthenwevoted.”—Manager

“Employeesareverycreative,andwhentheyhaveahandinthedecisionitmakesabig

difference.Sothat’sabigpiece,thatthemanagersshouldn’talwaysthinktheyhavealltheanswers.”—Manager

“Appealtothepeopletobeapartoftheprocess….Somepeoplecanbeverycreativeif

affordedtheopportunitytounderstandthedynamicsofthesituation.Butyouhavetolay some ground rules, some rules of engagement, some guiding principles. If theemployeesthemselvesortheirleadercancomeupwithaworkableplan,Ithinkthat’sawin‐winforeverybody.”—Manager

CrosstrainingCrosstrainingandtheability tobackupotherteammembers isoftenaprerequisiteto implementingflexibleworkarrangementsthat involvevariedshiftssuchascompressedworkweeksandflexiblestartandendtimes.Havingmultiplestaffmembersknowledgeableonkeyprocessesensuresreliabilitythattheworkcanbecompletedaccuratelyandinatimelyfashionduringallhoursofoperation,regardlessofindividualworkschedules.

“Everyoneneedstobecrosstrained.Soifyou’reshortstaffedtherestofthestaffcanpickuptheworkload.”—Manager“Andthat’swhereallof thecross trainingcomes in,because ifyou’renot finished [attheendoftheshift]wejustpassitofftoaperson[whousesacompressedworkweekschedule].”—Employee

“We build a flexibility chart to show the task, who has knowledge of the task … aspreadsheetwitheverybody’snamedown the left column,andall of the tasksacrossthetoprow,andthenputinforthattaskhowmuchthatindividualknows.Arethey60percentproficient, theyknownothingabout it, are they100percentproficient…andwe use that to do specific and deliberate cross training so that as an event occurs,there’saproduction issueorwe’reshortstaffedbecauseofacallofforavacation,orsomeone’soutonshort‐termdisability,weknowexactlywheretogo,totheresourcesthatareknowledgeableaboutthatparticularfunctionandprocess.”—Manager


Challenges/BarriersViewingflexibilityasabusinesstool,notanentitlementManagersexpressconcernthatonceemployeeshaveaflexibleworkarrangementinplace,theytreatitas an entitlement and it is difficult tomake any changes. One complaint is that teleworkers can bereluctant to come into the office for meetings and events. While employees do plan theirtransportation, arrange for child care and other personal responsibilities to coincide with their workschedules, it is critical to set expectations at the outset that flexible arrangements must meet thebusiness needs, they will be reviewed on a periodic basis and theymay be renegotiated if businessrequirements change. While managers try to minimize the need for schedule changes, employeesshouldbeprepared foroccasionswhen theymaybeasked toadjust theirhours toaccommodateco‐workersortorespondtobusinessdemands. “Oneofthemajorpiecesthatyouhavetogetacrosstopeopleisthatthisissomething

we are allowing but there might be times it has to be changed and it’s not anentitlement.We’re offering flex schedules in order to accommodate people and it isvery,verynice,buttheremightbetimesyoumaybeaskedtochangeyourschedule.”—Manager

“We’resupposedtogooverthescheduleeverysixmonths,andpeoplethinkthatthey

keeptheirscheduleforever.It’saproblem.”—EmployeeManagementsupportTheprimarybarriertobroaderimplementationofflexibleworkarrangements isvariability inmanagersupport at different levels within the organization. Managers are concerned about monitoringperformance of employees working on different schedules and locations and are anxious thatproductivitygoalsorservicelevelswillnotbemetortheremightbeincreasedcompliancerisk.Othersareusedtocertainwaysofdoingthingsandeitherarereluctantorhavetoomanycompetingprioritiestoconsidernewwaysofworking.Thoseunfamiliarwithmanagingflexibleworkoptionsmaynothavetheinformationortoolstomanagearrangementseffectively.Inconsistencyacrossdepartmentsandinsituations inwhichnewmanagersdiscontinuethemoreflexiblepracticesoftheirpredecessorscausesemployeedissatisfactionandturnover.

“Ifyoudon’tunderstandit,youcanbescaredawaybyit.”—Manager“Theywouldn’t even talk about it. So it depends onwhich department you’re in andwhatlevel.”—Employee“Youdohavetohavesomebodyatamanagerleveltoreallypushit.”—Employee“It’sbeingafraidofchangeandwhatimpactit’sgoingtohave.Allthey’relookingatisthere’sgoing tobepeopleoutof theoffice.They’renot lookingat the total coverageday.They’renotlookingatthebenefitasfarasattendancelevelandifyou’reextendingyour day productivity‐wise, you’ve got some up side with that. But there are somedifferentdepartmentswhereitprobablywouldnotwork.”—Employee


“Wehavesomemanagerswhohaveblindersonandsay,‘Flexibilitywillnotworkinmyunit.Myunitis8:00to5:00andfivedaysaweek.’”—Manager

CoverageandresourceconstraintsOneofthemainbarrierstoofferingflexibleschedulingisnotbuildingenoughresourcesintothestaffingmodel to achieve the level of coverage necessary tomeet the business demands. Although financialconstraintscanaffectmanagers’abilitytoprovideschedulingalternatives,oftenunscheduledabsencesandother time‐off events aremasking the fact that thenumberof available staff is considerably lessthan thenumberofpaidpersonnel resources.Whenmanagersunderstand thehidden costs theyareincurring due to lack of flexibility option and address the issues by building in sufficient staffingresources, proactivelymanaging scheduling andenabling some schedule flexibility, they find they canmaintainor reduceoverall laborcostsbyavoidingovertime.Anotherstaffingchallenge is supervisors’willingnesstoworkflexiblywhenthebusinessrequiresmanagementoversightduringnonexemptshifts.Initially itwasdifficult to convince somemanagers toalter theirworkhours so thatemployees couldworkeitherearlierorlatershiftsorcompressedworkweeks.

“Howdowefundthesearrangements?Ifwedon’tfundthem,thenweenduppayingthe price through attrition or transfers out anyway. So then we end up losing anemployee that we already invested in training, and that’s not a value proposition.”—Manager

“Inoneof thefunctionalareasthat Imanageofabout20people, [my]managerand I

didanevaluationearly thisyear.Wetookeveryemployeeandhowmanyhourswereavailableintheyearandthenhowmanyhoursofvacation,whattheytypicallyaveragedincall‐off,occasionalabsence,andshort‐termdisability.Weaddedthatwholethingupanddidthemathematicequationandsaidatthebeginningoftheyear,givenwhatweknowtostart,we’realreadytwo[full‐timeemployees]short for theyear.Andwestillhave to get the business done! That’s one of the things that drives the overtime.”—Manager

“[One challenge is] trying to have the supervisors there or someone in a leadership

position to cover the people that come in, because we have so many people in thegroup.Soifyouhaveasupervisorthat’sonvacation,nowyou’vegottohavesomeoneelsestepupandcomeinandcoverforthosepeople.That’shardtodo.”—Manager

TrackingflexibleschedulesCompressedworkweeksandpart‐timearrangementsrequirethattimeworkedandtimeoffbetrackedinhours;however,companytime‐trackingsystemsoftenusedays.Thisresultsinadditionalpaperworkandsometimesasecondtime‐trackingsystemformanagersandemployeestokeeptrackofwhattheemployeehasworkedandwhattimeoffheorsheisentitledto; initially ittakespracticeandworkingthroughsomeexamplesforalltounderstandhowtocountvacationtime,holidaysandsoon.

“Inthebeginning,thetrackingoftimefromdaystohours[wasabigchallenge].It justtooksomegettingusedto.”—Manager

“That is the one thing that you have to get acclimated to. You have to transposeeverythingandyou’redealingwithhours.Now, itwouldbedifferent ifwewereonafour‐day week and that was it, you know four 10‐hour days and that’s your only


schedule; thatwouldbe fine.Becauseyou’regoingbackandforthbetweentheeight‐hour day and the 10‐hour day, you have to be careful how you schedule things. Youcouldpossiblyenduplosingtime.”—Employee

AddressingperformanceissuesSomemanagers, particularly those who have not managed individuals on flexible arrangements, askhow they will be able to manage performance. Managers and employees suggest that performanceshould be managed according to the delivery of results using productivity reports and other tools,regardless of work schedules. When individuals abuse the arrangements and do not perform up toexpectations, it canaffectmorale in theentireworkgroup.Poorperformance shouldbeaddressedattheindividuallevelsoasnottojeopardizetheavailabilityofflexibilityfortheentireteam. “Flexibilitywillmake[poorperformance]showup.”—Employee “There was an issue on the team with a worker who wasn’t compliant, and he was

working from home but the same thing would have happened here. You really can’tholdthatagainstthewholepilotprogram.”—Employee

“That’snotreallyabigproblem.Youcanalwaysmonitor,whetheronthecomputeror

whentheypunchtheircard…andIknowwehaveaproductivitydatabaseandweputinalltheworkwedothroughouttheday,soyouwouldnoticeifsomeoneiscomingearlyandnotdoingtheirwork.”—Employee

“Justmanagetheabuseanddon’t let it taintyourphilosophy. Ithastobe individual.”

—ManagerFamilyresponsibilities/personalcircumstancesmaynotallowuseofcertainflexibleschedulesAlthough compressed workweeks and early start times may be attractive to many employees,limitations of child care hours of operation and availability of public transportation prevent someemployees from benefiting. Consideration should be given so that there is fair access to the variousworkschedulesthatarecreated.

“Peoplewith day care issues… in the beginning said theywould love to be on it butcouldn’t becauseof the longerdays.But theyhavebeenable towork around it.Onepersoninitiallycouldn’tbeonitbecauseshehadtopickupherchildby6:30,andourprogramlasteduntil5:30.Sheeventuallyfoundafter‐carehelp.”—Manager

“Ihadadaycaresituationwithmysonandthetimesthatwehadforourextendedday,Iwouldhavebeengettingtherelateeverydaytopickhimup,soIwasn’tabletotakeadvantageofcompressedworkweeks.”—Employee“In the morning it’s hard because [the child care center] doesn’t open until 7:00.”—Employee“Wejustchangedsomeofourschedulestoevengoalittlebitearliertoaccommodateforthe[localtransit]changes;becauseofthebusschedules,peoplewerehavingtroublegettinghereandgettingthebuses.”—Manager


Implications/ConsiderationsforOtherEmployersFlexibleworkpracticesareenablingPNC toattractand retainanengagedworkforcewhileeffectivelymanagingcostsandservicingcustomers.Whiledifferentareasoftheorganizationhaveadoptedflexibleworkpracticesindifferentways,eachimplementationhasrequiredmanagersandemployeestothinkofschedulingoptions innovatively,creativelyandwithanopenmind.Becauseof thechangingnatureofthe banking industry, PNC has used flexibility in its scheduling to attract employees and covermorehours to remain competitive. Using a combination of traditional schedules, compressed workweeks,telework, part time, and flexible start and end times, managers are able to provide the requiredcoverage.Becausethetasksofsomeemployeesaredependentuponotheremployees,preventinggapsincoverageiscriticaltomeetingbusinessobjectivesandreducingovertimecosts.Managersandemployeesagreeontheimportanceofpilotingprogramsandincludingemployeesintherollout and implementation of flexible work arrangements. Empowering employees to figure outcoverageandswapshiftshasbeenshowntostrengthenflexibilityprogramsatPNC.Managersprovideapprovalof schedulingchanges,but it is theemployeeswhoare taskedwith figuringout solutions tochallenges or scheduling conflicts. Taking ownership of this responsibility has enhanced teamcollaborationandproductivityasagroup.FlexibilityatPNCclearlybenefitstheemployees,managers,customersandthebusiness.


