| Flexible working hours have been found to lead to a | | | | commitments |
| happier workforce, and to far better customer service | | | | - Annualized hours is an arrangement where times |
| and share valuations. However, there is a fear that | | | | worked and times off are balanced across the year |
| implementing flexible working hours is complicated and | | | | as a whole. Extra hours are worked during peak |
| that it could lead to a flood of impossible demands | | | | business seasons and less during lean seasons. |
| from employees. | | | | Employers can retain experienced employees instead |
| Before we look at flexible working hours in more detail, | | | | of hiring inexperienced casual or contract staff |
| let us take a brief look at the standard working hours. | | | | - Customized flexible working hours during special |
| Working Hours for Employees | | | | events to enable employees watch, say, world cup |
| Working hours for employees have changed | | | | matches and yet meet their work time requirements |
| dramatically over the last two centuries. Back in the | | | | Studies have indicated that flexible working hours |
| nineteenth century when industrialization started in | | | | produce tangible benefits to employers in the forms of: |
| Europe, workers were compelled to work even 16 | | | | - Reduced absenteeism and employee turnover |
| hours a day. In twenty-first century France, however, | | | | - Lower recruitment costs as they can retain their |
| the government had fixed working hours at 35 hours a | | | | existing staff |
| week. | | | | - Higher staff morale leading to better work |
| Most industrialized countries have regulated the | | | | performance, customer service and even company |
| workweek by stipulating the maximum number of | | | | stock performance |
| working hours per week, minimum daily rest periods, | | | | A survey even revealed that employees preferred |
| annual holidays and sickness pay. The standard is | | | | flexible working hours to substantial additional pay. |
| around 40 working hours per workweek, typically | | | | Implementing Flexible Working Hours |
| Monday through Friday. Paid vacations range from | | | | Employers must know when they have peak |
| three to five weeks a year. | | | | workloads, needing more employees. This is not too |
| Long working hours can lead to stress-related health | | | | difficult to assess with today's technologies like EPOS |
| problems, less time for busy parents to attend to | | | | and computerized systems that can record |
| child-rearing, and less leisure to enjoy consumer | | | | transaction times. |
| products and services. Henry Ford introduced low | | | | Once the requirements are identified, flexible rostering |
| working hours so that his employees would have the | | | | software can generate rosters to fit the workload. |
| leisure to buy and enjoy the cars he produced. | | | | This software would then help to optimize the rosters |
| Flexible Working Hours and its Impact | | | | to meet: |
| One major problem with fixed working hours is that | | | | - Work contract requirements |
| employees find it difficult to balance the demands of | | | | - Sociability factors, and |
| their personal lives and work lives. Flexible working | | | | - Employee work preferences to the extent possible |
| hours can lead to better work/life balance and result in | | | | Where employee preferences cannot be met in full, |
| a happier workforce. | | | | the software would show the employees why this |
| Flexible working hours can come in different forms | | | | happened. This creates greater trust in the employees |
| such as: | | | | that their needs are being genuinely attended to. |
| - Part-time working that enables an employee to be | | | | Conclusion |
| free during business hours to attend to personal | | | | The standard practice so far has been fixed working |
| matters. For employers, it could mean engaging | | | | hours arranged in different shifts. This can lead of |
| employees during peak workload hours, and reducing | | | | difficulties in balancing employees' personal and work |
| overall payroll costs | | | | life demands. Flexible working hours help better work |
| - Flexi-time working where employees work extra | | | | life balance and lead to a happier workforce. A happier |
| time when needed by employers and bank the extra | | | | workforce results in less absenteeism, better customer |
| hours/days off for arranging their personal | | | | service and higher stock performance. |