Monday 27th January 2020
7 types of flexible working schedules

Introducing a flexible work scheme usually involves a discussion around location. Three of the most popular types – Hybrid, Remote and Working From Anywhere – relate to where people work on any given day whether it’s at home, the office or elsewhere. And it’s about how those work patterns fit together into one cohesive whole.

As part of this mix employers often consider the working hours of their employees and the possibilities of flexible working. Flexible working can mean different things to different businesses and there’s a wide range of possibilities. Whether it’s offering employees the right to choose their hours or share their roles, the type of flexible working that’s right for your business will depend on what you’re trying to achieve. You need to consider how you can best get control over your arrangement to encourage collaboration, maximize office capacity and give everyone who works for you greater certainty.

In this article, we look at the main forms of flexible working and how they could fit in with your flexible work arrangement. We consider how it can offer the capacity to adapt your office and provide a more attractive and more productive working space.

1. Part-time work

Flexible working

One of the most basic examples of flexible working is part-time work. An employee commits to a certain amount of hours per week or month, usually on specific days. It saves money if a role does not require five days a week or gives a valued employee the opportunity to use their days or hours off as they wish.

The downside is when that employee is not available to work at a crucial moment on a project or fails to hand over crucial information before leaving for a long weekend. However, this is a good option for smaller companies who may not be able to afford senior people in a full time position or have certain days when work is more intense.

2. Job sharing

Job sharing is an increasingly popular option for employers. The arrangement can be varied and could involve one person doing a role in the morning and another the same role in the afternoon. It may be two days a week for one employee, three days for another. They could even work on the same three days a week.

One of the big advantages of job sharing is having two experienced people doing the same job which means more input in terms of ability and ideas, and a level of cover for times such as holidays or if one of the employees decides to leave. On the downside, the communication between the two employees needs to be good so work can be handed over simply and seamlessly. And what if the two people sharing the job really don’t get on? Those tensions can seriously affect overall performance.

3. Job splitting

7 types of flexible working schedules

Job splitting is similar to job sharing except that the role itself is segmented so employees carry out different tasks. Whilst it loses some of the impact of a full job share it can be more convenient and means fewer senior personnel are needed for one role.

Either way, job sharing or job splitting could be the answer for employees needing time to do something in their personal life and can be a great tool for hanging on to the best people. It does need careful consideration to ensure the business gets the best from the arrangement.

4. Compressed working

Many people are increasingly questioning the five day week. Is it an anachronism of the 20th century or a necessity for modern business to function? The question is open to debate, but a four day week policy could fit in very well with your flexible work scheme.

Three day weekends are an attractive proposition and compressed working is designed to deliver longer breaks by asking an employee to do four days of work in five. This may involve a reduction in income or working longer hours during the four days.

For the most progressive employer it may mean neither of these but few are ready to take this step despite recent studies showing that a four day week can actually improve productivity. It’s an option well worth considering if you’re looking for happier workers, more space in your office and a means of attracting talent through policies that cater for different lifestyles. You’ll need to consider who covers for your employee on those extra days and, for example in customer facing roles, it may not be suitable.

5. Staggered hours/shift work

Greater control

One way of offering flexible working and fitting in with the lifestyle of the employee is staggered hours. This means they have the ability to choose different start, finish and break times from fellow workers. It doesn’t necessarily have to mean working night shifts; it could simply involve starting and ending the working day 2 or 3 hours earlier or later than is typical.

This can give you greater control over your workplace, meaning not everyone is in the office at the same time. It’s important to find the right balance so that the requirements of the job are being fully met. It’s also important that communications with other workers can still take place and that any handover is smooth and seamless.

Without being too controlling, these staggered hours should be formalized in the employment contract meaning employers know who is working exactly when allowing them to manage workloads and priorities accordingly.

6. Annualized hours

As the name suggests, annualized hours are a form of flexible working where an employee agrees to work a set amount of hours every year. The advantage for a business is the ability to flex those hours to meet temporary uplifts in demand and, likewise, any fallow periods. This can save on traditional overtime costs and ensure that the business is at the capacity it needs when it needs it.

For the employee, it can mean the ability to take time off at certain periods and choose the hours that suit them best. These hours can be broken down into ‘core’ which is the basic amount expected to be worked every year or ‘unordered’ where the employee agrees to work hours if and when required.

Obviously your employer contracts are going to have to be carefully written, but this is a great choice for seasonal businesses or those who are confident when supply and demand is at its highest.

7. Reduced retirement

Flexible working tool

The days of retiring in your mid-60s with a gold clock are fading fast. Now retirement itself can be used as a flexible working tool where employees nearing the end of their careers can choose to phase out the amount of work they do rather than leave completely. As they may also receive benefits from their part-time retirement they are financially able to work fewer hours and can be asked to work when necessary rather than a full five day week.

This can be an excellent option for employers who want experienced employees to remain as long as possible and for employees not yet ready to fully throw themselves into their golden years and enjoy some of the benefits of retirement without the subsequent drop in income.

Free to choose

It may be that flexible working doesn’t work for your business at all. In that case, the introduction of a flexible work scheme will be all about discussing issues such as remote working and how best to manage visits to the office. However, for those looking to deliver the best and most efficient operations it is something that needs to be seriously considered in the mix.

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