Flexible Work Schedules Positively Impact the Bottom Line
Often those requesting flexible work schedules are labled as loafers more interested in their personal lives than being committed to the daily grind. This interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor suggests that flexible work schedules can, in fact, have a positive influence on the bottom line. Some interesting findings:
- Deloitte saved $41.5 million in employee turnover costs in 2003, based on the number of professionals who said they would have left if they didn't have flexible work hours.
- AstraZeneca found that "commitment scores" - measures of employee attitudes that affect their effort and performance - were 28 percent higher for employees who said they had the flexibility they needed than for those who said they did not.
- A pilot program at a PNC Financial Services Group operations center compressed each employee's workweek into four 10-hour days. Because of employees' cross-training and staggered days, customers were served for an extra hour and a half each day, and the time for completing certain transactions was cut by 50 percent or more. Absenteeism and turnover declined.
The article further notes that fewer than half of all companies in the United States offer flextime plans. As we spend more and more time at the office or attached to work through email, pagers, Blackberries, PDA's and the like, our ability to attend to personal issues on nonwork time is compromised. As a result, employees are forced to take time off to attend to issues when flexibility in scheduling would enable them to plan their lives to meet all of their demands. Makes sense to me!