As the world becomes more connected every single day, more companies see less of a need for their employees to work the traditional nine-to-five in a designated office space. With the available technology, having everyone in a central location isn’t as necessary as it was fifteen years ago. Flextime options offer employees and managers alike huge benefits at work and home and can ultimately improve your bottom line.

Why Flextime Works

More and more companies are opting for more lenient policies in regard to their offices and it’s easy to see why. Giving employees options and more control over when and where they work will make them happier, more engaged and more productive. Employees will feel like their employer trusts them enough to make their own choices. It’s also an added bonus that those choices allow them to adjust their hours to go to their child’s soccer game or even just to work when they feel most productive. Offering flextime options also sends the message to employees that the company understands that their needs can change seasonally or even on a dime.

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The Bottom Line

It’s much more cost effective to have a telecommute or flextime option for employees. By choosing to close early on Summer Fridays or allowing employees to work from home two days a week, you significantly reduce facility costs, such as air conditioning and water. More so, giving employees options of when and where to work lowers the costs associated with lost time due to illness, weather, or uncontrollable circumstances. It’s also extremely beneficial for new mothers transitioning back to work after maternity leave. If your company adjusts your policies to allow more flextime working options, you’ll also see an increase in engagement and job satisfaction, leading to lower turnover rates and hiring costs.

Your Options

Companies can really create whatever kind flextime policies work for them. Flextime can be as simple as telling employees they can work 40 hours a week and work the hours that work for them, but they have to be done in the office. Employees can then work the hours that work best for them so they can work around appointments, family commitments and more. Another option is allowing employees to work from home either part or full time if they choose to. Again, it’s all about which options support the kind of work your company does. If you’re a workplace that thrives on individual work, your employees will likely have more flextime options than a workplace that is highly collaborative and requires in-person contributions.

For example: telecommuting works really well for an advertising agency but not so much for a construction company. You can also consider adding the option to video chat or conference call for meetings.

Flextime options offer a wide variety of benefits for employers and employees. Consider implementing policies that allow employees to work outside the office so they have the flexibility to live the lives they want and be the employees your company needs.