Recently, flexible work arrangements have become a hot topic in modern workplaces. Not only can flexible work arrangements reduce operating costs for employers, but they can also make employees' lives much easier. What are the different types of flexible work arrangements and their benefits and challenges? Let this article guide you along with answers to such questions.
Flexible Work Arrangements Definition
Instead of the traditional 9-to-5 office days that range 40 hours per week, modern employers now offer more flexible work arrangements for their employees.
A flexible work arrangement allows employees to make alternative work schedules other than the traditional ones to fulfill their responsibilities.
Nowadays, flexible work arrangements allow employees more flexibility to align their personal lives with their work matters. For example, employees can opt for a different work schedule in case of unexpected family needs. Otherwise, they may initiate alternative schedules to best suit their customers' needs.
For example, salespersons may afford a flexible work arrangement that allows them to arrive at 9:00 and leave at 15:00 instead of the traditional 17:00. From 15:00 onwards, they can spend time having private meetings with potential customers instead of working in the office.
How can companies offer flexible work arrangements for their employees nowadays?
Currently, modern workplaces have adopted various types of flexible work arrangements. For instance, some companies, such as cafes and restaurants, may let their employees set their weekly schedules. Likewise, other companies, such as IT firms and marketing agencies, may embrace a hybrid employment model that offers in-person and remote work for employees.
Types of Flexible Work Arrangements
Being an umbrella term covering different types of work, flexible work arrangements vary depending on the specific wants and needs of both employers and employees. Accordingly, there are seven popular types of flexible work arrangements: flex time, compressed workweek, part-time work, hybrid work, job sharing, results-only work environment, and leaves and sabbaticals.1
Flex Time
Thinking about changing your working hours to something other than 9-to-5? Perhaps you are talking about flex time type of flexible work arrangements.
Flex time allows employees to arrange their workday's start and end times flexibly.
For example, at a marketing agency, office hours start at 8:00 and end at 16:00. However, due to family matters, a designer follows a flex-time schedule where the workday starts at 7:00 and ends at 15:00 instead.
What are the benefits of flex time?
Flex time can give employees more freedom to adjust their working hours to suit their all-day activities, thus achieving a better work-life balance. Further, flex time empowers employees to work when they are presumably most productive. For instance, while some employees are effective morning birds, others may be night owls who prefer working late nights.
Compressed Workweek
Working 40 hours five days a week has been around for a long time, but a compressed workweek adds more flexibility to this norm.
A compressed workweek allows employees to finish their 40-hour work in less than five days.
For instance, instead of working 8 hours a day for five days a week, employees may choose to work 10 hours a day for only four days per week. Thus, they can have an extra day off during their workweek. Thereby, compressed work can provide employees with more personal time and lowered commuting costs.
Which are the industries that are most likely to adopt a compressed workweek?
For instance, within the nursing or hospitality field, employees may work for three consecutive 12-hour workdays in exchange for four complete days off. Otherwise, they can choose four 10-hour work shifts with three days off instead.
Part-time Work
Part-time work, as a type of flexible work arrangement, is popular among students nowadays.
In part-time work, employees work fewer hours than the standard full-time workweek.
For instance, employers and employees may agree on a specific number of work hours that are lower than the common 40 hours per week. Depending on employees' commitments and circumstances, such arrangements can be temporary or permanent.
For example, university students can perform part-time work for local restaurants to earn extra income. Accordingly, due to their studying schedule, these students can only work during weekends for about 10 to 15 hours a week.
Who may be interested in part-time work?
Apart from students, people with certain health problems or disabilities can also benefit from part-time work with a more flexible schedule.
Hybrid Work
After the pandemic, hybrid work has arisen as a new popular form of flexible work arrangement.
Hybrid work combines remote work and office work, thus building flexible working-from-home culture while maintaining in-person communication at the office.
Companies allow employees to work remotely from their homes or any other location outside the office in hybrid work. However, employees still have to come to the office on certain days to attend weekly team meetings or company gatherings.
The key to a successful hybrid model is going to be the same as any other year: relationships and flexibility! 2
- Amber Chandler
Job Sharing
Although it is less common than other types of flexible work arrangements, job sharing still exists in certain professions, such as security or customer support services.
In job sharing, two or more employees share a full-time position.
Accordingly, within job sharing, at least two employees will split a full-time position and the associated mandatory working hours. Thus, while each employee performs part-time work, employers can still receive the quality of full-time work results.
For example, a full-time schedule at a customer support center lasts from 14:00 to 22:00. However, two employees are sharing the schedule. Accordingly, one of them works from 14:00 to 18:00 while the other works from 18:00 to 22:00.
Results Only Work Environment
Recently, Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) has also become a popular type of flexible work arrangement.
Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) focuses on employees' results and productivity levels instead of their work hours when evaluating their performance.
Specifically, employees under ROWE can work whenever they would like to and however long they wish to, as long as they can complete their weekly goals and targets. Thus, though employees may work more or less than 40 hours a week, they can still receive full-time salaries and benefits if they satisfactorily achieve desired results.
Which professions are most likely to adopt ROWE?
Professions in which work outputs are measurable tend to embrace ROWE. For instance, copywriting or social media marketing are two industries in which ROWE can be applied.
Leaves and Sabbaticals
Further, leaves and sabbaticals are also long-standing types of flexible work arrangements.
Leaves and sabbaticals are periods of leaves during which employees do not report to their job but are still employed by their companies.
Specifically, leaves often come in two types: paid or unpaid leaves, which last only for short-term periods, such as days or weeks. Usually, valid reasons for leaves include family matters, health concerns, educational purposes, or leisure vacations.
