Telecommuting, flex-time, job sharing and compressed work weeks are some of the work schedule arrangements companies are making available to employees to provide them with a better work/life balance. Forward-thinking companies have come to realize that flexible work arrangements are a strong recruitment tool, a great boost for employee morale, and an effective means for decreasing employee turnover.


Over the last several years, many federal and state governmental agencies also have begun offering their employees flexible work arrangements. In New Jersey, the Department of Labor offers both flex-time and telecommuting options to employees. The telecommuting program is a pilot program that has been in effect for three months. The arrangement already has resulted in significant rent savings in office space, according to the department. Officials also report that employee morale has increased significantly since the two programs began. The NJ Department of Transportation has offered a compressed workweek program for employees since 1997 that allows them to work five days one week and four days the next week. The Department of Transportation credits the program with reducing sick leave and with increasing employee satisfaction. The Department of Health and Senior Services also offers an alternative workweek program that lets employees complete their regular hourly schedule in nine days so they can get the tenth day off. As with the Department of Labor and Department of Transportation, Health and Senior Services officials report they have seen a definite increase in employee morale.


Propelling the change in work arrangements are new technologies that have helped to redefine office boundaries. In the beginning of the 1980s, the introduction of new technologies was limited to a few specific business sectors. But by the end of the decade, there was a significant increase in the penetration of computers and computer-based technologies on a vast array of business functions. The advent of fax machines, email, voice mail and the growth and popularity of the Internet has created a global work environment that is fast-paced and aggressive, and which is changing where, when and how people work.

Statistics gathered by the International Telework Association and Council show that there was a 60-percent increase in telecommuting between 1996 and 1998, with almost 16 million workers spending at least one day per week outside the traditional work environment. Telecommuting is the concept of performing work on a regular basis in a location other than the office, usually at home.
There are many advantages to telecommuting for both companies and employees. Employees both feel they have more control of their lives and enjoy the benefits of less time spent commuting to work.

Employers benefit as their employees increase their use of new technologies and as their organizations gain an advantage for recruiting and retaining top professionals.

Some important items to keep in mind when offering a telecommuting option are training, equipment and communication. Without the proper training and equipment, implementing a telecommuting program can be more trouble than it's worth. The time and effort invested in providing the proper equipment and training will pay off many times over once employees are out on their own. Also, establishing clear communications and expectations with telecommuting employees is essential. Employees also need to be able to access company information as easily as if they were in the office.


Flex-time is a popular work option that is easy for management to institute and monitor. Flex-time allows for flexibility in starting and quitting time within limits established by management. In most flex-time situations, there is a set amount of hours everyone must work. For example, if normal hours are 9:00am-5:00pm, a flex schedule could be 7:30am-3:30pm or 10:00am-6:00pm. The total number of hours worked remains the same for other similar positions. Another way that flex-time can be used, which is popular in many accounting firms, is to reduce daily time during slower periods to compensate for the increased hours during busy seasons.


A variation of flex-time is the compressed workweek. This generally squeezes the hours of a "normal" workweek into a shorter period to allow for a regular day off. Examples include four 10-hour days with the fifth day off, or nine nine-hour days with the tenth day off. Many other different hourly combinations can be created to meet the needs of the employee and the business. For example, the NJ Environmental Protection Agency offers an alternative workweek program that provides employees with the option of working four 10-hour days so they can have the fifth day off, or working 70 hours in nine days so they can have the tenth day off. Employers benefit from such arrangements by being able to provide employees with a zero-cost benefit. Such arrangements also can be used to save one day a week of operating costs or to provide more overall hours of coverage without running additional shifts or accruing overtime.


Yet another arrangement that has been growing in popularity is job sharing. Job sharing involves allowing two people to share one job, each working part-time so that their combined schedule equates to one full-time job. Unlike flex-time and compressed work weeks, job sharing is an employee-initiated arrangement. Typically, one employee is the official "holder" of the job and has first rights to the job on a full-time basis. In allowing such arrangements, management needs to be careful in evaluating the employees looking for such an arrangement and the job itself. Questions that need to be considered are whether the job can be carried out successfully in such a manner and whether the employees have the communication and organizational skills required of such arrangements. Generally, job sharing agreements are for limited periods, which may be renewed.

Though job sharing tends to be applicable only in a limited range of situations, there are a number of benefits for employers. Since both employees are part-time, the need to pay overtime is eliminated, benefit costs are contained and customer service hours can be expanded. Job sharing also can help to decrease employee absenteeism and tardiness.


To reap the full value of flexible arrangements, employers need to involve employees in the process and let them know they are valued. This can be accomplished by managers taking the time, outside of performance reviews, for career discussions. Such discussions can help employees clarify the fit between themselves and their work schedules and, in turn, uncover and address lifestyle issues that impact their jobs, while demonstrating that the company is willing to step "outside-the-box" to assist them in getting ahead.

While it may be difficult at first to gauge the bottom-line benefits of new work arrangements, many employers report they quickly noticed an elevation in morale and commitment to the organization. Just as significantly, flex-time arrangements have been shown to provide a competitive advantage for attracting and retaining top professionals. **