• By Alicia D’Amico

More and more of America’s workers are becoming less willing to spend their free time commuting on traffic congested highways and subways, working a typical 9-5 workday or working in mentally unhealthy work environments with toxic bosses and co-workers. Because of the current economy and the sky-rocketing costs of corporate overhead such as leases, overused equipment, offsetting employee transportation costs and other expenses, more companies are looking for ways to save money as well. By companies offering benefits such as flextime, a 4-day work week, job sharing and telecommuting, they are finding themselves in a win/win situation. 

Companies who offer such benefits are discovering that by offering their employees a more flexible work environment, their workers are happier which, in turn, makes them more productive. Below are brief descriptions of each type of work schedule. 

Flextime: An employer establishes the hours that constitute a full work day and employees are free to determine what 8 hour period they work. For example, if an employer makes work hours available between 6a and 9p, an employee may choose to work the hours of 11a to 7p and still be conforming to the work policy. 

Job Sharing: Two employees share the same job and share the hours so there is no need for over time. They also share the job responsibilities and their salaries are usually pro-rated. With job sharing, employees can overlap their hours, split their shifts or work at different offices or facilities at the same time. 

Four Day Work Week: Also known as a compressed work week, employees work the same amount of hours during the week but in fewer days. The most common example of the four day work week is the 10 hour work day with either Monday or Friday off. The theory is that by taking Monday or Friday off, traffic is directly impacted. 

Teleworking: Easily defined, teleworking simply means working from home or any other place away from the brick and mortar of an employee’s office. Teleworking relieves the stress for parents who have to work while also reducing traffic, overtime, and reducing absenteeism. Approximately 41 million U.S. workers are teleworkers.

Alicia D’Amico

www.womenforwomensite.com Inspiring women to achieve their goals in business and or in their working lives.