Workers want flexible schedules

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), March, 2005

What perk do today's workers appreciate most? According to 30% of chief financial officers polled by Accountemps, Menlo Park, Calif., a specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals, flexible schedules top the list. Retirement savings plans ranked second, cited by 17%, followed by extra time off with 16% of the response.

"Lean staffing levels mean many employees are working longer hours. At the same time, a growing number of professionals must meet mounting personal obligations, including caring for children and elderly relatives," points out Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies. "For this 'sandwich generation' of employees, increased control of their time enables them to balance competing demands."

Messmer advises managers who are considering offering flexible work arrangements to ask themselves the following questions:

* How will it affect customer service? Staggering work hours might allow you to accommodate employee schedules while being more available to customers. However, if your business has certain peak periods, you may want to have all personnel available during those times.

* How strong is the employee work ethic? Flexible schedules work best for self-motivated professionals, particularly if they will be doing their jobs when no one else is around.

* How dependent on teamwork is the organization? If impromptu meetings are where the best ideas consistently are born, you will want to ensure significant overlap in employee schedules.