For example, a restaurant worker can ask for a three-day sick leave due to severe asthma. The worker can receive a full-time salary and health reimbursement benefits for valid health reasons.
Yet, sabbaticals usually last longer for months or even years. Also known as 'career break,' sabbaticals allow employees to pursue their interests outside of their jobs.
For example, employees may apply for sabbaticals to pursue a two-year master's education. Otherwise, they can ask for sabbaticals to enjoy a 3-month trip around the world.
Flexible Work Arrangements Benefits
Flexible work arrangements have become increasingly popular nowadays, given their vast benefits. Let's have a look at some significant advantages of flexible work arrangements:
Greater work-life balance: flexible work arrangements enable employees to care for their family's needs and personal interests and fulfill their work responsibilities and obligations.
Greater personal sense of control: flexible work arrangements can build a greater sense of control over work, thus decreasing job burnout levels and increasing general job satisfaction.
Greater work productivity: in flex time or compressed workweek, employees can adjust their working schedules to best suit their own productive hours. Thus, flexible work arrangements can generally ensure greater levels of productivity at work.
Reduced costs: for employers, flexible work arrangements save operating costs such as premise rental costs or HR expenses. For employees, flexible work arrangements save daily costs in aspects such as commuting expenses or childcare costs.
Challenges of Flexible Work Arrangements
Despite the various benefits of flexible work arrangements, there are also certain challenges of flexible work arrangement:
Insufficient communication at workplaces: flexible working arrangements lower the chances of in-person communication. Thus, ineffective in-person communication can result in lower productivity and work quality.
Decreasing sense of teamwork: although telecommunication can ensure online interaction among employees, it still lacks a complete sense of community. Thus, flexible working arrangements can lower the sense of teamwork due to a lack of supportive and physical presence of teammates around an individual.
Possibly reduced productivity: flexible working arrangements can result in reduced productivity if individuals fail to manage their own working schedule and progress. Accordingly, some employees struggle to keep track of deadlines in flexible working arrangements due to poor time management and self-discipline.
Flexible Work Arrangements Examples
In this section, let's have a look at how Dell, a leading global company, has created flexible work arrangements!
In 2009, Dell announced its transformation of HR policies to build an open and flexible work culture. Learning that flexibility was the top value of its employees, Dell decided to let employees choose their own most comfortable and supportive working styles and working schedules.3
Our value proposition is clear and simple: To enable our team members to do their best work regardless of where and when.
- Mohammed Chahdi, director of global human resources at Dell 3
Up to now, Dell has been recognized as one of the most flexible companies worldwide. Accordingly, about 60 percent of Dell's employees are currently working partially or fully remotely and at variable hours. Further, as reported by Dell, thanks to flexible work arrangements, the company has saved about $12 million USD in office space expenses since 2014.3
Work is what you do and not a place you go.
- Mohammed Chahdi 3
Flexible Work Arrangements Policy
With the rise of flexible work arrangements, companies are concerned with how to make appropriate flexible work arrangements policies to ensure overall work productivity and consistent organizational culture. Thus, let us suggest some tips for managers and HR practitioners to best formulate their flexible work arrangements policies.
Flexible Work Arrangements: Better Training for Managers
Regarding flexible work arrangements, managers should be adequately trained in how to oversee their remote employees, alternative schedules, and flexible hours. Accordingly, flexible work arrangements require different managerial and leadership styles from managers compared to traditional ones.
For example, in flexible work arrangements, managers should learn to use diverse telecommuting methods comprehensively. Further, to track employees' productivity daily, managers should also adopt new digital platforms or feedback structures.
Flexible Work Arrangements: Trial Run or Pilot Program
Another possible way to revise a flexible work arrangement policy is to adopt trial runs or pilot programs to test its effectiveness. Thus, the main goal of a trial run or pilot program is to ensure that flexible work arrangements suit the organizational culture and organizational structure.
How can companies perform a trial run or pilot program?
To conduct a trial run or pilot program, a company can take some employees from different departments to adopt prospected flexible work arrangements. Accordingly, the company will track how such departments operate without employees being in the office during normal working schedules. Usually, the trial periods last from at least a month to even a year. Eventually, depending on the observed outcomes and identified problems, the company can decide whether it will adopt flexible work arrangements or not.
It is undeniable that flexible work arrangements have become the recent norm across modern workplaces. Given its adaptability and multiple benefits, flexible work arrangements are promising long-term solutions for companies to retain employees while effectively diversifying their organizational culture.
Flexible Work Arrangements - Key takeaways
- A flexible work arrangement allows employees to make alternative work schedules other than the traditional ones to fulfill their responsibilities.
- There are seven popular types of flexible work arrangements, which are: flex time, compressed workweek, part-time work, hybrid work, job sharing, results-only work environment, and leaves and sabbaticals.
- Flexible work arrangements can bring huge benefits to companies, which include greater work-life balance, greater personal sense of control, greater work productivity, and reduced costs.
- There are also certain challenges of flexible work arrangements, which include insufficient communication at workplaces, decreasing sense of teamwork, and possibly reduced productivity.
References
- Weideman Marcel and Hofmeyr Karl. The influence of flexible work arrangements on employee engagement: An exploratory study. 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341128275_The_influence_of_flexible_work_arrangements_on_employee_engagement_An_exploratory_study
- Larry Ferlazzo. The Do's & Don'ts of Hybrid Teaching. 2020. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-dos-donts-of-hybrid-teaching/2020/10
- Samantha McLaren. How These 4 Companies Are Embracing Flexible Work — and Why You Should Too. 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-engagement/companies-are-embracing-flexible-work
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