Creating a Flex Work Policy for Your Company

Work-life balance is a goal for individuals from all the generations that make up today’s workforce — from baby boomers, who want to care for aging parents and spend time with their grandchildren, to the  Gen Zers , who consider work-life balance to be the second most important value proposition for employers to offer. As a result, employers have to step back and evaluate ways to support employees in achieving the work-life balance they desire.

More and more employers are offering some type of flexible schedule policy to address employees’ work-life balance needs. A 2015  Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)  survey showed that 54% of organizations offer some type of flexible schedule, and 60% offer some sort of telecommuting policy. A 2018 poll by  Flex + Strategy Group  showed that 98% of employers offered some type of broadly defined flexible hours.

The  2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce Report  showed that 2.9% of the workforce, or 3.9 million employees, work from home at least 50% of the time, compared to only 1.8 million in 2005. That’s a 115% increase in telecommuting and remote work from 2005 to 2017. The report also showed that the average telecommuter is 46 years old, which falls within the Generation X population, a generation that’s older than the millennial and Generation Z demographics we think of when we think of telecommuting.     

BENEFITS OF OFFERING A FLEX WORK POLICY

Employers have seen several benefits of offering flex work policies. Offering a flexible schedule helps employers attract and retain top talent. Per Glassdoor data, Generation Z candidates consider flexible hours to be one of the top three pros of working for their employers. A USA Today and LinkedIn Survey also showed that 44% of employers surveyed are allowing for a more flexible schedule as a way to attract and retain workers.

Increased productivity is another benefit of flexible schedules and telecommuting. Per HubSpot, the Denmark-based electronics company Jabra found that four times more employees in 2018 compared to 2015 believed that working from home was the most productive option. The American Sociological Association conducted a 12-month study in 2015 and 2016 of IT employees at a Fortune 500 company; they found that employees who participated in the company’s flex time policy indicated reduced levels of stress and burnout and higher levels of job satisfaction compared to employees who did not participate in the program.

Flexible schedules can also foster communication and creativity. Flex+Strategy Group reported that 45% of employees who worked a flexible schedule felt that it increased their ability to “communicate, create, and innovate” with coworkers.   

TYPES OF FLEX WORK SCHEDULES

There are several flex schedules that employers might choose for their workforce. The most common flex schedules include a standard flex time schedule and compressed workweeks. Remote work and telecommuting also fall under the flex schedule umbrella and are often combined with standard flex time and compressed schedules. Though not as common, other options of flex schedules include alternative, split shift, on-peak/off-peak, and fully flexible schedules.

STANDARD FLEX TIME

A standard flex time schedule has various start-and-end time possibilities. Employers provide employees with a start and end time bandwidth for any given workday, and the employee has the option to choose his or her start and end time as long as it falls within the bandwidth permitted and equates to the standard hours worked per day. If the company’s standard workweek is 40 hours with bandwidth hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. per day, the employee could choose to work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour for lunch. This would equate to eight hours worked per day, 40 hours per week. Typically, the employee works the same schedule each day as part of a flex schedule program.

COMPRESSED WORKWEEK

Compressed workweeks are where the employee has the option to work the standard 40 hours per week in fewer days. A 4X10, where the employee works four 10-hour days and is off one workday per week, is a typical, compressed workweek many companies establish. Working four nine-hour days and a half-day on Friday each week would also be considered a compressed workweek schedule. A compressed workweek may also allow employees to work a compressed schedule every other week with a standard eight hours per day during the other weeks. 

TELECOMMUTING

Telecommuting policies allow employees to work from home a certain number of days per week. Employees are required to work in the office on the other days. Telecommuting policies are often combined with any flex schedules that are permitted.

REMOTE WORK

Remote work schedules allow the employee to work his or her full workweek from home. Remote work is often combined with flex schedule options. For example, if the company employs a compressed workweek of 4X10, then employees who work remotely would also work a 4X10. Remote employees are often expected to be in the office for meetings and other in-person events as needed.

ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULE

An alternative schedule is one that falls outside of the standard workday. Night shifts and weekend shifts would be considered alternative schedules.

SPLIT SHIFT

A split shift schedule allows the employee to split up the timeframes worked during a given day. If the standard workday is eight hours, the employee might work four hours in the morning, take two hours off, work two hours in the afternoon, take two hours off, and work the final two hours at some point in the evening.

ON-PEAK/OFF-PEAK

On-peak and off-peak flex schedules are based on the organization’s workflow and business demands throughout the year. Employees work longer hours per day during the periods of peak season or when business demands are high throughout the year and work a condensed schedule with fewer hours per day or week during off-peak seasons.