CaseStudy:Procter&Gamble

Consumerrelationsrepresentatives—responsibleforhandlingcustomercontactsbyphone,e‐mailandpostalmail—areteleworking,resultinginhigherjobsatisfaction,greater

retention,improvedcoverageduringbusiertimesandlowerrealestatecosts.

Administrativeassistants—supportingmanagerswhotravel—areteleworking;accessibilitybyphone,e‐mailandinstantmessagingarekeystosuccess.Greaterproductivityandmoreefficientintegrationofworkandpersonalresponsibilitiesarereportedasoutcomesofthis

flexibility.

BackgroundProcter&Gamble(P&G),aglobalconsumerproductsorganizationwithaU.S.workforceofmorethan38,000 employees, offers flexible work arrangements and occasional (ad hoc) flexibility to consumerrelationsrepresentativesandadministrativestaffatitsheadquartersinCincinnati,OH.Theconsumer relations representatives respondtoconsumer feedbackandquestionsviaphonecalls,e‐mail and postalmail. Flexibility utilized by this group includes telework, flextime and less than fulltime,orsomecombinationoftheseflexibleworkoptions.AdministrativestaffacrosstheUnitedStates,including thosewhosupportmanagerswhoareoutof theoffice travelingorwhoworkatadifferentcorporate location, also use flexible work options, primarily telework, compressed workweeks andflextime,oracombinationofarrangements.

BusinessDriversSeveral issues have contributed to P&G’s decision to offer access to flexibility for its nonexemptpopulation.Asearlyas1994,P&Gpilotedteleworkprogramsasawaytosaveonrealestatecosts.Morerecently, there has been concern about work‐life results on employee opinion surveys — manynonexemptworkers felt they couldnotbalance theirworkandnonwork responsibilities.At the sametime,seniorleadershiprecognizedthatGenerationYemployeesexpectmoreflexibilitythantheiroldercolleagues, as they tend to integrate their work and personal lives more fluidly than their oldercolleagues and demand a work environment that allows them to do so. In addition, globalresponsibilitiesareexpandingtheworkdayforsomeemployeeswhoworkearlyinthemorningandlateatnighttoconnectwithcolleaguesinothertimezones.Benchmarkingagainstcomparableorganizationsmadeitclearthatflexibleworkarrangementsandadhocflexibilityhadtobeoffered.Consideringthesefactorsand thegoalof retainingqualityemployees,P&Gneeded tooffer flexibilityequal toorbetterthanthatofferedbyitscompetitors.


“Theresultsofthecorporatesurveyhavebeenahugedriver.People[were]sayingthattheydon’thaveenoughbalanceintheirlives.Theywouldlikemoreflexibility.Weneedtomotivateemployeesandretainemployees—iftheycan’tgetflexibilityhere,they’regoingtogoelsewhere.”—Manager

HistoryTelework arrangements for consumer relations representatives were first piloted in 1994 with twoteamsofpart‐timeemployeestosaveonoperatingcosts;thepilotshavebeenexpandedovertimetoinclude most consumer relations representatives in the Cincinnati P&G location. There were severalfactorsinrecentyearsthathavecontributedtotheexpandedimplementationofflexibleworkpracticesat P&G. As part of the effort to retain talentedwomen and to encouragewomen to return toworkfollowingmaternity leave, P&G focused on the underutilized policies pertaining to less‐than‐full‐timeschedules and teleworking. A merger with another large consumer products company promptedadditional examination of policies and practices with the intention of continuing the best optionsavailable.Atthesametime,aseniorleaderatP&Gembracedtheideaofflexibility,understandingthatP&G needed such policies in place in order to attract, retain and engage employees, particularlyGenerationYemployees.Heunderstandsthebusinesscaseforflexibilityandhasledashifttogreateracceptanceofinnovative,moreflexiblewaystowork.

ProgramDescriptionConsumerrelationsrepresentativesTelework arrangements have expanded from a pilot group of 20 part‐time consumer relationsrepresentatives in 1994 to include most part‐ and full‐time consumer relations representatives.Previously,all full‐timeconsumerrelations representativeswereonsite;whentheoptionto teleworkwas introduced, employees transitioned to working from home. After four to six months, mostrepresentativeswork from home, using technology provided by P&G (i.e., laptop, phone, high speedinternet,e‐fax).Managersareabletomonitorqualityandvolumeofcalls,e‐mailsandlettersansweredby consumer relations representatives teleworking, just as they can for consumer relationsrepresentatives working at a P&G location, using the technology available. All consumer relationsrepresentatives usually come into the P&G office once or twice per month, using shared hotellingspaces. Currently there is room at the P&G office for about 60 percent of the consumer relationsrepresentatives.

“They tell youwhenyou’rehired that you’ll be teleworkingeventually if everything isgoingwell.Ithinkit’sabigincentivetojustworkyourhardest,anditmakesitveryhardtoleavethedepartment.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

FlextimeConsumerrelationsrepresentativeshaveblocksoftimeduringwhichtheyareonthephone,availabletoanswercustomercalls.Theyarealsoresponsibleforrespondingtocustomere‐mailsandpostalmail.Employees can request specific phone schedules — seniority and performance contribute to thedeterminationofwhogetswhichshifts.Oncethephoneshiftsareassigned,employeesareexpectedtobeon thephoneduring those times.There ismore flexibility in termsofwhenconsumere‐mailsand


letterssentviapostalmailareanswered.Employeescanopttodothisintheeveningoronweekends,aslongasresponsesaresentwithintheinternalserviceleveltimeframes.

“Phonetime is real time.Youcan’tchangethat.Outsideofphonetime, it’svery,veryflexible.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

Full‐time consumer relations representatives can have flexible start and end times for their 8.5 hourworkdaywithinthe8a.m.–6p.m.window,buteveryonehastobereadytoworkby9a.m.whenthephonelinesopen.Employeesgreatlyvaluetheabilitytoattendtopersonalcommitments(i.e.,achild’sor parent’s doctor’s appointment, a child’s sporting event or recital, a parent‐teacher conference, anappointment)andarenotaskedtousevacationtimetomakeupfortheabsence.

“I think it’s nice that I can start as early as I want. I start working at 6:30 a.m.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative“There have been times when I would have taken a half day of vacation because Ineededtogotoa30‐minuteappointment.NowIcanflexthetimeandmakeituplaterinthedayoranothertimethatweek.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative“Iwork8:45a.m.to3:00p.m.threedaysaweekandthenIusuallyflexatleastfourtosix hours of e‐mail aweek, so on average Iwork between 23 and 25 hours aweek.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

ParttimePart‐time representatives bid on schedules based on seniority and performance. Flexibility providesincentivetobeproductiveandefficient.

“Youalmostfeellikeyouneedtoprovethatyoucandothisandyou’renotgoingtodoanythingtojeopardizeit.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

AdministrativeassistantsTeleworkAdministrative assistants also utilize flexible work arrangements, primarily the option to teleworkseveraldayseachweek.Generally,policy requires that individualoffice‐basedemployeesdonomorethan50percentwork‐at‐homeschedules,butsomeentireorganizations (likeConsumerRelations),aswellasremoteorfield‐basedsituations,setanaturalstageforsomeincreaseduseoftelework.Insomecases, they are supportingmanagerswho frequently travel or areworking out of other P&G offices,oftenoutof state.When theadministrativeemployeesarepartof a team, theyworkouta scheduleamongthemselvessoatleastonepersonisattheP&Gofficeeachday.Insomecases,ifteamsneedtohold face‐to‐face meetings, everyone is required to come into the office on that day. The currentschedulingflexibilityisachangefrompreviously,whenalladministrativeassistantswereexpectedtobeattheirdesksduringtraditionalbusinesshourswithlittleornoschedulingflexibility.

“Mymanagersaregoingtocallmeorsendmeane‐mailorinstantmessageme.WhydoIneedtobeintheoffice?Itdoesn’tmatterifI’mhereorathome…thefirstwaypeoplegetintouchwithmeisinstantmessenger.”—AdministrativeAssistant


“We seriously can do our work in the office one day a week, and everything else athome.IsupportpeoplewhoIdon’tevenseewhenIcomeintotheoffice.We’retryingto present our case that one day a week is more than enough.” — AdministrativeAssistant

CompressedworkweekSome administrative staff are using compressed workweeks — completing their full‐time jobresponsibilities infourdayseachweek.Thesearrangementscancreategreaterflexibility inschedulingmeetingsormeetingcustomerneeds.Anunexpectedoutcomehasbeensomesavinginovertimecosts.Aswith telework, compressedworkweeks requirecoordinationof schedulingamongcolleagues if it isnecessarytohaveatleastoneadministrativeassistantintheofficeeachday.

“I do four 10‐hour days. I’m off on Fridays, and I work from home on Mondays.”—AdministrativeAssistant“When I was working until 4:00 every day, sometimes management would have ameeting starting at 4:00 so Iwould have to stay and thatwas overtimeunless I tooktimeoffonanotherdaythatweek.”—AdministrativeAssistant

OccasionalflexibilityAcrossmanypartsofP&G,employeesuseflexibilityonanoccasionalbasis.Insomecases,thisinvolvesleavinganhourearlyorcoming inanhour laterortakinga longerbreak inthemiddleofthedayandmakingupthetimeonanotherdaythatweek.Policiessetparametersforuseofflexibility.Forexample,employeesareexpectedtomakeupflexedtimewithintheweekthatitistaken.Inaddition,occasionalflexingshouldonlybeinitiatedbyemployeessothatthecompanymaintainsFLSAcompliance.However,employeestakepersonalresponsibilitytomeettheirworkobligations.

“Mysituationisveryflexible.AnytimeIsayIhaveadoctor’sappointmentorwhatever,Imakeuptheextrahourthenextday.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

Impacts/BenefitsEmployeesatisfactionandretentionEmployeesreporttheyaremoresatisfiedwiththeirjobs,morelikelytostaywithP&G,lessstressed,andbetter able to manage the demands of work and their family/personal lives. P&G benefits fromemployeeswhoaremoreproductive,morecreativeandmoremotivated—theemployeesvaluetheirflexibilityandwanttoensurethatitcontinuestobeavailabletothem.Inadditiontofeelingbetterabletomanagepersonalandprofessionalresponsibilities,manyemployeescitecostsavingsresultingfromflexibleworkarrangements(i.e.,gas,parking,drycleaning).

“It’sfinanciallybetter…gas,payingforparkingwhenyoucomedowntown,andalsothetime … the extra hour or two that I get in a day when I’m not commuting.”—AdministrativeAssistant“Thefolksthattelecommutelovetotelecommute,andthefolksthathavetheirfour‐by‐tenslovetheirfour‐by‐tens.”—Manager


AsaresultofflexibleworkoptionsatP&G,employeesreportthattheirmoralehasincreased—peopleappreciatethattheyarehomeassoonastheirworkdayends.Theyenjoytheconvenienceofbeingcloseto their children’s school and activities and the ability to run errands at lunch time or go toappointmentswithoutneedingtousevacationtime.TheemployeesutilizingflexibleworkarrangementsreportbeingmoreengagedandsatisfiedwiththeirjobsandreportthatasaresulttheyaremorelikelytostayatP&G.Increasedretention,inturn,benefitsP&Gbecauseofdecreasedspendingonrecruitingandtraining.

