Btb Guest Author

Frances Neeson

As a daily DART commuter I’m an avid reader of the Metro that is handed out every morning. Reading it last Wednesday on the way into work I came across an article reporting on the results of a survey done by Monster.ie about flexi-time. Monster found that just 1 in 5 employees in Ireland have full access to flexi-time with 62 % of respondents claiming they have no access to flexi-time at all.

I’ve been working in my present job since September and one of the things I enjoy most is the relaxed atmosphere in the office and the flexi-time policy in place. I’m an early bird so I prefer to come into the office early in the morning and leave early in the afternoon. The majority of the staff come in later and work later. There are core hours when we all have to be in the office which are between 11 and 3, but we can work our other hours however we like around this.

The main reason that I appreciate this arrangement is that in my previous job even coming in 5 minutes late or leaving 5 minutes early was a huge no in the eyes of management. Asking to work flexi-time most likely would have resulted with a resounding shout of laughter and two words which I won’t write here! From the results of the survey mentioned earlier it seems that this is the case for many employees in Ireland, despite all the benefits a flexi-time policy can bring to the workplace.

Personally I think the option to work flexi-time is a huge incentive and motivation for employees and a great morale booster. I believe the benefits of flexi-time far outweigh any negatives, the most common of which are the organization and logistics needed for it to work properly and the fear that staff members may abuse the privilege or could falsify records of hours worked if they are not supervised properly. However my own feeling is that employees are usually grateful for a flexi-time policy and will not engage in behaviour that could result in a return to “normal” working hours.

Here are a few of my favourite things about flexi-time:

• I actually get a seat on the train both coming and going to work and no longer have to spend 30 minutes squashed up against a complete stranger while people fight for any available space in the carriage.
• Coming in early in the morning allows me a couple of hours to do any needed work on my client accounts or prospect for new leads without feeling guilty that I’m sacrificing phone time.
• If I need to go to the doctor or run an errand I don’t have to ask my boss for time off or worry about squeezing it in after work.
• I have plenty of time to see my friends, my family and do all the hobbies I love.

There are also many benefits for employers and companies such as:

• Improved staff morale and job satisfaction. Most companies that offer flexitime report improvements in recruitment, absenteeism and productivity.
• Decreased levels of stress and tiredness in staff members.
• Increased staff retention and reduced turnover rates.

Having worked in both a company with no flexi-time policy and one that does offer flexi-time; I can whole heartedly say that for me flexi-time gets big thumbs up. Although I do see that for some companies, larger ones especially, it might be more difficult to implement, once managed and overseen correctly the benefits will very quickly become apparent. My experiences are all from the employees’ side and it would be interesting to know if employers and senior managers view it in the same way or if they have a completely different opinion on the topic. But for me, my answer to the question of flexi-time is a resounding yay!

Frances Neeson is a sales consultant with OfficeMetrics, leaders in office productivity. OfficeMetrics provides companies with the tools to increase productivity and performance and enable flexi-time and home-working. For more information go to the website: www.officemetrics.com or email frances.neeson@officemetrics.com

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