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What Is Flex Time & How Can Employers Make It Work?

Pamela DeLoatch

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Flexible scheduling can work well for businesses. It can help with attracting and retaining employees by giving people control over the start and end of their workday, reducing commuting frustrations and improving productivity. However, it can also create some challenges.

As flex time and other scheduling options remain popular — and competitive — offerings at both large and small businesses, employers need to know what it is and how it can benefit their talent efforts.

When you offer flexibility in your scheduling, you give your employees more autonomy and opportunities for increased work/life balance. As more people return to the office, having this kind of latitude may make the transition smoother, empowering your people to manage their own schedules. Allowing people to move the start and end of their workday can be a step toward increasing job satisfaction and engagement, potentially leading to better employee — and customer — experiences.

"Humans are unique individuals with varying needs – we can't assume that one size fits all when it comes to work arrangements," says Doreen Coles, senior director of career growth and development, global HR at ADP. "Offering flexibility is an essential way to attract, engage, and retain a diverse workforce."

What is flex time, and how has it evolved?

Flex time is a scheduling structure where exempt employees work a set number of hours per day or per week but have an agreed-upon range for selecting their own starting and ending times.

Some employees may prefer the traditional Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work life. But with flex time, employees may choose to work earlier or later, often with the caveat of their time needing to overlap with core business hours. Over time, flexible scheduling has evolved from shifting the workday an hour or two or splitting it into blocks of time to more creative options. The increase in remote work in particular has brought new approaches as some remote workers seek less structure in their workday, emphasizing getting the work done rather than how long it takes to do so.

In practice, flex time arrangements allow employees to vary their schedules with options such as:

• Working a set eight-hour schedule that's offset from the standard, such as from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or noon to 8 p.m.
• Varying starting and ending times each day based on workflow demands and non-work scheduling needs
• Taking a shorter lunch break to finish the workday early or a longer one to fit in a non-work task and ending the day later
• Splitting shifts into blocks with time off in between, such as working 6-10 a.m. and then again from 2-6 p.m.
• Compressing the 40-hour workweek into four 10-hour days to have a weekday off work

Certain roles can thrive with flexible scheduling, including individual contributors or those with sporadic meeting obligations. Some examples of jobs where flex time works well include:

• IT and other technicians where projects sometimes require work outside standard hours
• Consultant-type roles, such as analysts, accountants, strategists and coders who often do work independently
• Creatives such as writers, graphic designers and videographers with flexible deadlines
• Customer service and other public-facing staff who can expand your hours of available support
• Part-time employees who can adapt their hours to your organization's real-time needs

Nonexempt and hourly employees often seek flexibility too, and there may be some options to explore. For certain kinds of roles structured around having a fixed daily operating schedule — such as production, retail, building, banking, etc. — you may have to be extra creative and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of flex time.

Considering hybrid work schedules? Read, Hybrid Working Models: What Is Right for Your Business?

What are the benefits of flex time?

A flex time policy offers multiple benefits to both employers and employees. On the employee side, your people can gain greater freedom and independence over their workday. Greater flexibility can help them strike a balance with life's other demands, such as managing a family or taking care of a loved one. Also, the ability to avoid prime commuting hours, whether in traffic or on public transportation, can effectively give employees time back.

As an employer, offering flex time programs can make you more attractive to top talent. When competing to fill in-demand roles, a flex schedule can help your organization stand out. Flexible scheduling can also help with retention, as employees feel they can adapt their job situation to their changing life circumstances. Giving employees control over their schedule can lead to greater productivity and employee satisfaction as well.

What are the downsides of flex time?

While flex time offers significant advantages, there are potential disadvantages that are worth considering. For example, employees who work flexible schedules may find it more challenging to collaborate with their teams or get face-to-face meetings with leadership. Flex time employees sometimes struggle to coordinate real-time communications and participation in activities set during standard hours, such as company-wide meetings or training sessions.

Employers can face challenges with flex time as well. Complicated scheduling and communication limitations can lead to frustration and difficulties between management and workers. It's also important to ensure that having flexible workdays doesn't interfere with the nature of a specific job and that you have the operational coverage needed to run your business. Plus, in some cases, employees with jobs that don't have a flex time option can become discouraged or irritated that others do, causing disharmony.

Tips for making flex time work for your business

When larger companies consider increasing flexibility in employee work schedules, it can bring on a lot of complexity. Because small businesses typically have fewer employees and managerial levels, they may find it easier to approve and customize their offerings.

However, regardless of size, organizations should consider how to make flexible schedules work for both the business and the workforce. Here are six approaches to developing a flexible work policy and ensure its success.

1. Assess the "why"

Before committing to a scheduling change, determine if it will help your employees and your business and if it's something your employees want. What is flex time in the context of your employees' specific needs? How will it support their need to remain productive and balance their work and personal lives? Check state and federal laws — including labor laws — for any impact this change could have on your business.

2. Understand that flexibility may look different depending on the job

Not all jobs are as conducive to flexibility as others. Some roles do require in-person availability during certain hours. In those cases, it's important for leaders to consider options such as job sharing to cover those hours. That could allow flexibility for those workers who want part-time work.

Another example is that during summer, employees' childcare needs may change, and they may want to update their availability and preferences for the best times of day or days of the week just for the season. In addition to the tweaks in work start and end times, exempt employees might prefer a compressed schedule with four 10-hour days and Fridays off — a popular company option, especially in summer.

3. Determine the program guidelines

Are you ready to offer flex time to the entire organization, or would it be better to start with a pilot program within a department? Will all roles be eligible to participate? Should eligibility be based on performance? Do you want to establish core hours when every team member, department or organization should be available?

These are critical decisions that must be made based on what's best for your business. Whichever guidelines you use, implementing the change will require clear communication and perhaps some tough but necessary conversations with your employees.

4. Establish ongoing communication channels

In addition to making sure your employees are clear on the new policy, it's also essential to maintain a communication process that keeps everyone up to date on projects and organization news regardless of what days or times they work. Consider adding instant messaging to increase the flow of information.

To accommodate employees working various schedules, set expectations for response times to emails, texts and chats. For example, an associate who sends an email at 8 p.m. shouldn't expect an immediate response from a co-worker whose workday ends at 5 p.m. It's also good to offer backup resources for customers and colleagues to contact if they're experiencing urgent issues.

5. Identify the changes needed to implement flexibility

Managing multiple schedules goes beyond coordinating employees' work. However, it doesn't have to mean managing a more complicated payroll. Technology, such as ADP's Workforce Management software, helps businesses seamlessly navigate setting up multiple schedules.

In addition to technological changes, programs like flex time require a shift in organizational culture to ensure that associates working different schedules are recognized and supported. For example, an exempt employee who works later hours shouldn't get the side-eye for walking into the office later or logging onto their laptop after their colleagues. The emphasis should be on the work getting done, not when it gets done.

6. Measure effectiveness and satisfaction with the solution

Once you begin offering flex time or other flexible options, keep assessing the process to ensure effectiveness. Are employees using them as intended? Are they improving employee satisfaction and productivity? Do they help your hiring and retention? Are they enabling the business to work more efficiently? Can the administrative process be improved?

Explore the right questions to embrace flex time successfully

By addressing these questions early and revisiting them periodically, you can help ensure that flex time is providing what your organization needs or realize that you need to make tweaks to improve it. With a sound plan, thorough communication, essential technology and regular assessment, flex time and other flexible scheduling can provide powerful advantages that benefit both business owners and employees.

Learn about ADP's advanced scheduling solutions.