“At first, I resisted the idea of teleworking, and now I can’t imagine not doing it. It’sabsolutelythebestofbothworlds.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative“I’m able to sign offmy computer and be home or be at an appointment or be at aschool function 10 minutes later … it’s the biggest gift to the working world.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

“I told my manager that if he keeps letting me work from home, I’m not goinganywhere.”—AdministrativeAssistant“People are working very hard and diligently at home because we don’t want theprivilegetakenaway.Peoplereallywantittowork.”—AdministrativeAssistant“I think people are feeling valued because they’ve found a flexible arrangement thatworks forthem. I thinktheyhaveahigher levelofengagement,which leadstohigherlevelsofproductivityandthisusuallyleadstohigherretention,andtherearejustalotofbenefitstoallofthat.”—Manager

RealestatesavingsforP&GAs a result of teleworking among consumer relations representatives, significantly less real estate isnecessary;thereductioninspaceneededatonelocation(fromtwofloorstohalfafloor)hasresultedinsignificant savings to P&G. Consumer relations representatives are expected to come into the officeonceortwiceamonthandusehotellingspacesavailableforteleworkers.Currently,thereisspaceattheofficelocationforabout60percentoftheconsumerrelationsrepresentatives.PreparedforunexpectedeventsEquippingtheconsumerrelationsrepresentativestoteleworkhasbetterpreparedP&Gtohandlecrisissituations—everything from inclementweather toanunexpectedlyhighvolumeof calls ande‐mailsduetoconsumerconcernaboutaparticularproduct.HavingemployeesabletoworkfromhomeallowsP&Gtoshift staff tochangingworkpriorities.Duringa recenteventpromptingexceptionallyhighcallvolume,alloftherepresentativeswere“manningthephonelinesfrom8:00a.m.until9:00p.m.sevendaysaweek”fromtheirhomes.

“ThepeoplecallingfromCaliforniadon’tcareif it’ssnowingherewhentheycall.Theyexpectsomeoneontheotherendofthephone.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative“We’reabletoflowtothework,whateveritis—crisisorwhatever—almostanyhouroftheday.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative


“It’stheabilitytoshiftpeoplewheretheyneedtobe…becauseofthecombinationoffull‐timeandpart‐timeandflexibleworkhours.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative“We all did weekends during [the recent concern about one of our products].”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

SuccessFactorsDiscussingflexibilityandwork‐lifeintegrationTalking about flexibility and work‐life integration is important to the continued and growing use offlexible work arrangements.Managers at P&G discuss these issues as part of quarterly performancemeetingswithemployeesandadjustworkschedulesasneededtomeetchangingbusinessneeds.Bothmanagersandemployeesneedtobringcreativityandtrusttothesediscussionsofflexibility.

“The more you do it, the more relaxed the managers are with it. As long as you’remeetingdeadlines,itbecomesnormal.”—AdministrativeAssistant“Thinkaboutthespecificpeoplethatwouldbeworkingflexiblearrangementsandtrytovisualizehowitwouldworkbeforeyoumakeadecision.”—Manager

EmployeesandmanagerscollaboratingSuccessful flexible work arrangements require flexibility on the part of everyone involved. At P&G,employees and managers partner to develop an appropriate flexible work arrangement for eachemployeeinvolvedintheprogram;combiningdifferenttypesofflexibilityisoftennecessarytomeettheneedsofemployeesaswellasthedemandsofthebusiness.

“Wewanteveryemployeetobeawarethatflexibility issomethingthat isokaytotalkaboutwiththeirmanagerandreallyencouragethemtohavearegulardiscussionabouttheseissuesaspartofourquarterlyperformancedevelopmentplanning.”—Manager

CrosstrainingCross trainingand theability tobackupcolleagues iskey to thesuccessofmanyof the flexibleworkarrangements.Alignedwiththisistheimportanceofschedulingwiththeskillsetsofteammembersinmind.

“We always have somebody as a backup with a very detailed backup plan for everysinglepersoninourgroup.Ifonepersonisn’tthereandsomethinghighprioritycomesup,thentheotherpersonjustcovers.Sofar,everythinghasworkedverysmoothly….”—Manager

CommunicationCommunicationamongpeersaswellasbetweenemployeesandmanagersiscritical.Instantmessagingtechnologyhasmadeitpossibleforemployeestoleteveryoneknowwheretheyareandhowtheycanbe reachedatany timeduring theirworkday. Inenvironments inwhichmanagersandemployeesarecomfortablewithinstantmessaging,thequestionofhowtofindsomeonewhenthey’renotintheofficebecomesanonissue.


“Betweene‐mailandinstantmessengerandthephone,gettingmyquestionsansweredisreallynotanissuebecauseIcantalkwithanyoneatanytime.”—Manager“I’mveryeasytotrackdown.Myvoicemailletscustomersknowwheretheycanfindmeeachday.Idothesamethingwithinstantmessenger…Isetitupsopeopleknowwhenandhowtheycanreachme.”—AdministrativeAssistant

TechnologyIn addition to e‐mail and instantmessaging, other technology has also contributed to the success offlexiblework arrangements. Virtualmeetings usingwebinars, videoconferencing and conference callsmake it possible for people to work off site and still contribute to team meetings. While someinteractionsarebestdoneface‐to‐face(includingperformancereviewsanddiscussions),manymeetingscantakeplacewhenparticipantsarenotphysically inthesameroom. It is important formanagerstoknowaboutvirtualmeetingoptionsandnotassumethattheirteammembersallneedtobeinthesamelocation.SharingsuccessstoriesSharing success stories supports the expansion of flexible work arrangements and increases theacceptanceofflexibilityaspartoftheP&Gculture.Greaterawarenessofhowothershaveusedflexiblework arrangements to better balance their work and personal responsibilities can only help asemployees consider theirownsituationsandweigh theiroptions. Forbothmanagersandemployees,it’shelpfultoknowwhatotherpeopleandteamsaresuccessfullydoing.

“Somuchaboutcorporatecultureisthestorytelling…whenpeoplesharetheirsuccessstories and help people to see that this has worked, then it becomes okay and itbecomes less of the exception to the rule and more of how we do business.”—Manager“Exposure to rolemodelsandotherpeopledoing thingsdifferently is anothergoodstrategytohelpchangetheculture.”—Manager

FlexibilitytrainingOverthepastyear,P&Ghasinvestedintrainingandcommunicationsforemployees,managersandHRprofessionalsonsuccessfulimplementationofflexibleworkarrangements.ThenewflexibilityWebsiteisthemainportalthroughwhichflexibilitytoolsandinformationareaccessed.P&G’strainingincludesonline courses forHRaddressing flexibleworkarrangementspolicies, thebusiness case for flexibility,the culture change needed for successful implementation of flexible ways of working, managers’concerns andmyths about flexibility, a tool kit, Q&A, and a tool of considerations formanagers andemployees.Employeesalsohaveanonlinetoolkittoreferto. Inaddition,HRprofessionalsaretrainedon flexible work arrangements so they are able to be resources for both managers and employees.Onlineseminarsonwork‐lifebalanceareaccessiblethroughtheflexibilityWebsiteaswell.MutualrespectandtrustBoth managers and employees note the importance of mutual trust and respect in the success offlexibleworkarrangements.Especiallywhenanemployee isteleworking,themanagermusttrustthattheemployeeisworkingasshewouldbeifshewereintheoffice,eventhoughthemanagercannotseetheemployee.Employeesexpressconcernthatabuseof flexibilitybyafewemployeescouldthreatentheavailabilityofflexibilityforeveryone.Ifanemployeeisabusingherflexibleworkarrangement,that


abuse must be addressed specifically with that employee, not as evidence that flexible workarrangementsingeneralarenotfeasible.

“Youstillneedtomeetyourgoalsandexpectations…it’snotjustafreeforall.Onebadapple ruins the whole thing … you really just have to be mindful of that.”—AdministrativeAssistant“Youhavetotrustyourpeopleandusethetechnology…butnotmicromanagebecausethat’sunhealthynotonlyfortheemployeebutalsoforyouasamanager.”—Manager

EstablishingexpectationsManyemployeeswhoutilizeaflexibleworkarrangementseethisasaprivilegeandputinextraefforttoensuretheycancontinuetoworkinthisway.Insomecases,hourlyemployeesareworkingmorehoursthan they’reacknowledging to theirmanager—willing togivemore toP&Gbecauseof their flexibleworkarrangement.However,whilemanagersappreciatetheextraeffortandhighcommitment,carefulattention tomanaging schedules is an importantpartofP&G flexibilitymanagementasunauthorizedovertimecouldposealiabilityforthecompany.Manyteleworkersindicatethattheyaremoreproductivethanwhentheywereintheoffice—therearefewer distractions at home, and they spend less time socializing. It is important for the employee tohave a designated space at home towork, separated from distractions. If other people livewith theemployee, those people have to understand that when the teleworker is working, she cannot beinterrupted.

“WhenIcomeintotheoffice, Iprobablygetabouthalf theworkdonethat IdowhenI’mathome.”—ConsumerRelationsRepresentative

“It’s important that your family understands that when you’re working from home,you’renotreallythere.”—AdministrativeAssistant

Challenges/BarriersManagementsupportP&Gemployees recognize thatevenwith thebestpolicies inplace, flexibleworkarrangementswon’tsucceedwithout the support ofmanagers and senior leaders. Support for flexibility amongmanagersvaries. There are some in management who “just don’t get it” and continue to be skeptical aboutflexible work arrangements and employees teleworking. Successful pilots have gone a long way inaddressingtheseconcerns,butshiftingtheP&Gculturetakestimeandperseverance.Somemanagersarereluctanttobelievethatemployeescanbeproductivewhenthey’renotworkingataP&Glocationorareresistanttousinginstantmessagingtechnologyore‐mailwhenlookingforanemployee.Viewingflexibilityasabusinesstool,notanentitlementSomemanagersmay believe that they have to approve all requests for a flexiblework arrangement,when in fact they should deny those requests that will be detrimental to the business. Recentlyimplementedmanager training includes discussion of flexibility as a business tool and addresses theissue of evaluating requests. If a requested flexible work arrangement would be detrimental to the


business,managers are advised to considermodificationof the requestbeforedenying it outright; inthesesituations,it’simportanttobecreativeandopentocompromise.

“It’simportantformanagerstounderstandthepolicies,andalsoknowhowtosaynotopeople.Managersought to creatively try to thinkaboutotheroptionsbefore you sayno.However,therewillbecaseswherewecan’tdoit.”—Manager

Managersexpressconcernthat,onceimplemented,employeeswillseeflexibilityasanentitlementanditwill bedifficult for amanager to get employees to come into theP&G locationondays theydon’tusuallycomeintotheoffice.Flexibleworkarrangementsareprovidedatthediscretionofthebusinessunitandcanbediscontinuedifthearrangementsarenolongerworkingormanageablegivenbusinessneeds.However,managersarediscouraged from requesting changes toanemployee’s scheduleonaregularor frequentbasis.At the same time,employeesareasked to remain flexibleenough to comeinto the office on occasion, as necessary. Managers and employees also regularly assess thearrangementtoensurethatitismeetingbusinessandemployeeneeds.

