Module 2

Is there such a thing as 9-5 anymore?

Over the past several years, employers are recognizing the many ways that alternative work arrangements can benefit the morale and efficiency of their staff.

Years ago, most workers were made to expect little flexibility from the usual Monday to Friday 9-5 work week, but things have definitely changed. An alternative work arrangement may be of interest to you when making career decisions, as you would have more control over your own work schedule and ability to manage your responsibilities outside of work.

The benefits of alternative work schedules offer a win-win situation for both the employer and the employee:

  • By making it easier for staff to deal with pressures outside of work, employees will be more productive when they are at work.

  • By offering alternative work schedules, employees may have reduced turnover - needing to replace an employee who is leaving with a new employee. A high turnover rate could cost a company a lot of money for re-hiring, and make their company less desirable to new applicants.

  • Many studies have shown that flexible scheduling policies also improves morale and job satisfaction, reduces absenteeism, and minimizes burnout—and with no measurable decline in productivity.

The process needs to be carefully thought out, but it has huge rewards when implemented correctly.

There are several different scenarios for alternative work schedules:

Compressed work week: Under this arrangement, employees work the normal number of hours per week but complete those hours in fewer than five days. The most common variation of the compressed work week is the so-called 4/10, which, instead of employees working Monday through Friday 8 hours per day, they work four days per week for 10 hours per day instead.

Flextime: Flextime refers to any arrangement that gives employees options on structuring their work day or work week. Typically, employees working under flextime arrangements are expected to be on the job during certain core hours of the work day. They’re given the opportunity to choose their own starting and ending times, as long as they work the required number of hours each day.

Job-sharing: Job sharing means that two part-time employees share the same full-time job, with salary and benefits being proportional to how much each employee works. Important considerations of job-sharing are that both employees need to be equally qualified for the position, and can successfully work together to make the arrangement work.

Telecommuting: Telecommuting refers to any work arrangement in which employees spend all or a portion of their work week working from home or from another site away from the company. This has become the new normal since the start of the pandemic as companies have recognized the amount of work that can be completed from home.

Permanent part-time arrangements: The hours in these arrangements usually vary from 20 to 29 hours per week, with employees sometimes given the right to decide which days they work and how long they work on those days.

Assignment

In this module, you will read some current articles on flexible work arrangements, and factors that lead to companies becoming exceptional workplaces for their employees.

When reading the articles, think about how you would structure your workplace if you were the owner of the company, or, what type of workplace you would like best if you were the employee.

Flexible workplaces

SUBMIT

Submit your completed assignment in your Flex block Google Classroom.

Due: Thursday, December 1