Flexible Work Schedule: Should You Adopt It?

Having a flexible work schedule at the workplace empowers the employees to not only maintain a work-life balance but also take ownership of their work. It is known that flexible schedules usually have more productivity because employees feel responsible for their tasks.

It is not unnatural for employees to look for a flexible working arrangement. In an environment where work-life balance is imperative, a flexible work arrangement helps in creating a sensible work schedule.

Looking at the importance of this arrangement, many organizations have started offering work flexibility to their employees. Hence, in this article, we will discuss how it works and why you should consider a flexible work arrangement for your organization. 

Understanding Flexible Work Arrangement 

Flexible work arrangement is a bracket term, which includes several settings. It can be leaving the office early when you have finished your work or staying back late when an important project is going on. It can also be working from a different place when your work doesn’t require in-office presence. And it can also mean working any fixed number of hours each week. 

Many times, this flexible work takes the form of project-based working. This means that you are given a project and a deadline. Irrespective of the hours of time you spend in the office, you deliver it in the designated time. 

Why Flexible Working Environment Is Popular?

While we are going to discuss this in detail in the following section, the simplest reason is work-life balance. Today, millennials crave work-life balance. They want to spend time with family, fulfil their responsibilities, go on a vacation, or just give time to their hobbies such as reading. To achieve this, a flexible work schedule is a great option. 

Without further ado, let’s dive in and understand flexible work schedule benefits and disadvantages. 

Benefits and Drawbacks of Flexible Work Schedule 

Differentiating factorFlexible work arrangementNormal work arrangement 
EmpowermentWhen you adopt a flexible work arrangement, you empower the workforce to take control of their work. They can decide their schedule, environment, and everything else. This type of structure also helps in reducing employee burnout. In a normal work arrangement, there’s a lack of empowerment. Every time the employee needs to leave the workplace, they need to get permission from the boss. For example, leaving the office to attend a family emergency. Sometimes, the boss can say no and the employee can face negative emotions towards the business.
CommuteThe commute is reduced in the flexible work arrangement because employees have an option to work from home. This is because there are tasks that you don’t need to execute from the office. These tasks can be handled from anywhere. So, the employee can stay back at home in a comfortable environment and complete work.In a normal work setting, the employee has to reach the office at 9. Here, 9 means 9 and even 15 minutes late can lead to salary deduction. Due to this structure, the employee has to face morning traffic and spend double the time on the commute. 
Better brand ImageWhen you develop an image as a company that offers work-life balance, you are more likely to attract new employees. This is because you start offering family-friendly work schedules to your employees. 

Here, the employer also has an amazing opportunity to increase office working hours. Instead of staying active from 9-5, you can stay active from 8-8 or something like that. This structure can help organizations that offer customer support.

Normal work schedules are monotonous and simply not feasible for many employees. For example, sometimes, some employees may need flexible work schedules to take care of their children. Under normal functioning, this becomes a huge hassle and the employee may even have to take more leaves due to non-flexible working.
Reduced TurnoverImagine this: 

One of your woman employees needs to attend office early so that she can match her office timings with her child’s school timings. This will help her take care of her child. 

In a flexible environment, she can do it. She can come early, finish her work, and leave early. Simple! 

But, in a normal working environment, this employee needs to give a series of explanations and go through several procedures. After almost a month of struggle, she can even receive a no as an answer. Then, she may have to leave the job. Hence, increased turnover!
Low StressIt is already known that employees who are unable to manage work-life together are more prone to workplace stress.

Flexible schedule improves work-life balance, hence, reduces stress.

In normal working, the major reasons for stress are overtime and not being able to focus on work. When you need to stay back in the office, it is a horrible situation. The stress keeps increasing and productivity keeps reducing.
Reduced Absenteeism Since employees have an option to work from home, they can easily reduce the number of leaves that they need to take.Reducing absenteeism in this case only means offering one of the features of a flexible work schedule, which is work from home. 

Conclusion

Having a flexible work schedule at the workplace empowers the employees to not only maintain a work-life balance but also take ownership of their work. It is known that flexible schedules usually have more productivity because employees feel responsible for their tasks. They complete everything on time and achieve it in the most effective manner. This is because they have the option to work according to their comfortable timings and environment.

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