“Sometimeswehavetoremindthemthatpartofthe job is tocomeinformeetings.”—Manager

Implications/ConsiderationsforOtherEmployersUltimately,eachflexibleworkarrangementshouldbenefittheindividualemployee,theteamandP&G.WhileP&Gencouragesmanagerstosupportflexibility,theapprovalofaflexibleworkarrangementisatthe discretion of the manager; arrangements that are detrimental to the business should not beapproved,andarrangementsthatbenefitthebusinessshouldbeencouraged.It is important tohave systems inplace to trackutilization andmeasure thebenefits of flexibility forP&G—intermsofattracting,retainingandengagingemployees.Datasupportingthebusinesscaseforflexibilitygoalongwayingrowinganyflexibilityinitiative. Overall, flexible work arrangements and occasional flexibility contribute to a win‐win situation foremployees and forP&G. Employees value their arrangements andareproductive, engagedandmorelikelytostayatthecompany.P&Gissavingmoneyonrealestateandadecreasedneedtohireandtrainemployees.CustomersarebenefitingfrominteractingwithP&Gemployeeswhoaremoresatisfiedwiththeir jobsandmoreavailabletoaddress inquiries.Whilenotwithoutchallenges,theflexibility inhow,whenandwhereworkgetsdonebyP&Gemployeeshasmanybenefits.


SURVEYFINDINGS

WorkplaceFlexibilityDefinedIn the survey, we explored three different categories of flexibility use: formal flexible workarrangements, use of flexibility on an occasional basis and other time‐off strategies. Formal workarrangementsarethoseinwhichthereisanagreementbetweentheemployerandemployeeastothespecific requirements theemployeemust follow,suchas for teleworkingorpart‐timework.Flexibilityonanoccasionalbasisoccurswhenemployees,withtheirmanager’sapproval,maychangetheirhoursofworkinordertoattendtoapersonalmatter,suchasleavingworkearlyforadoctor’sappointment.Othertime‐offstrategiesincludewaysemployeesusesick,vacationandunpaidtimepersonnelpolicies,suchastheabilitytousesicktimeinordertocareforasickfamilymember.For the purposes of this study,we inquired about all three categories of flexibility— that is, formal,occasionalandother time‐off strategies.Wediscover thatemployees select thenumberand typesofoptions to build their own personal mosaic that best meets their needs. The types and number offlexibilityoptionsthatemployeesusehaveanimpactontheirconnectiontotheirworkplaceandtheirpersonalwell‐being. Gender and age have some influence on these patterns of flexibility use and itsimpact.


UseofFlexibilityIn Table 1,we show the frequencyof use for each typeof flexibility for the studypopulation andbygender.Morethanthree‐fourthsuseanoccasionalflexibilityoption,andtwo‐thirdsormoreusesomeformofformalflexibilityandtime‐offstrategies. Total Men Women

Flextime—setschedule 30% 25% 32% *Compressedworkweek 23% 17% 25% *Parttime 11% 9% 13% Flextime—canchangeondailybasis 13% 16% 12% Teleworking^ 9% 4% 11% *

Form

al

Jobshare 1% 1% 1% AnyFormal 67% 57% 72% *

Occasionallyadjustworkhoursforpersonal/familymatters

55% 44% 60% *

Takepaidtimeoffonshortnotice(<oneweek) 39% 44% 38% Tradeshiftswithco‐workerforpersonal/familymatters

35% 26% 39% *

Occasiona

l

Taketimeoffduringtheworkdaytotakecareofpersonal/familymatters

35% 23% 39% *

AnyOccasional 78% 71% 81% *

Usevacationtimeinhourlyorpartial‐dayincrements 52% 49% 53% Takeextratimeoffwithoutpaybeyondvacationandpersonaldays

35% 41% 31% *

Usesicktimeinhourlyorpartialdayincrements 23% 15% 26% *Usepaidsicktimetocareforasickchild 14% 12% 15% Ti

meOff

Usepaidsicktimetocareforasickfamilymember^ 11% 10% 12% AnyTimeOff 69% 71% 67% ^Oneofthefivecompaniesdidnotincludethisflexibilitytypeinitssurvey.*Differencebetweenmenandwomensignificant,p<.05.

Table1:UseofFlexibilityandTime‐OffStrategies:PercentRespondents


InTable2,weseethatrespondentsaremost likelytouseseveraltypesofoccasional flexibility.Usingvacationtimeinpartialincrementsisalsoanoften‐usedtime‐offstrategy,andflextime(eitheronasetorpotentiallychangingschedule)isthemostfrequentlyusedformalarrangement(41percent). Total Men WomenOccasionallyadjustworkhoursforpersonal/familymatters 55% 44% 60%Usevacationtimeinhourlyorpartialdayincrements 52% 49% 53%Flextime 41% 38% 42%Takepaidtimeoffonshortnotice(<oneweek) 39% 44% 38%Tradeshiftswithco‐workerforpersonal/familymatters 35% 26% 39%Taketimeoffduringtheworkdaytotakecareofpersonal/familymatters

35% 23% 39%

Takeextratimeoffwithoutpaybeyondvacationandpersonaldays

35% 41% 31%

Compressedworkweek 23% 17% 25%Usesicktimeinhourlyorpartialdayincrements 23% 15% 26%Parttime 11% 9% 13%Usepaidsicktimetocareforasickchild 14% 12% 15%Teleworking^ 9% 4% 11%Usepaidsicktimetocareforsickfamilymember^ 11% 10% 12%Jobshare 1% 1% 1%^Oneofthefivecompaniesdidnotincludethisflexibilitytypeinitssurvey.

“I have a workday off to deal with personal and family matters. That could not beaddressedifIwasworkingfiveeight‐hourdays.”—Male,formal,compressedworkweek

GenderdifferencesinuseofflexibilityWomenaremorelikelythanmentouseformalflexibleworkarrangements(72percentvs.57percent)andoccasional flexibility options (81 percent vs. 71 percent), but they are equally likely to use othertime‐offstrategies.Examiningspecificformaltypesofflexibleworkarrangementsbygender,womenaremore likelythanmentobeusingflextimewithasetschedule(32percentvs.25percent),acompressedworkweek(25percentvs.17percent)andteleworking(11percentvs.4percent).Looking at types of occasional flexibility,women aremore likely thanmen to sometimes adjust theirhours for family and personalmatters (60 percent vs. 44 percent), trade shifts with a co‐worker forpersonal/familymatters (39 percent vs. 26 percent), and take time off during the day for family andpersonalmatters(39percentvs.23percent).Womenaremorelikelythanmentousethetime‐offstrategyofusingsicktimeinhourlyorpartialdayincrements (26percent vs.15percent),whilemenaremore likely to takeextra timeoffwithoutpay

Table2:UseofFormalFlexibility,OccasionalFlexibilityandTime‐OffStrategiesSortedbyFrequencyofUse


beyondvacationandpersonaldays(41percentvs.31percent).Therearenoothergenderdifferenceswithregardtoothertypesoftime‐offstrategies.

“Theflexibilityatthecompanyhasallowedmetoworkwhileraisingmychildren…Oncetheywereschoolage,IworkedacombinationofdaysandnightssoIcouldassistintheirclassroomsonmydaysoffandgototheirbandconcertsornightactivitiesonmynightsoff.”—Female,formal,flextime—setschedule

AgedifferencesinuseofflexibilityThere are differences in which types of flexibility are used by certain age groups (see Table 3). Theyoungestrespondents(youngerthan25yearsold)arelesslikelythanolderrespondentstomakeuseofformal types of flexibility, specifically flextime with a set schedule, compressed workweeks andteleworking.However,inadditiontothoseages25to34,theyoungestrespondentsaremorelikelytomakeuseoftradingshiftsandusesicktimeinpartialincrements,anoccasionaltypeofflexibilityandatime‐offstrategy.The oldest respondents are more likely than younger respondents to use some types of formalflexibility,includingflextimewithasetscheduleandteleworking.

<25 25–34 35–44 45–54 55+Leastlikely *Flextime—

set*Compressedworkweeks*Teleworking*Paidtimeoff—shortnotice*Usepartialvacationtime

*Taketimeoffduringworkday

*Taketimeoffduringworkday

Mostlikely *Tradeshifts*Sicktimein

partialincrements

*Tradeshifts*Paidsick

timeforchild*Sicktimein

partialincrements

*Teleworking*Paidsicktime

forchild

*Compressedworkweeks

*Flextime—set

*Teleworking*Usevacation

inpartialincrements

Useofmultipleflexibilityoptionsandtime‐offstrategiesAcrossthesampleofemployeeswhouseflexibility(formal,occasionalorboth):63percentusebothaformal flexibleworkarrangementandoccasional flexibility,12percentuseonlyaformal flexibleworkarrangement,and25percentuseflexibilityonlyonanoccasionalbasis(seeFigure1).

Table3:LikelihoodofUsingFlexibilitybyAge


Whenweexaminealloftherespondentsandtheirusageoftime‐offstrategiesinadditiontoformalandoccasional flexibility, we see that respondents use an assortment of arrangements to adapt to theirworkandpersonalneeds(seeTable4).Examining different combinations of categories of flexibility, women aremore likely thanmen to beusingaformalandoccasionalflexibilityoptionwithatime‐offstrategy(45percentvs.35percent).

Total Men WomenUseformal,occasionalandtimeoff 42% 35% 45%Useoccasionalandtimeoff 17% 21% 14%Useformalandoccasional 14% 10% 16%Useonlyformal 6% 6% 6%Useformalandtimeoff 5% 6% 4%Useonlyoccasional 5% 5% 5%Usetimeoffonly 5% 9% 3%

Donotuseany 6% 8% 6%Mostoftherespondentsusemultipletypesofflexibilityortime‐offstrategies,withtheaveragebeing3.8.Acrossall typesof flexibilityandtime‐off strategies,womenuse4.0strategiescomparedtomen,whouseanaverageof3.3.InFigure2,onecanseethevariationsoftypesofstrategiesusedbygender.

Usesonlyoccasionalflexibility

Usesbothformalandoccasionalflexibility

Usesonlyformal

flexibility

Table4:UseofFormsofFlexibilitybyFrequencyofUse

Figure1:UseofCompanyFlexibilityProgramsbyFlexibilityUsers


“I am able to go to appointments at doctors’ offices and other places that only havehours during the day.” — Female, formal, flextime — set schedule, compressedworkweek,telecommute

Lookingattheuseofmultipleflexibilityoptionsbyage(seeFigure3),respondentsages25to44reportusing the highest number of flexibility types and time‐off strategies compared to those younger andolder.For formal flexibility, the oldest respondents (ages 55 and older) aremore likely than their youngercounterpartstousemultipleformaloptions.

