Many of you may be tired of hearing about this topic, especially if you are a supervisor or an HR professional. Flexible work schedules and company culture has been blogged to death. However, it remains the most highly sought after perk and as noted by the Telework Research Network in their recent Success.com article, 72 percent of employees would choose one job over another based on flex time options. So, blogged to death or not, it remains a hot topic today.

I recently worked with a client who expressed concern over receiving emails from a staff member late at night. He felt that this employee was doing unnecessary work and then making up reasons to email him in the evenings, all in an effort to appear more productive than he is and get away with regularly leaving work early. Perhaps that was the employee’s intent. Or perhaps the employee is like me, finding time to catch up on work whenever possible in my struggle to find the perfect work/life balance. Either way, the employee’s behavior annoyed the supervisor and this brought to light a perspective that I hadn’t considered.

Every company has their own culture and level of flexibility when it comes to work schedules. Some companies are more formal and structured  and have a strict 9 am to 5 pm schedule, others are on the other side of the spectrum  that focus on results and tie pay to performance and results, but I find the majority of employers are somewhere in between and have a policy which includes core hours and  flexible scheduling. Individual state laws may differ, but the United States Department of Labor (DOL) states that a flexible schedule is a matter of agreement between an employee and an employer  and does not provide guidelines for work scheduling programs other than mentioning that some agencies list “core time.” Core time, or core hours as I hear it most offer referred to, is typically 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, or 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. So, the question is, is it okay for an employee to leave work in the middle of the day to run personal errands, and then send emails of a non-urgent matter during the night? And my answer is… it depends on the culture of the organization.

In the case of the supervisor who was annoyed by this behavior, my response is that no, the behavior did not likely fit in well with the culture of the organization. However, the supervisor should be aware that company cultures are ever-evolving and employers are becoming more flexible with schedules as meeting goals and focusing on results are what’s most important. If the schedule is fair, legal, and beneficial to the employer and employee, a flexible arrangement should be considered.

A smart employee will make a case for how their employer will benefit from their participation in the flexible work schedule program. There are a number of advantages for employers, which may include:

  • Allowing employees to work when they are rested, focused and most productive
  • Improved talent acquisition by creating a company image as an employer of choice
  • Increased commitment to an organization that treats them well
  • Extended office hours to benefit customers and vendors
  • Creating a reputation for being socially and environmentally responsible if telework is made part of the flexible work scheduling program

It must be noted that if the employer does supports flexible scheduling, there may be positions where flexible hours are not feasibly productive for the organization. This may include receptionists and/or administrative staff, call center staff, customer service positions, specific management positions or any number of other positions or special circumstances. Whenever possible, the approval for a flexible schedule should be tied to the position, not the individual. A clear employer-specific policy with guidelines on the requirements should be in place.

As for me, I’ll continue to catch up on my work during non-traditional hours when I can. But I’ll keep my emails in draft form until I hear the first bird call of the day.