FULLY FLEXIBLE

A fully flexible schedule allows employees to determine their schedules, as long as the expected number of hours each week are met and the work is completed. Monday through Friday, the employee might work four hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. On Saturday and Sunday, the employee might work five hours per day. This would still equate to 40 hours per week. Typically, with a fully flexible schedule, the employee is still expected to work the same schedule from week to week.

TIPS FOR CREATING A FLEX SCHEDULE POLICY

Employers often have good intentions when implementing a flex schedule policy. They may, however, end up facing challenges during or after implementation. Some tips to support the creation, rollout, and implementation of a flextime policy include:

• Keep it simple
• Work with a benefits provider or broker
• Consider a trial period
• Clearly define the parameters and requirements
• Determine metrics for evaluation
• Create a communications strategy
• Provide technology to support the program
• Find ways to keep your employees connected

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Sometimes, less is more. Creating a flex work policy with just a few options will make the policy easier to implement and administer. When an employer offers too many flex schedule options, it can be confusing for employees and challenging to track in HR systems or schedulers. It’s best to come up with one to three options that will support your business without overburdening the resources administering the new policy. You can always expand your program options in the future.

WORK WITH YOUR BENEFITS PROVIDER OR BROKER

There are several factors to consider when implementing any new policy or benefit, and it’s best not to go it alone. To ensure that you have the knowledge and support you need, hire a benefits broker or provider, such as KBI, at the onset of consideration. By working with your benefits broker, you’ll be supported in identifying flex schedules options, as well as potential challenges, based on what other organizations similar to yours have done. Your benefits broker can also work with your legal team to ensure that any potential legal risks are identified and mitigated.

CONSIDER A TRIAL PERIOD

A flex schedule trial period can help employers determine whether or not their chosen flex policy will work. It also helps to identify any necessary tweaks that might be needed.

CLEARLY DEFINE THE PARAMETERS AND REQUIREMENTS

Will your program have a performance component? Who is eligible? How will you monitor the program’s success? If remote work and telecommuting is an option, what are the communications and time-tracking requirements for individuals? Who will approve an employee’s flex schedule request? How will you ensure that your employees remain connected to each other? When will employees be required to be in the office if they are telecommuting or working remotely?

These types of questions need to be answered as part of your flex work program. The clearer and more concise you are, the easier the program will be to implement and administer. 

Also, not all types of flex schedules can apply to an employee population. For example, telecommuting and remote work aren’t possible for construction workers who need to be on-site to build houses. However, it might be possible to offer varying start and end times for a portion of that population. 

DETERMINE METRICS FOR EVALUATION

How will you measure the success of your program? Some organizations utilize employee surveys and productivity ratings to determine the success of a flex schedule program. What’s important is to determine the metrics that are meaningful for your organization based on why you implemented the program in the first place.

CREATE A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Your employees must be educated about any new policy or benefit your organization rolls out. For your flex work policy, employees need to understand the parameters of the program and where the policy can be located for easy reference.

PROVIDE TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM

Employers who offer flex schedules with a remote or telecommute component also need to ensure that employees have the tools and technology required to support the program. It’s up to the employer to provide the employee with the computer, network, and software requirements for them to do their job from home.

FIND WAYS TO KEEP YOUR EMPLOYEES CONNECTED

Though the benefits generally outweigh the cons, when employees have the option to telecommute or work remotely, they may begin to feel isolated and disconnected. It’s also helpful for you to have clear guidelines in place to support group meetings and interactions between coworkers and between managers and their employees. Video chats can foster face-to-face interaction, for example. Requiring all employees to attend regular staff meetings in-person, via video, or on the phone can also support interaction and a sense of connection between the group.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay overtime to positions classified as nonexempt and hourly. Employees who fall into this category and work flex schedules still qualify for overtime. Having a policy in place that clearly defines how time is tracked is essential. Some companies choose to exclude nonexempt positions from a flextime policy that allows for telecommuting or remote work, though this approach could create friction among employees and lower morale of those not included in the policy.

It’s also important to ensure that your program doesn’t unintentionally discriminate against a certain class of employees. Discrimination claims could ensue from those that fall into a protected class and are unhappy with the fact that the flextime policy doesn’t apply to them. If your program is thoroughly evaluated by your benefits broker and legal team to address possible legal pitfalls, you’ll be limiting your exposure to valid discrimination claims.

FLEX WORK POLICIES ARE WORTH THE CONSIDERATION

Some employers indeed have rigid beliefs that employees can only be productive if they are in the office. However, more and more employers and employees are finding this not to be the case. Offering flex work schedules and some level of telecommuting are also becoming a requirement for employers to remain competitive and attract and retain employees.

At KBI, we understand that it might feel like a daunting and nerve-racking task to create a flextime policy that works for your organization. When you partner with knowledgeable benefits brokers like those on our team, you don’t have to go it alone.