Doesuseofflexibilityvarybyfamilystatusorethnicity?There are a few other demographic differences among respondents using different categories offlexibility(seeTable5).Therearenodifferencesinuseofflexibilitybymaritalstatus,bywhetherornotthe respondents have elder care responsibility, or by race and ethnicity. Employees using formal and

43%28% 29%

19%29% 33%

44%

51%

29%

26%

36% 28%

11%16%

25%

25%

26%25%

1% 3%13%

19%

7% 11%5% 11%

2% 4%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

4

3

2

1

0

6% 9% 5% 4% 8% 5%12% 15%

11% 10%13% 12%

16%19%

11% 18%18%

13%

15%11%

14% 11%18%

19%

14%14%

14% 13%

10% 16%

14% 10%14% 15%

14% 13%

23% 22% 30% 29% 20% 22%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Total <25 25‐34 35‐44 45‐54 55+

6+

5

4

3

2

1

0

Formal Occasional TimeOff

Men Women

.7 1.0 1.4 1.8 1.2 1.3Average

3.4 4.1 4.1 3.4 3.73.8

Figure2:NumberofFlexibilityOptionsUsedbyGender

Figure3:TotalNumberofFlexibilityandTime‐OffOptionsbyAge

Average


occasionalflexibilityoptions,however,aremorelikelythanthosenotusingflexibilitytohavechildcareresponsibilities,especiallyforveryyoungchildrenandschool‐agechildren. Formal Occasional NotUsingMarried/partnered 66% 59% 64%Parentofchild<18 37% 38% 9%Planningfirstchild 8% 7% 9%Agesofchildren <age6 17% 15% 5%6to14 20% 21% 6%15to17 12% 11% 13%Adultdependent 16% 18% 13%

ChangingworkschedulesbetweenfullandparttimeFull‐timeemployeeswereaskedwhetherornottheycouldarrangetoworkpart time intheircurrentpositions,andpart‐timeemployeeswereaskediftheycouldarrangetoworkfulltime.One‐fourth(24percent)of full‐timeemployeesreport theycouldworkpart time,butmost report theycouldnot (39percent) or that they do not know (38 percent). In contrast, three‐fifths (62 percent) of part‐timeemployeesreporttheycouldswitchtoafull‐timeschedule,one‐fifth(20percent)reportedtheycouldnotmakethatswitch,andaboutone‐fifth(18percent)donotknow.Easeordifficultyofaccessingoccasionalflexibilityandtime‐offstrategiesBecause occasional flexibility, as well as the use of time‐off strategies, often requires obtainingpermissionand/ornotifyingothers(one’ssupervisor,peers,HR),wewantedtoknowhowdifficultit isto use these options.We asked respondents about the relative ease or difficulty they have in takingadvantageofvarioustypesofoccasionalflexibilityandothertime‐offstrategies.Resultsexcludethosewhorespondedthatthetypeofflexibilitydidnotapplytothem.As indicated in Figure 4, about three‐fifths of respondents report it is “very easy” or “easy” to usevacationtimeinhourlyorpartial‐dayincrements(60percent)andtooccasionallyadjustworkhourstotakecareofpersonalorfamilymatters(58percent).Fortheothertypesoftimeoff,two‐fifthsormoreofrespondentsreportitiseasytousethem.Examiningtheamountofdifficulty,one‐fourthtoone‐thirdreporthavingsomedifficultyobtainingmosttypesofoccasionalflexibilityandtimeoff.Theyweremostlikelytoreportdifficultywithobtainingtimeoffduring theday for familyandpersonalmatters (33percent)and takingextra timeoffwithoutpaybeyondvacationandpersonaldays(30percent).

Table5:PartnerandDependentCareStatusbyFlexibility


Men in thestudy reportmuchmoredifficultyusingoccasional flexibilityandother time‐off strategiesthanwomen, specifically trading shifts, occasionally adjustingwork hours, taking time off during theworkday,usingsicktimeinpartialincrements,usingsicktimetocareforsickchildren,usingextratimeoffwithoutpaybeyondvacationandusingpersonaldays.Theyoungestrespondentsaremoreeasilyabletotradeshiftswithco‐workers,usesicktimeinpartial‐day increments,takeextratimeoffwithoutpaybeyondvacationandpersonaldays,andusepaidsicktimetocareforasickchild.

“Ifanemployeerequestsadayoff twoweeksormore inadvance, theadministrationshouldbeabletoplanforcoverageinthattime,whetherbycallingfortemporaryhelporworkingtheschedulearoundtheirabsenteeism. I feelasthoughtheadministrationfinds iteasier to just sayno, rather than to try toworkaround it.”—Female, formal,flextime—changingschedule“Rarerequestsfortimeoffattheendofthedayforappointmentsaredeniedbecausethemanagementinsiststhattwopeoplemaynotbescheduledoffatonce,eventhoughtheresponsibilitiesarenotinterchangeable.”—Female,noflex

UseofvacationWe also wanted to examine respondents’ use of vacation time, which is the typical way in whichemployees intheUnitedStatesgettimeoff.Whilenineoutof10(90percent)employeerespondentsareabletotakealloftheirvacationdayswithoutforfeitingthemattheendoftheyear,one‐tenth(10percent)ofemployeesareunabletodoso.

52%

55%

35%

39%

23%

11%

14%

N/A

35%

35%

%UsingOption

*Oneofthefivecompaniesdidnotincludethisitem.

Figure4:EaseofUseofOccasionalFlexibilityandOtherTypesofTimeOffbyAllEmployees


Therearenogenderdifferenceswithregardtouseofvacation,butthereareagedifferences.Youngerworkers are less likely to take all of their vacation days each year than older workers (76 percentyounger than25vs. 90percentoverall). Employeesusing rotating shifts and split shifts are less likelythanotherstousealloftheirvacationtime.Thosewhodonottakealloftheirvacationtimearemorelikelytoreportmoredifficultyusingalloftheoccasionalflexibilityandothertime‐offoptions.Theyalsoreportlesscontrolovertheirworkschedulesthanothers.

“Flexhours,shiftchange,andone‐dayorhalf‐dayvacationsareexcellentbenefitstoassistinmanagingabusyhomelife.”—Female,formal,flextime—setschedule

SupportforFlexibilityWheredoemployeesgetinformationaboutflexibility?Informationaboutflexibilitypoliciesandprocedurescomesfromanumberofsources—boththroughformal channels and from other employees.We asked respondents about their sources of flexibilityinformation (see Figure 5). For thosewhohave received information about flexibility, themost likelysourcehasbeentheirmanager(62percent)followedbyotheremployeeswhohaveusedflexibleworkarrangements (51percent).Other likelysourcesof informationarethecompany intranet (45percent)andHR(44percent).Someofthesesourcesofinformationvarybythecategoryofflexibilityusedbytherespondent.Whileall employees are equally likely to have received information from co‐workers using flexibility,respondentsusingformalflexibilityaremorelikelythanotherrespondentstohavereceivedinformationfromseveralformalcommunicationchannels,includingmanagers,HR,trainings,companyintranet,etc.

*Oneofthefivecompaniesdidnothavethisoptionasasource.

Figure5:SourcesofInformationaboutFlexibilityamongThoseReceivingInformationbyFlexibilityType


“Informationisn’topenlyavailable,andit’shardtogetaflexibleschedule.”—Female,occasional

ManageraccesstoflexibilityinformationAsseenabove,mostrespondentsrelyontheirmanagers for informationabout flexibility,somanageraccess to flexibility information is important. We asked managers whether or not they have theinformationtheyneedtoassisttheiremployeeswiththeirworkingflexibly.Two‐thirds(65percent)ofmanagersagreetheyhavethe informationtheyneed,andanadditionalone‐fourth (23percent)havetheinformationatleasttosomeextent.One‐tenth(12percent),however,donothavetheinformationtheyneedtoassisttheiremployeeswithworkingflexibly.Examining the managers who supervise employees who use flexibility, nine out of 10 have theinformationtheyneed,atleasttosomeextent(73percentyesand20percenttosomeextent).

CompanysupportforflexibilityWhileflexibilitypoliciesandoptionsmaybeformalizedinemployeehandbooks,thecultureandnormsoforganizationstendtodrivetheabilityofemployeestouseflexibility.Respondentswereaskedhowsupportivevariousconstituentsintheircompaniesaretowardtheuseofflexibility(seeFigure6).Themajority of respondents agree that various constituents in their organizations are supportive offlexibility — two‐thirds or more agree their managers are supportive of their use of flexibility (70percent),theirpeersaresupportiveoftheiruseofflexibility(68percent),andtheirpeers’workloadisnotheavierdue to theiruseof flexibility (66percent).More thanhalfof respondentsalsoagree thatcompanyleadershipissupportiveoftheuseofflexibilitybynonexempt,hourlyworkers(59percent).Examiningthedatabygender,theresultsshowthatforallflexibilitysupportitems,womenhavemorepositiveratingsthanmen.The oldest respondents, compared to respondents overall, are more likely to agree that companyleadershipissupportiveofflexibilitybyhourlyandnonexemptworkers(71percentvs.59percent)andthattheirmanagerissupportiveoftheiruseofflexibility(78percentvs.70percent).


“Mymanagerisverysupportive;shetrustsmetogetmyworkdoneandallowsmetheflexibilitytohandlebothworkandhomecommitments.”—Female,formal,flextime—setschedule“Our manager is very receptive to flextime. I believe he understands it makes theworkplace more positive and helps our clients in the end.”—Gender not identified,formal,flextime“Everyonehere seems towork flexibly,which allowsus all tobe flexible.”—Female,formal,flextime—changingschedule

Flexibilityusers’viewsofsupportforflexibilityEmployees using formal flexibility are more likely than those who use only occasional flexibility andthose not using any flexibility to report higher ratings of supportiveness on all flexibility items (seeFigure 7). Employees not using any flexibility are less likely than those using occasional flexibility toreporttheircompanyleadershipissupportiveofflexibilityusebyhourlyandnonexemptemployees.

StronglyAgree

Agree

*Scoringofitemhasbeenreversedfromsurvey.

Neither

Disagree

StronglyDisagree

70% 68% 66% 59%

Figure6:FlexibilitySupportItems



“Thecompanyisveryopentousflexingourtime,tomeetboththecompanyneedsandour personal needs.”— Female, formal, flextime — changing schedule, compressedworkweek

OvertimeandextrahoursWealsoaskedrespondentsaboutovertimepracticesandtheirperceptionsoftheimpactofnotworkingextrahours.Abouthalf(54percent)ofemployeesare“rarelyornever”requiredtoworkpaidovertimeor unpaid extra hours with little or no advance notice, but one in five (20 percent) employees arerequiredtodosoatleastseveraltimesamonth.Men aremore likely thanwomen to report being required towork paid overtimeor extra hours (40percent“atleastonceamonth”ormorevs.24percent).Most respondents report they can refuse to work extra hours without fear of losing their jobs (seeFigure8).Themajorityreporttheycanrefuseextrahourswithoutanimpactontheiradvancementandthat managers do not assume they will work overtime without first asking. Approximately one‐fifthreportthattheydohavetoworkextrahourswhenaskedoritcouldhurttheirjobadvancementorjobretentionandthattheirmanagerassumestheywillworkextrahourswithoutaskingthemfirst.Womenaremore likely thanmentoreport theseovertimeconcerns. Inaddition, therearesomeagedifferences,withrespondentsages45to54beingmorelikelytoreportallthreeovertimeconcerns.

