Flexible Scheduling

When work schedules are flexible, employees can alter the time of day or the days of the week that they work. Flexible schedules are one of several workplace flexibility options that help meet the needs of a changing workforce. Many workers, however, do not have flexible schedules. Furthermore, the benefits of a flexible schedule vary considerably, based on who controls the schedule, how variable and predictable the schedule is, and whether the number of hours or just the timing of the hours varies. This variation may help explain why research on the benefits of flexible schedules has produced mixed results. Although the standard work schedule is Monday through Friday, nine to five, employees with flexible schedules may be able to start earlier, finish later, or transfer work hours from one day to another.

There are two main types of flexible schedules. One is the gliding schedule, which requires employees to work a specified number of hours each day and be present during a set of core hours but allows them to vary when they start and stop working. They may also be able to take long breaks during the day and make up the time at the start or end of the day. Another type of flexible schedule is the variable-day or variable-week schedule, which requires a specified number of hours per day or per week but does not include core hours. Unlike other flexible work arrangements, flexible scheduling does not usually alter the total number of hours worked per week or change the location where the work is performed. Flexible schedules are also different from nonstandard work schedules, which often require evening or rotating shifts but do not offer employees control over their hours.

Employees who work flexible schedules have varying degrees of control over their schedules. Organizations or employees can control several key factors: the core hours when all employees must be at work, the variability in the length of each work day, the earliest and latest start and stop times, and how often work schedules can be altered. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), about 28 percent of full-time workers use flexible work schedules. This number has doubled since 1985, when data on flexible schedules were first collected. Only about 10 percent of workers, however, are enrolled in a formal, employer-sponsored program. Other workers have informal arrangements that allow them some control over their hours. A survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that over half of organizations offer flexible schedules. In 2007, the National Study of Employers found that 79 percent of employers allowed at least some workers to periodically change their start and stop times, yet many employees choose not to take advantage of this, partly because of the perception that employees using flextime lack job commitment. Managers may also be hesitant to offer flexible schedules for fear that they will harm productivity or efficiency.

CPS data suggest that higher-level, highly skilled employees working in managerial or professional jobs and those with incomes over $75,000 are most likely to have flexible schedules. Many self-employed individuals are also able to vary their schedules. This is often one of the reasons they chose to become self-employed in the first place. In terms of individual characteristics, flexible schedules are associated with being male, white, and married with young children. Nevertheless, among minorities, women are slightly more likely than men to have flexible schedules. Workers with a bachelor's degree or higher are more than twice as likely to have flexible work schedules than those with less than a high school diploma. Finally, there is a correlation between having a flexible schedule and having variable, unpredictable hours. This suggests that having a flexible schedule can also be associated with less predictable hours and thus less, rather than more, control over work schedules. Flexible schedules are important because of their implications for organizations, workers, and their families.

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