For many decades employees in the US have followed the same routine Monday through Friday: 9 am arrival, 12 pm lunch break, and 5 pm quitting time. The American employee, that is satisfied with her current position, will continue to make this schedule work, while also balancing participation in her ever-expanding family commitments. The result of this lifestyle for many Americans is exhaustion, unhealthy levels of stress, and mental health issues including anxiety. Many companies end up suffering from the cycle of overworked, resentful, and sick employees.
In the early 90s organizations began to experiment with “flex-schedules”. Flex schedules encourage balance between work and personal life. This type of schedule will, in some situations, increase employee engagement.[i] Additionally, flex schedules will increase job satisfaction, decrease absenteeism, and limit employee turnover. All these factors will result in saving companies money on human capital.[ii]
Mary Kraft HR offers a flexible schedule to its recruiting team. Since adopting this schedule option, the company has seen productivity and engagement increase. The part-time staff has been able to complete nearly as much work as the full-time staff, even with a flexible and part-time schedule. The increase in production from these individuals has also benefitted the company. Those “flex-staff” members are more loyal to the Mary Kraft HR mission and vision, work diligently and efficiently, and enjoy a higher level of job satisfaction.
Flex schedules are just another way to add staff to any company to address peak workflow while minding the company coffers. This is a concept exemplified internationally in partnerships between staffing firms and their clients.
In the article entitled “The Benefits of Flextime”, the author states: “Flextime helps create a happier, more satisfying workplace, too. Because employees are often so glad that their employers are willing to allow for a work-life time adjustment, they tend to work harder and in a more dedicated fashion to hold on to their now-perfect schedule and re-balance their lives.”[iii]
[i] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668800802050350
[ii] Shankar, T. & Bhatnagar, J., Work Life Balance, Employee Engagement, Emotional Consonance/Dissonance & Turnover Intention. The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations. 2010, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 81-85
[iii] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159440
