Modern schedules

It’s a 24-7 world that we live in these days. There are plenty of options for all-day dining, you can shop, take classes or socialise over the internet at any time, and you can even find fully-lit golf courses that operate throughout the night. Is it any wonder then, that workplaces are also becoming more open to less traditional hours and arrangements?

An increasing number of employees are pushing for just that. They say flexible work arrangements (FWAs) help them to strike a better balance between their work and private lives. There are also significant health advantages for staff that set their own hours. Researchers at the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews analysed 10 previously published studies and found that self-scheduling of shift work and employee-controlled partial or early retirement led to improvements in blood pressure and heart rates. Employees also slept better and were less fatigued at work.

But there are benefits to businesses as well – as such work schedules can boost employee morale and reduce turnover. Well-rested employees tend to be happier, more engaged and productive during work hours. By giving them room to manage their health, an organisation could also save on healthcare costs in the long run.

It’s certainly something that’s happening in the US. A benchmarking study there found that 45% of American organisations had started offering alternative workplace strategies over the last two years. Released in April by the New Ways of Working Network, the study asked 103 organisations why that change was becoming apparent. 40% of them, attributed it to recessionary pressures. However as the economy recovers and the war for talent resumes, FWAs are entering the mainstream, and are now also being used as carrots to attract the best and the brightest.

FWAs are also becoming more popular in the UK. In April last year, the British government extended its flexible working policy, allowing more than 10 million parents access to FWAs and demanding their employers cooperate with any reasonable request. The extension included parents with children up to 16 years of age. It was previously restricted to those with children aged six years and under.

Flexi-work types

There are certainly a wide range of common FWA types. But they don’t necessarily mean working fewer hours overall – or even fewer hours in one day.

Some 8% of staff at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), for example, follow a compressed worked schedule. This gives them 12-hour shifts spread over a shorter number of days each week. Peter Seah, assistant director, HR, KKH says this allows staff to provide better customer service as there are fewer disruptions associated with the changing of shifts. Employee morale also gets a boost through the increased number of rest days. Other flexi-work arrangements offered by the hospital include part-time work and flexi-hours.

“Staff who come to work with a greater peace of mind will be happier and more productive,” Seah says. “This results in better patient care and patient satisfaction.”

Certainly, the statistics indicate a positive effect. Seah says KKH attrition rates fell from 15.4% in 2007 to 10.6% in 2009, after the introduction of a range of new FWA possibilities. This is significantly below the national average of 21.3%.

Singapore-based travel services provider Abacus International offers a flexi-hour work day to all employees. They can choose to commence work anytime between 7.30am and 9.30am and end their work day between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. Employees there can also opt for a voluntary “work off-site” programme that enables them to work away from the office one day a week. According to Helen Sim, HR Director, this initiative helps to increase overall productivity – with the time spent traveling to and from work more likely to be used for completing work tasks.

Organisational challenges

The introduction of FWAs often challenges traditional methods of working in an organisation. For it to work, HR will need the buy-in of managers as well as staff.

Employees at Abacus, for example, were a bit uncertain about working offsite once a week. However, the management promptly addressed employees’ concerns. It held regular workshops; counseling sessions and briefings for department managers and employees to clarify the role of the management team as well as provide a forum to solicit feedback and continually fine-tune the programme.

Offering part-time work opportunities can increase the administrative burden in an organisation as it necessarily needs to maintain more personnel records or spend more on overheads like training, furniture and equipment. At the same time, some managers might find it harder to track and evaluate the performance of employees working away from the office. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the mindset that tangible results are the important goals; not mere hours in the office. Management training is therefore an important tool for any cultural change toward FWAs.

FWAs also require managers to plan ahead. Given the 24-7 work environment at KKH for example, HR there has to ensure that all duties are covered for every hour of the day. Seah says managing the morale of other staff that may have to make adjustments while an employee is on a FWA is another challenge. To overcome this, departments are given the flexibility to propose operationally workable solutions. “Mutual understanding and an attitude of give-and-take from both staff and managers are necessary to make such FWAs work,” Seah said.