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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

bullet Originated in Europe around 1960s. Mainly the product of West German industry.
bullet Christel Kammerer is credited for originally coming up with the concept and idea of alternative schedule.
bullet Original credit for installing the "system" is generally given to Messarschmilt- Boklow-Blohm, a German aerospace firm located at Ottobunn, near Munich in 1967.
bullet Canada, Britain, and the United States were slow to pick up on flex time until the 1970s.
bullet 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

bullet 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."
bullet Both in 1991 and 1997, men were more likely than women to work an alternate or nontraditional shift (19.1 % and 13.7%, respectively).
bullet Service-oriented occupations had the highest percentage of shift work. Professionals and managers had the lowest percentage of shift workers
bullet 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

bullet Flexibility
bullet Variety
bullet Vary Commute Times
bullet Increase Productivity
bullet Decrease in absenteeism and lateness

Disadvantages

bullet Key Personnel not always available
bullet Abuse of the System
bullet May get stuck in same schedule
bullet May still conflict with personal responsibilities
bullet Loss of Communication
bullet Customer service may get affected

For further research try these websites: www.workoptions.com andwww.dir.ca.gov.

Some Helpful Guidelines in Flex Time

bullet Define your objectives
bullet Describe and Define your workforce
bullet Ask what your creditor's, customer's, and owner's expectations are
bullet Involve the Union
bullet Ask your Human Resources department and acquire information from your federal and state level regarding some regulations.
bullet 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

  1. Allstate Insurance Company
  2. American Express
  3. Bank of America
  4. IBM
  5. Intel
  6. Johnson and Johnson
  7. Verizon Wireless
  8. Wells Fargo Company

For more information on companies who offer flex time, please go to www.workingmother.com.

Recommended Books for Reading

bullet Companies that Care: the most family-friendly companies in America written by Hal Morgan and Kerry Tucker.
bullet Work Concepts for the Future: Managing Alternative Work Arrangements written by Patricia Schiff-Estes.