Figure7:PercentWho“StronglyAgree”and“Agree”withSupportforFlexibilitybyTypeofFlexibility

Managersupportiveofflexibility

PeersdonothaveheavierworkloadbecauseIuse

flexibility*

Peersaresupportiveofmyuseofflexibility

Co.leadershipsupportsflexibilitybynon‐exempt

Form

al

Occasional

NotUsing


Employees using formal flexibility are more likely than those who use only occasional flexibility andthose not using any flexibility to agree that extra hours do not have an impact on their job oradvancementandtheirmanagersdonotassumetheywillworkextrawithoutfirstasking.

“Iamrequiredtoworktoomanyhoursformyposition….”—Female,formal,telework,parttime

BarrierstoflexibilityInadditiontocompanycultureandmanagers’attitudeshavingan impactontheavailabilityof formalandoccasionalflexibilityandtheeasewithwhichemployeescanavailthemselvesofthesepoliciesandoptions,other factorsoftenare found tobe stumblingblocks to theuseof flexibility.Weaskedbothemployees and managers about these barriers, and we asked to them to indicate from a list of 12barriersthetoptwosignificantbarriers,ifany,toflexibility.Employeeswereaskedtoratethebarrierswith respect to their own experiences, and managers were asked to rate the barriers from theperspectiveofprovidingemployeeswiththeflexibilitythattheyneed.Amongemployeesusingdifferentcategoriesof flexibilityaswellasmanagers, there isagreatdealofagreementastothemostsignificantbarriers(seeTable6).Forallgroups,thenatureoftheworkandworkloadareinthetopthreebarriers.Companypoliciesareatopbarrierforemployeesregardlessoftheir use of flexibility. Manager/supervisor attitudes are also a top barrier for employees usingoccasionalflexibility.

Agree


Neither

Disagree

IfIdon’tworkextrahourswhenasked,itwillnotimpactmyjob*

MymanagerdoesnotassumeIwillworkextrawithoutasking*

IfIdon’tworkextrahourswhenasked,itwillnotimpactmy

advancement*

Total

Form

al

Occasional

NotUsing

Figure8:WorkingExtraHours


Formanagers,theneedtoprovideon‐sitecoverageforcustomersisatopbarriertoemployees’abilitytouseflexibility.

Formal Occasional NotUsing ManagerPerceptionsNatureofthework

(36%)Natureofthework



(52%)Workload(26%)

Manager/supervisorattitudes(26%)

Workload(29%)

Workload(26%)

Companypolicies(24%)

Workload(23%)



Needtoprovideon‐sitecoverageforcustomers

(21%)

“As a call center representative our schedules are very rigid, not allowing for muchmorethannormalscheduledbreaks.”—Male,noflex“Thenatureof thisbusiness is to care for children.With staff takinga lotof timeoff,parentsquestioncommitmenttoqualitycare.”—Female,manager“Thereneedstobecoverageavailablethatdoesnotcreateovertimeorextraexpenseforthecompany.”—Male,manager

Whyaresomeemployeesnotusingflexibility?Asmentionedearlier,acomparisonsampleofemployeesnotusinganyflexibilityalsoparticipatedinthestudy, and theymakeup about one‐tenthof the respondents.Weasked them themain reason theywerenotusing the flexibilityoptionsofferedby theirorganizations (seeFigure9). Themost commonreasonsgivenbytheserespondentsarethattheflexibleworkoptionsarenotavailabletoindividualsintheirpositions (39percent) and that theyare satisfiedwith their current schedule (33percent).One‐tenthorfewergiveotherreasons.

33%

39%9%

5%1%

5%3%

5%

Prefercurrentschedule

Flexibleworkoptionsarenotavailabletome

Other

Consideringrequestingflexibility

Couldnotaffordsalary/benefitsreduction

Couldhurtadvancement

Notacceptedinbusinessunit

Notawareofflexoptions

Table6:BarrierstoFlexibilitybyEmployeeFlexibilityandManager

Figure9:MainReasonNotUsingAnyFlexibilityOption


“It dependsonwhatdepartment you are in as far as flexibility,which is finebecauseneeds are different, but I believe [flexibility] should bemore consistent.” — Female,formal,flextime—setschedule“[Flexibleworkoptionsare]notavailableinmydepartment.”—Male,noflex

Forthosenotusingflexibility,dotheyhaveaninterest?Most (86 percent) of the respondents currently not using flexibility would be interested in usingflexibility if itwereofferedto themwithoutpenalty, includingalmosthalf (45percent)whoare“veryinterested.”Therearenodifferencesbetweenmenandwomenorbyageofrespondent.

FlexibilityCompatibilityEmployees’perceptionsofworkschedules Inordertoexaminewhetherworkschedulesareinsynchwithemployeeneeds,weaskedrespondentswhether theyhavethecontrol theyneedover theirschedules, if theywork theirpreferredworkshiftandwhethertheyaresatisfiedwiththeirworkschedule.Respondentsusing formal flexibilityaremore likely to report schedulesare insynchwith theirneeds:theyhavethecontroltheyneedovertheirworkschedule,theyhavetheirpreferredworkshift,andtheyaresatisfiedwiththeirworkscheduleascomparedtothoseusingonlyoccasionalflexibilityornotusinganyflexibility(seeTable7).Lookingwithinthecategoriesofformal,occasionalornoflexibility,therearenogenderdifferences,butthereare someagedifferences. Younger respondents (under25 yearsold)using formal flexibleworkarrangementsarelesslikelythanolderrespondentsusingformalarrangementstoagreetheyhavetheshifttheypreferandtheyaresatisfiedwiththeirworkschedules.Itisalsoworthnotingthatemployeesondifferentshiftsresponddifferentlytotheseitems.Employeesontheregulardaytimeshiftaremorelikelythanthoseonothershiftstoagreetheyworktheirpreferredshiftsandhaveasmuchcontrolastheyneed.Respondentsonrotatingandsplitshiftsreporttheleastsatisfactionwiththeirworkschedule. Formal Occasional NotUsingHaveasmuchcontrolasneededoverworkschedule

71% 35% 40%

Havethepreferredworkshift 82% 57% 63%Satisfactionwithworkschedule* 87% 69% 61%

*Itemnotincludedforonecompanysurvey.

Table7:PerceptionsofWorkSchedulesbyFlexibility


Wealsoexaminedtheresultsbyspecifictypesofformalflexibilityandfoundthatgenerallyemployeesusingcompressedworkweeksreportthehighestagreementwiththeseitems(seeTable8). Formal Flextime

Flextime—Set

Flextime—

Different

Compress Telework PartTime

Haveasmuchcontrolasneededoverworkschedule

71% 69% 70% 70% 82% 78% 66%

Havethepreferredworkshift

82% 80% 83% 75% 89% 87% 77%

Satisfactionwithworkschedule*

87% 88% 89% 90% 91% 89% 79%

“I feel grateful to be able to work a compressed workweek and feel I have a betterwork‐lifebalance!”—Female,compressedworkweek“My jobgivesme theopportunity tomake changes inmy scheduledependingonmyschoolschedule.”—Female,formal,parttime

Flexibility“fit”:whohastheflexibilitytheyneed?While companiesmay provide flexibility policies and options, the extent to which these policies andoptions fit the needs of employees is important to the realization of benefits employers expect byprovidingthesepoliciesandoptions.Respondentsusingformalflexibilityaremorelikelytoreporttheyhave the flexibility they need in their work schedule to manage work, family and personalresponsibilities, compared to those using only occasional flexibility or not using any flexibility (74percentformalvs.47percentoccasionaland39percentnotusingflex).The types of flexibility options used and the number of flexibility arrangements are related toemployees’ reporting they have the flexibility they need to manage their work, family and personalroles.Theuseofflextime,compressedworkweeks,teleworkandparttimehasapositive influenceonemployees’reportingtheirabilitytomanagemultiplerolesandresponsibilities.Thehigherthenumberofformal,occasionalandtime‐offstrategiesemployeesuse,themorelikelytheyaretoreporttheyhavetheflexibilitytheyneedtomanagetheirmultipleroles.Employeesontheregulardaytimeshiftaremorelikelythanthoseonothershiftstoagreetheyhavetheflexibilitytheyneedtoaddresswork,familyandpersonalresponsibilities.As might be expected, the degree of support from company leadership, managers and peers has apositiveimpactonwhetheremployeeshavetheflexibilitytheyneed.Thegreaterthesupport,themorelikelytheyaretoreporttheyhavetheflexibilitytheyneed intheirworkschedules.Similarly,theeasewithwhichrespondentscantakeadvantageofoccasionalandtime‐offstrategiesalsopositivelyimpactsemployees’reportsofhavingtheflexibilitytheyneed.

*Itemnotincludedforonecompanysurvey.

Table8:WorkArrangementsbyFormalFlexibilityTypes


Theoldestrespondents(ages55orolder)aremorelikelytoagreethanyoungerrespondentsthattheyhave the flexibility theyneed in theirworkschedule tomanagemultiple roles,while thosewitheldercare responsibilities are less likely than those without this responsibility to report they have theflexibilitytheyneedintheirworkschedule.

“My companyworks very hardwithme to allowme the flexibility I need to balanceworkwitheverydaylife.Iamextremelyappreciativeofthehardworkandtimetheyputin to allow me options in flexibility that other companies do not.” —Male, formal,flextime—setschedule

SatisfactionwiththeopportunitytoworkflexiblyEmployees’ perceptions of the opportunities for flexibility are an important indicator ofwhether thecompanyculturesupportsflexibility.Weaskedrespondentsiftheyaresatisfiedwiththeiropportunitiestoworkflexiblyattheirorganizations,andtwo‐thirds(66percent)aresatisfied(seeFigure10).Thelevelof satisfaction is highest for those who use their company’s formal flexible work arrangements (80percent)andlowestforthosewhodonotcurrentlyuseanyflexibilityofferings(26percent).Two‐fifths(44percent)ofthosewhouseoccasionalflexibilityaresatisfiedwiththeopportunitiestoworkflexibly.Womenandmenwhousedifferentcategoriesof flexibilityareequally satisfiedwithopportunities toworkflexibly.Whenexaminingthesatisfactionwithopportunitiesforflexibilitybyage,respondentsages25to34aretheleastsatisfied;thisisespeciallytrueofthoseusingformalflexiblearrangements.

While most employees who are using a formal flexible arrangement are satisfied with theiropportunitiestoworkflexibly,wewantedtofindoutwhetherrespondentsusingspecifictypesofformalarrangements are more satisfied with their opportunities. For formal flexible options, the use of

80%

44%

26%

Figure10:SatisfactionwithOpportunitiesforFlexibilitybyGender


flextime, compressedworkweeks, teleworkandpart timeall contribute to increased satisfactionwiththe opportunities to work flexibly. Those using a compressed workweek are the most likely to besatisfied with the opportunities to work flexibly at the organizations (see Figure 11). The number ofoptionsusedalsoinfluencessatisfaction;asthenumberofformaloptionsoneuses increases,sodoesthelevelofsatisfactionwiththeopportunities.

