Mayor's Office of Employee Assistance
Create A Win-Win Situation
Be Receptive to Alternative Work
Options
The workplace has undergone dramatic demographic changes in recent years. Today, only 4 percent of families fit the raditional model of a married couple, where the father works outside the home and the mother stays
home to care for the children.
At least 10 million children under the age of 5 need child care while their mothers work. In addition, at least 16 percent of workers have elder care responsibilities. The traditional 9-to-5 work week no longer meets the needs of a large proportion of today’s workers. Given these workplace realities, many employers have begun to offer their employees a range of alternative work options. Their flexibility has paid off. Research shows that employees who have more control over their work schedules are more loyal, committed, innovative and satisfied on the job.
It’s likely that the benefits of alternative work options will outweigh any disadvantages at your company. If, for
example, an experienced, valued employee wants to scale back her hours during the last six weeks of her pregnancy, you could shift some of her job tasks to another worker or hire a part-time employee. The benefits
of retaining a seasoned worker and training others to increase their skills will outweigh any inconveniences and additional costs.
Develop a Plan
If your organization doesn’t already have a policy on flexible work schedules and other alternative work options, it may take some effort to develop a plan.
Investigate plans at other organizations similar to yours.
Do a survey of the needs at your organization.
Test a pilot program.
Train managers in creative scheduling.
Contact work/family consultants to help you develop options that will work best for your organization and your employees.
Some Alternative Work Options
FLEXTIME—work schedules that permit flexible starting and quitting times within limits set by management
COMPRESSED WORK WEEK—a 40-hour work week compressed into less than five days
TELECOMMUTING—working off-site while linked to the office electronically
ALTERNATIVE STAFFING—working on a short-term assignment while employed either by an agency or directly by the employer
REGULAR PART-TIME—part-time employment that includes job security and all other rights and prorated benefits available to an organization’s full-time workers
JOB SHARING—regular part-time work in which two people voluntarily share the responsibilities of one full-time salaried position with benefits
PHASED RETIREMENT—gradual retirement brought about by the reduction of full-time employment commitments over a period of years
LEAVE OF ABSENCE/SABBATICAL—an authorized period of time away from work without loss of employment rights—paid or unpaid
WORK SHARING—an alternative to layoff, in which all or part of an organization’s workforce temporarily reduces
hours and salary, sometimes with short-time compensation from unemployment insurance