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Flex Time
Flex Time is defined as a working- pattern where an employee on a daily basis and within specific limits, can start and finish work at his or her discretion, as long as the total number of hours required for a given time period is completed.www.womensforum.com
[History Bit on Flex Time](#History Bit on Flex Time)
[Some Facts on Flex Time](#Some Facts on Flex Time)
[Advantages/Disadvantages to Flex Time](#Advantages/Disadvantages to Flex Time)
[Some Helpful Guidelines in Flex Time](#Some Helpful Guidelines in Flex Time)
[Companies Who Offer Flex Time](#Companies Who Offer Flex Time)
[Recommended Books for Reading](#Recommended Books for Reading)
History Bit on Flex Time
Originated in Europe around 1960s. Mainly the product of West German industry. | |
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Christel Kammerer is credited for originally coming up with the concept and idea of alternative schedule. | |
Original credit for installing the "system" is generally given to Messarschmilt- Boklow-Blohm, a German aerospace firm located at Ottobunn, near Munich in 1967. | |
Canada, Britain, and the United States were slow to pick up on flex time until the 1970s. | |
Flex time was also called "gliding time" or "flexi time." |
Recommended reading: A Flexible Approach to Working Hours by Carrol J. Swart.
Some Facts on Flex Time
According to the Secretary of Labor in a statement released March 1998, "the percentage of full-time workers with flexible schedules has nearly doubled since 1991, rising from 15.1 to 27.6 percent. Last year more than 25 million full-time wage and salary workers had flexible work schedules that allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work." | |
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Both in 1991 and 1997, men were more likely than women to work an alternate or nontraditional shift (19.1 % and 13.7%, respectively). | |
Service-oriented occupations had the highest percentage of shift work. Professionals and managers had the lowest percentage of shift workers | |
Twenty-nine percent of some 29 million full-time wage and salary workers now have the option of working flexible hours, even though one-third may only be working for companies that have official flex time policies. |
For further research try these websites: www.benefitnews.com,www.shrm.org, and www.dol.gov.
Advantages/Disadvantages to Flex Time
Advantages
Flexibility | |
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Variety | |
Vary Commute Times | |
Increase Productivity | |
Decrease in absenteeism and lateness |
Disadvantages
Key Personnel not always available | |
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Abuse of the System | |
May get stuck in same schedule | |
May still conflict with personal responsibilities | |
Loss of Communication | |
Customer service may get affected |
For further research try these websites: www.workoptions.com andwww.dir.ca.gov.
Some Helpful Guidelines in Flex Time
Define your objectives | |
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Describe and Define your workforce | |
Ask what your creditor's, customer's, and owner's expectations are | |
Involve the Union | |
Ask your Human Resources department and acquire information from your federal and state level regarding some regulations. | |
AB 60, California Labor Code 500, the "8 hour Day Restoration & Workplace Flexibility Act of 1999." |
For further research try these websites: www.dol.gov, andwww.dir.ca.gov
Companies Who Offer Flex Time
- Allstate Insurance Company
- American Express
- Bank of America
- IBM
- Intel
- Johnson and Johnson
- Verizon Wireless
- Wells Fargo Company
For more information on companies who offer flex time, please go to www.workingmother.com.
Recommended Books for Reading
Companies that Care: the most family-friendly companies in America written by Hal Morgan and Kerry Tucker. | |
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Work Concepts for the Future: Managing Alternative Work Arrangements written by Patricia Schiff-Estes. |