Examining thosewhouseoccasional flexibility, respondentswhoadjust theirworkhours forpersonalreasons are significantly more likely to be satisfied with opportunities for flexibility. In addition, themoreoccasionaloptionsoneuses,thegreaterthesatisfaction.Becausemanyrespondentsuseformalflexibilityinadditiontotheiruseofoccasionalflexibility,wealsoexamined these data by including those individuals who also make use of a formal flexible workarrangement. As shown in Figure 12, satisfaction is significantly higher when occasional flexibility iscoupledwithaformalarrangement.

*Respondentsmayusemorethanonearrangement.

Figure11:Percent“VerySatisfied”and“Satisfied”withtheOpportunitiestoWorkFlexiblybyTypeofFlexibilityUsing*


“It isoneof thebestopportunities Ihavehadwith this companysince Ibegan. Ithasbeenwonderful tohaveadayoff tohelparound thehouseand spend timewith thekids.”—Male,formal,compressedworkweek“The compressed workweek allows me to help my family in ways I could not haveotherwise.”—Female,formal,compressedworkweek

Theeaseofuseof flexibilityoptionsandthesupport for flexibility fromvariouscompanyconstituentsarealsorelatedtosatisfactionwiththeircompany’sflexibilityopportunities.Respondentswhohaveaneasiertimeaccessingoccasionalflexibilityandtime‐offstrategiesaremoresatisfiedthanthosehavingdifficulty accessing these options. Respondents reporting support from company leadership andmanagers for flexibility are more likely to be satisfied with opportunities than those who find theenvironmentlesssupportive.Genderinfluenceswhetheroneissatisfiedwiththeflexibilityopportunitiesprovidedbyone’scompany—womenaremorelikelythanmentobesatisfied.Agealsoisadeterminingfactor—respondentsages25to34arelesssatisfiedwiththeopportunitiesprovidedthanothers.Also,respondentswitheldercareresponsibilitiesarelesssatisfiedwithflexibilityopportunitiesprovided.

“[Iamsatisfiedwiththe]abilitytohavewhateverhoursandbreaksIchoose,theabilitytogivemyhoursawayandtakehoursfromsomeoneelse.”—Female,formal,flextime—both“I’mthrilledwithmycurrentscheduleandappreciatehavingthealternativeoptionsformyhealth. I feel valuedasanemployee tohave thisopportunity.”—Female, formal,parttime

ThosewithFormalFWAs:

Figure12:Percent“VerySatisfied”and“Satisfied”withtheOpportunitiestoWorkFlexiblybyTypeofOccasionalFlexibilityUsing


FlexibilityImpactsWhatarethebusinessandpersonalimpactsofflexibility?Accordingtomostflexibilityusersandmanagersofemployeesusingflexibility,flexibilityhasapositiveinfluence on several business and personal outcomes: in particular, employees’ ability to meetpersonal/familyresponsibilities,productivity,measuresofwork‐lifeeffectiveness,andcustomerservice(seeTable9).Itisalsoimportanttonotethatone‐tenthorfewerreportflexibilityhasanegativeimpactonanyofthesebusinessorpersonalfactors.For employees using flexibility, women report even more positive influences than their malecounterparts.PositiveInfluencesonBusinessandEmployees’PersonalLives(Percentage“VeryPositive”and“Positive”)

FlexibilityUsersSelfReport

ManagersofFlexibilityUsers

Abilitytomeetpersonal/familyresponsibilities 85% 92%Teamproductivityandeffectiveness 80% 79%Overallsatisfactionworkingatcompany 81% 88%Responsiveness 75% 74%Levelofcustomerservice 70% 71%Levelofstress,healthandwell‐being 69% 77%Absenteeism 64% 74%

“This opportunity is key to balance people's lives. By offering more flexibility, thecompanyshouldseeresults inproductivityandexperiencemoreemployeeloyalty.”—Female,formal,flextime—setschedule,compressed“No traffic; fewer distractions/interruptions; more productive — able toconcentrate/focusonprojectsforlongerperiodsoftimeinordertocompletetasksontime(oraheadofschedule).”—Female,formal,flextime—changingschedule

Doesflexibilityhelpcompaniesrecruit?Most(83percent)oftherespondentswhohavejoinedtheircompaniesinthelasttwoyearsreportthatflexibility was either “very important” (43 percent) or “somewhat important” (40 percent) in theirdecisiontotakeajobwiththecompany—whichsuggeststhatthepresenceofflexibilityoptionsassistscompanies inrecruitingtalent (seeFigure13).Managersconcur—four‐fifths (79percent)reportthattheirabilitytorecruittalentedemployeesisenhancedbyopportunitiestoworkflexibly,includingabouttwo‐fifths (45percent)who report it isenhanced“agreatdeal”or “verymuch” (seeFigure14).Onlyone‐tenth(11percent)reportflexibilitydidnothaveanyimpactrecruitment.Theimportanceofflexibilitytojoiningtheircompaniesdoesvarybythelevelofflexibilitybeingusedbytheemployeeoncetheyjoin.Thosewhorecentlyjoinedandareusingformalflexibilityaremorelikelytoreportflexibilitywas“veryimportant”(57percentvs.27percentoccasionaland28percentnotusingflexibility)intheirdecision‐makingprocess.

Table9:ImpactsofFlexibilitybyFlexibilityUsersandManagersofFlexibilityUsers


Thereisnogenderdifferenceintheinfluenceofflexibilityonrecruitment,buttherearedifferencesbyagewithregardtotheimportanceoftheroleflexibilityhadintheirjoiningtheircompanies.Contrarytoexpectations,theyoungestrespondentsareleastlikelytoreportflexibilitywas“veryimportant”intheirdecision to join thecompany,and thoseover theageof44are themost likely to report itwas“veryimportant.”

“Flexworkhasbeenthemostcriticalcomponentresponsibleformysuccessinbothmypersonal and professional life. I would not be able to do what I do without it.” —Female,formal,flextime—changingschedule

Whatimpactdoesflexibilityhaveonemployeeengagement?Flexibility does make a difference to employees’ engagement. Engagement scores are highest forrespondentsusing formal flexibility compared toothers, and themore typesof formal flexibility theyuse, themore engaged they are.8 Types of formal flexibility that have themost impact are flextime,compressedworkweeksandtelework.Engagementisalsohigheramongrespondentswhooccasionallyadjusttheirworkhourstotakecareofpersonal or family matters as well as those who report it is easier for them to take advantage ofoccasionalflexibilityandtime‐offopportunities.The demographics do not have an influence on engagement — there are no engagement scoredifferencesbygender,age,oramongthosewithchildoreldercareresponsibilities.Whether respondents feel theyhave the flexibility theyneed in theirwork schedule tomanage theirwork and personal responsibilities is also significantly related to engagement (see Figure 15).

AGreatDeal

VeryMuch

Somewhat

NotMuch

Figure14:Supervisors’Ratings—RecruitmentofTalentedEmployeesIs

EnhancedbyOpportunitiestoWorkFlexibly

*Amongthosewhohavejoinedinthelasttwoyears.

Figure13:Employees’Ratings—ImportanceofFlexibilityinDecisiontoTakeaJobwith

Company*

NotImportant

SomewhatImportant

VeryImportant

NotAtAll

22%

23%34%

10%

11%

NotAtAll AGreatDeal

VeryMuchSomewhat

NotMuch


Engagement is55percenthigherforemployeeswhohavetheflexibilitytheyneedcomparedtothosewhodonot.

“Thecompanytrulycaresaboutitsemployeesandtrulygivestheemployeesalisteningearandwantssuccessforthecompanyteam.Ireallybelievethecompanyisallforthewin‐win situation in all aspects of the company. I love the company, and I am sohonored tobeapartof suchawonderfullypositiveorganization!”—Female, formal,telework

Isflexibilityaneffectiveretentiontool?Thequestionfromabusinessperspectiveiswhetherornotflexibilityplaysaroleinreducingturnovercosts and ensuring a stable workforce. We examined three measures of retention: whether theopportunity towork flexibly impacts respondents’decisions to remainat their company,whether thelossofflexibilityoptionswouldbeareasontoseekaworkopportunitywithanotherorganization,andthe relationship between having adequate flexibility and the number of years respondents expect toremainattheirorganizations.More than four‐fifths (83 percent) of employees report the opportunity to work flexibly is at leastsomewhatimportantintheirintentiontostaywiththeircompany.Ofemployeeswithaformalflexibilityarrangement,87percentreportitisatleastsomewhatimportant,andmorethanone‐half(54percent)reportflexibilityis“veryimportant.”

Figure15:EngagementbyHavingtheFlexibilityNeededtoManageWork,PersonalandFamilyResponsibilities


Theopportunitytoworkflexiblyisespeciallyimportanttointentiontostayforrespondentsusingpart‐timearrangementsandthoseusingteleworkarrangements(seeFigure16).

Flexibilityisimportanttotheretentionofthoseusingoccasionalflexibilityandthosenotusingflexibility;itplaysasignificantroleforbothgroups(78percentimportantand66percent).Women are more likely than men to report the opportunity to work flexibly is important to them,especially“veryimportant”(52percentvs.34percent).Respondentsages25to34aremorelikelythanyoungerandolder respondents to report that flexibility is “very important” to their retentionat theircompanies.More than four‐fifths (85percent) ofmanagers report that opportunities towork flexibly enhance atleastsomewhattheirabilitytoretaintalentedemployees(seeFigure17).Morethanhalf(57percent)ofthemanagersreportflexibilityenhancesretention“verymuch”or“agreatdeal.”

Figure16:Employees—ImportanceofFormalFlexibilityinIntentiontoStay

Figure17:Manager—ExtentRetentionofTalentedEmployeesIsEnhancedbyOpportunitytoWorkFlexibly

Anyparttime

Telework

Flextime—changingschedule

Flextime—setschedule

Compressedworkweek


Another measure of the importance of flexibility to retention is the likelihood that employees whocurrentlyuseflexibilitywouldleavethecompanywithoutit.Three‐fifths(60percent)offlexibilityusersreport that they are either “very likely” (22 percent) or “likely” (38 percent) to leave their companywithout the opportunity towork flexibly (see Figure 18). There is no difference between those usingformalversusoccasionalflexibility.Womenaremorelikelythanmentoreporttheywouldleavetheircompaniesiftheydidnothavetheopportunitytoworkflexibly(63percent“very”or“somewhat”vs.51percent).

“Manyhoursarespentintheworkplace.Wespendmoretimewithourco‐workersthanour family. Any perk that also works for the business, can only improve employeeretention and employees’ well‐being and happiness in their current positions. Thiswouldbeinstrumentalinkeepingemployeesintheirjobslonger.”—Female,manager

Impactofflexibility“fit”onturnoverintentionFlexibility does make a difference to employee turnover. Turnover is lower for respondents usingflextime and telework compared to others. In addition, the greater the number of formal flexibilityoptionsused, aswell as the total numberof formal, occasional and time‐off strategiesused, the lesslikely employees are to consider leaving their organizations. Thosewho have less difficulty accessingflexibilityoptionsarealsolesslikelytoconsiderleaving.We also examined the relationship between having needed flexibility and the number of yearsrespondentsexpecttoremainwiththeircompanies.Theexpectedturnoverrateforemployeeswhodonothavetheflexibilitytheyneedattheircompaniesisalmosttwicetherateofthosewhodohavetheflexibilitytheyneed(seeFigure19).

