How many times have you encountered employee complaints about finding difficulty arriving to work promptly? Having to abide by strict work hours has always been an issue for employees who have other demanding obligations or live far from their workplace. In order to resolve this issue, some companies offer their employees more flexible work hours. This means allowing them to arrive and leave in a flexible manner or working remotely for most of the time. While the idea of being able to adjust work hours to accommodate to employees’ personal needs sounds appealing, it nonetheless deprives them of certain benefits associated with the workplace environment only. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of flexible working hours:

The Advantages of Flexible Working Hours

Improved Employee Morale

Flexible working arrangements can boost employee well-being by reducing stress and strengthening loyalty.  A boost to morale helps with levels of absence and can improve productivity.  Different working hours and the extended use of technology might even mean your employer can offer extended hours, services, or a greater range to clients or customers.

Having the ability to work at the time, location, and pace that are most appropriate to employees will certainly make them more comfortable with their work.

Helps Avoid Long Commutes

Employees who live far from their work location are forced to commute for long hours to make it to work on time. In many cases, employees are unable to afford the transportation costs, placing another burden upon them. Fewer visits to the workplace mean saving more time, money, and effort that can be invested elsewhere.

In some cases, the long commute is inevitable. Even then, employees can implement certain strategies in order to make their commutes less boring and tiring. For instance, employees can achieve so by listening to TED Talks or reading materials using a device called Kindle or on their mobile devices.

Better Work-life Balance

This is particularly relevant to employees who have several demanding obligations in their lives, such as a parent with a baby or an employee with a sick parent. Having the choice of working at their most suitable timings will allow them to better handle their other obligations and have a more consistent juggle between their work and their personal lives. Encouraging your employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance will increase their engagement and overall satisfaction.

Flexibility Helps Recruitment

Recruitment is nearly always a key area for employers, so building a reputation as an understanding employer who is flexible and who both trusts and accommodates their employees can enhance an employer’s reputation in the labor market. By making flexible working a success, you can assist your employer in strengthening its credentials.

Increases Work Efficiency

This is likely to be the end product of all the advantages previously mentioned. Having employees who are more comfortable, relaxed, and satisfied will undoubtedly maximize their work efficiency. Though they are working remotely, you can still maintain employee engagement and even increase efficiency – Read more

The Disadvantages of Flexible Working Hours

Reduction of Office Environment Atmosphere

It is undeniable that an office has a distinct feeling to it that you cannot experience anywhere else. Being in an office puts you in a certain state of mind that helps you concentrate and motivates you to work harder and produce better quality work. Spending less or no time at all at the office will limit or strip employees of this experience. 

Fewer Interactions Between Employees

Reducing the time employees spend at the workplace means less interaction with their fellow coworkers and their bosses. The outcomes of this include receiving less feedback and updates and having weaker relationships with coworkers.

However, employees can continue to stay in touch with their managers by using tools such as Trello and Slack. Through such tools, employees can receive consistent feedback and updates from their managers, who will be informed of their work progress.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that while flexible working hours may be suitable for specific jobs (for instance, an editor or a graphic designer), it does not fit other jobs, such as those in customer care or salespeople who have to be present and fully engaged during the regular working hours to interact with customers or coworkers. Furthermore, workers who opt for flexible working hours or work remotely must devote extra effort to ensure they are fully informed and involved in their job.

Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS), such as ZenHR, can ease the communication between employees and Human Resources Managers to help them organize each employee’s schedule and agree on certain working hours, leaves, and allowances. Such systems can maximize the benefits of flexible working hours while addressing their downsides.

In conclusion, for many employees, arriving at work on time is an endless struggle they have to face daily. A possible solution becoming more prevalent is tweaking their work hours to fit their schedule or working remotely. While this alternative settles many of their issues, they have to pay the price of experiencing fewer of the advantages found in the workplace environment.

Zaid Tabaza