VeryLikely

SomewhatLikely

NotLikely

Ratedas“VeryLikelytoLeave” FormalFWAuser:22% Occasionalflexuser:21%

*Askedonlyofthoseusingformaloroccasionalflexibility.

Figure18:HowLikelyIsItThatYouWouldLeavetheCompanyIfYouDidNotHavetheOpportunitytoWorkFlexibly?*


Whatimpactdoesflexibilityhaveonemployeestressandburnout?One‐third or more of employees respond affirmatively to experiencing three factors of stress andburnout,includingfrequentlyfeelingphysicallyoremotionallydrainedattheendofaworkday;feelingthatnomatterhowhard theywork, they can’t get everythingdone; and that the stressof balancingwork andpersonal/family responsibilities affects their health.9 There areno stress andburnout scoredifferencesbygenderoramongthosewithchildcareresponsibilities,butthereisanagedifferencethatshows oldest respondents have the least amount of stress and burnout. Employees with elder careresponsibilitieshavehigherstressandburnoutscoresthanotheremployees.Flexibility doesmake a difference in the amount of stress and burnout respondents experience. Themoretypesofformalflexibilityemployeesuseandtheeasierflexibilityistoaccess,thelessstresstheyreport.

“Ihavemoretimetoworkwithmycharityandfeelmuchlessstresstotrytoget italldone. I wish this had been available when my daughter was younger.” — Female,formal,compressedworkweek“Havingflextimereallyhelpsasfarasfamilyandpersonaltimetomakeappointments.[It]makeslifelessstressfulandeasier.”—Female,formal,flextime—setschedule,parttime

PersonalimpactofflexibilityonstressandburnoutWhether respondents feel theyhave the flexibility theyneed in theirwork schedule tomanage theirwork and personal responsibilities is also significantly related to stress and burnout (see Figure 20).

Figure19:RetentionbyHavingtheFlexibilityNeededtoManageWork,PersonalandFamilyResponsibilities

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

PercentWhoPlantoLeaveWithin2Years

15%

27%

HaveFlexibilityNeeded DoNotHaveFlexibility


Stressismorethantwotimesgreaterforemployeeswhodonothavetheflexibilitytheyneedcomparedtothosewhohaveit.

Figure20:StressandBurnoutbyHavingtheFlexibilityNeededtoManageWork,PersonalandFamilyResponsibilities


AbouttheCorporateVoicesSurveyonFlexibilityforHourlyandNonexemptWorkersDuring 2008, the five organizations participating in the Innovative Workplace Flexibility Options forHourlyWorkers project fielded the Corporate Voices Survey on Flexibility for Hourly andNonexemptWorkerstoasampleoftheirworkforce.10Across the five organizations, 2,478managers and employeeswere invited to participate. The surveywasconductedprimarilyonline,andprintedsurveysweremadeavailableinoneorganizationinwhichemployeesdidnothaveaccesstocomputersortheInternetattheworkplace.The final number of participants was 1,629, which included 211 managers; 1,290 lower wage,nonexemptandhourlyworkerswhoutilizeflexibility;andasmallcomparisonsampleof128employeeswhoperformcomparablejobsinthesamecompaniesbutdonotuseflexibility.Surveyresponserateswithincompaniesrangedfrom48percentto82percentwithanaverageof64percent.Data from the five organizationswereweighted equally in the overall analyses. Statistical techniqueswereusedtocontrolforcompanydifferenceswhenexaminingtherelationshipofflexibilitytovariousbusinessandemployeeoutcomes.Overviewofmanagerrespondents

ManagersGender Men 33%Women 67%Age <35years 35%35–44years 24%45–54years 28%55+years 13%MinorityStatus Nonminority 83%Minority 17%YearsatCompany <3years 13%3–9years 36%10+years 52%


Overviewofemployeerespondents

EmployeesGender Men 25%Women 75%Age <35years 35%35–44years 22%45–54years 29%55+years 14%MinorityStatus Nonminority 82%Minority 18%HouseholdComposition Married/partnered 65%Single 35%DependentCareStatus Parentofchildunderage18 37%Planningfirstchild 8%ElderandAdultDependentCare Currentlyhave 16%Expectinginnearfuture 20%YearsatCompany <3years 31%3–9years 31%10+years 39%EmployeeShifts Regulardaytime 67%Regularevening 12%Regularnightshift 9%Rotatingshift 6%Splitshift 1%Other 5%


DefinitionsofCommonFlexibleWorkArrangements

Formal flexible work arrangements include the following, although not all may be applicable forcertainpositions:3

• Flextime: Modification in start and end times, often with required core hours for full‐time

employees

• Compressedworkweek: Compressionof full‐time job responsibilities into fewer than fivedaysperweek(oftenreferredtoasa4/10),orfewerthan10daysintwoweeks(oftenreferredtoasa9/80)

• Telework:Full‐timeworkconducteduptoseveraldaysaweekatasiteotherthantheprimary

worksite

• Remote work: Full‐time work conducted at home or another site with limited presence at aregularcompanyfacility

• Parttime:Reducedhoursorschedule,withacorrespondingreductioninjobresponsibilitiesand

pay,andanadjustmentofbenefits

• Job sharing: Two employees on reduced schedules and workload share overlappingresponsibilitiesofafull‐timeposition,withacorrespondingreductioninpayandanadjustmentofbenefitsforeach


Endnotes

1. AccordingtotheNationalCompensationSurvey,25percentofU.S.workersearn$10perhouror less, or $20,080or less annually for a 40‐hourworkweek. “National Compensation Survey:Occupational Wages in the United States, July 2004, Supplementary Tables.” U.S. Bureau ofLaborStatistics.August2005.

2. TheLaborDepartmenthadestimatedthatbetween2002and2012,theeconomywouldcreate

more than 7.5million new jobs. However, almost 6million of these jobs are expected to belowerwagejobsthatrequirelimitededucationandprovideminimaltraining.

3. With funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Corporate Voices and WFD Consulting

collaboratedonthereport,TheBusinessCaseforFlexibility:AnImperativeforExpansion(2005),whichsummarized internalbusinessdata from28majorAmericancompanies thatcollectivelydemonstrate a powerful business case for management and professional flexibility; effectiveflexibilityprogramsincreaseproductivitydriverssuchascommitmentandretentionandhaveadirectimpactonfinancialperformance.

4. ThisfindingisreportedinTheBusinessCaseforFlexibility:AnImperativeforExpansion(2005).

SeeWorkplace Flexibility for LowerWageWorkers (2006), a Corporate Voices briefing paperresearchedandwrittenbyWFDConsulting, fora summaryof researchon flexibility for lowerwageworkers.

5. Duringdatacollectionitwasdeterminedthatoneparticipatingcompanydidnotmeetthelower

wage salary requirements. A decisionwasmade to include their data given the relevance oftheirflexibilityworkpracticestotheresearchobjectivesandtheapplicabilityoftheirexperiencetolowerwageworkenvironmentswithsimilarjobtypesandworkprocesses.

6. Thecomparisonsampleofemployeeswhowerenotusingflexibilitywassmallerthanexpectedin the study design. The researchers found that in business units or departments in whichflexibility was available, use was widespread and it was difficult to identify employees toparticipateinthesurveywhowerenotusingflexibilityinsomefashion.

7. Pitt‐CatsouphesandMatz‐Costadiscusstheconceptofflexibility“fit”intheirarticle“Themulti‐

generationalworkforce:Workplaceflexibilityandengagement,”whichcanbefoundintheMay2008issueofCommunity,Work&Family,11(2).

8. WFD’s Engagement Index is composed of seven items that measure the degree to which

employeesareengaged in theorganization, internalizeand identifywiththecompany’sgoals,want to make the company successful, and are willing to devote effort on its behalf. TheEngagementIndexisa14‐pointscale,whichrangesfromalowof0toahighof14.

9. WFD’sStressandBurnoutIndexiscomposedofsevenitemsthatmeasurethedegreetowhich

employeesareabletomanagethemultipledemandsofworkandpersonal/family lifeandtheimpact of the multiple demands of their work and personal responsibilities on health, jobperformanceandabilitytomeetfamilyobligations.TheStressandBurnoutIndexisa14‐pointscale,whichrangesfromalowof0toahighof14.


10. The Corporate Voices Survey on Flexibility for Hourly and Nonexempt Workers instrument

incorporatedmany itemsfromtheWFDsurveydatabase.ForadescriptionoftheWFDsurveydatabaseitems,seetheMay2008issueofCommunity,Work&Family,11(2).Severalnewitemsweredevelopedinordertoexamineaspectsofflexibilitypertainingtolowerwageworkersthathave not beenmeasured previously. In addition, the following itemswere adapted from the“NationalStudyoftheChangingWorkforce2002Questionnaire”andusedwithpermissionfromtheFamiliesandWork Institute:“Howeasyordifficult is it foryoutotaketimeoffduringtheworkdaytotakecareofpersonalorfamilymatters?”;“Howeasyordifficultisitforyoutotakebreakswhenyouwantto?”;“Ifyouworkfulltime,couldyouarrangetoworkparttimeinyourcurrentposition?”;“Ifyouworkparttime,couldyouarrangetoworkfull timeinyourcurrentposition?”;“Howoftenareyourequiredtoworkpaidovertimehoursorunpaidextrahourswithlittleornoadvancenotice?”;“Mysupervisor/managerassumesthatIwillbeavailabletoworkextra hours without asking me first.”; “In your current position have you lost pay or beendisciplinedorpenalizedformissingtimebecauseoffamilyorpersonalresponsibilities?”;“Haveyoueverlostafull‐timejobbecauseofattendanceissuesortoomanyunscheduledabsences?”

CORPORATEVOICESFORWORKINGFAMILIES

CorporateVoicesforWorkingFamiliesistheleadingnationalbusinessmembershiporganizationrepresentingtheprivatesectoronpublicandcorporatepolicyissuesinvolvingworkingfamilies.Anonprofit,nonpartisanorganization,weimprovethelivesofworkingfamiliesbydevelopingandadvancinginnovativepoliciesthatreflectcollaborationamongtheprivatesector,governmentandotherstakeholders.

Tocreatebipartisansupportforissuesaffectingworkingfamilies,wefacilitateresearchinareasspotlightingtheintersectinginterestsofbusiness,communityandfamilies:workforcereadiness,familyeconomicstabilityandflexibilityintheworkplace.

Collectivelyour50partnercompanies,withannualnetrevenuesofmorethan$1trillion,employmorethan4millionindividualsthroughoutall50states.

OurWebsite:www.cvworkingfamilies.org

Ourblog:www.corporatevoices.wordpress.com

FollowusonTwitter:@corporatevoicesWFDCONSULTING

WFDConsultingpartnerswithitsclientstocreateinspiringworkenvironmentswhereorganizationssucceedandemployeesthrive.Theirresearch,consultingandimplementationserviceshelpclientsbuildacompetitiveemployeevaluepropositionandmobilizethefullrichness,diversityandpotentialoftheiremployees,resultinginamoreresilient,productiveandengagedworkforce.Forover25years,WFDConsultinghasbeendedicatedtoimprovingbusinessoutcomesandimprovingthelivesofworkingfamiliesthroughcollaboration,innovationandacommitmenttoaction.

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