Workplace flexibility for hourly lower-wage employees the necessities of work-life balance strategies: A study using data from

m the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workplace implies that employees with greater access to temporal forms of flexible work options report less stress, fewer work absences, and fewer tardiness incidents (Halpern, 2005)

Method This study was conducted in collaboration with a Fortune 100 retail firm. The firm operates over 6200 stores in 38 states in US. Results Six primary forms of flexible work practices were identified from managers interview. 1. Schedule preference Permitting employees to have some choice into the times and days that they are scheduled to work. Within this context, managers suggested two practices: a. Preference for specific days, shifts, or hours. This option allows workers to coordinate their work schedule with their off-the-job responsibilities, such as working another job, attending classes, and providing care to a loved one or fix work schedules with those of other family members. b. Preference for a set, routine schedule. This allows employees to work the same shifts or same days each week, enabling them to have predictability in their jobs. 2. Preplanned Schedule Modification This practice gives employees the opportunity to request that they not be scheduled for a particular day or shift prior to the creation of the weekly schedule. It is good for employees to request 2 weeks before. 3. Just-in-time schedule change This practice permits employees to request a modification to the existing schedule. Just-in-time schedule change requires that employees work closely with store supervisors and often their coworkers as well. There are two ways: a. Employee-generated schedule coverage. This allows an employee to have his or her shift covered by another employee who agrees to work for him or her. Depending on the situation, either the employee or the manager will be responsible for finding someone to cover the shift. It is preferable for employees to find someone.

b. Shit swapping. Shift swapping is a business practice that authorizes employees to exchange shifts with another employee without losing the assigned number of work hours for the week. The challenge is to find two employees who have matching skill sets and training. 4. Flex-place This permits employees to work at more than one store location. There are two forms: a. Flex-place in the same community and regional flex-place. This refers to situations where employees work at multiple locations within the same geographic areato get their requested number of hours to meet their availability needs, or help fill gaps in one stores schedule. b. Regional flex-place is a strategy that gives employees an opportunity to work within different geographical locations during different times of the year. The best examples of regional flex-place are people who live seasonally in different parts of the country; Managers perceive this practice as a win-win for the company and the employee. 5. Reduced work hours Reduced work hours is a formal organizational policy than an informal practice. In this organization, the opportunity for reduced work hours for full-time employees allows for a reduction of work hours to as few as 30 hours a week without the loss of full-time status and associated benefits. This policy provides some form of job security when life events require employees to work less than 40 hours a week. 6. Short-term leave Short-term leave offers full-time employees job security if they plan to be off work for more than a week. Most employees can use this option to deal with family health issues, to fulfill caretaking responsibilities, or to visit family that may live in another country.

Developing the Business Case for flexibility Benefits of providing flexible work opportunities: flexibility is a contributing factor to the companys success. There are six aspects: a. Recruitment. Many mangers credit the companys promotion of flexibility as key to its premium employer status, helping them to attract higher-quality employees. b. Retention Managers point out that offering flexible work options has a positive impact on retention. There seems to be a general consensus that providing flexible work options creates a more positive work environment, stronger employer loyalty, and better work/life balance.

c. Productivity When people have their preferred schedule, it has a direct effect on their attitude, performance, and productivity. d. Employee engagement Managers perceive flexibility as contributing to employee engagement. When store managers are responsive to employees request for flexibility, employees are more likely to be committed to their job and assist the manager when asked to help out. e. Customer service When you have happy employees, you will have happy customers. f. Cost savings Flexibility has a direct impact on the bottom line by reducing operational costs. Although managers also mentioned financial costs associated with offering flexible work practices, they overwhelmingly agreed that the benefits to the company far outweigh the expense. This is investment.

Challenges Associated with implementing flexibility There are four primary challenges were identified from the manager interviews. a. Efficient use of staff time Some employees ask unreasonable time schedule change request. However, there is only so much time that you can spend constantly changing the schedule, and you need to watch out the requests that are frivolous in nature. b. Customer loyalty In the retail sector, people become comfortable interacting with someone with whom they are familiar and respond by frequenting that particular store. When workers utilize flexible options that they are not at the store during regular hours and shift, customer loyalty may stray. c. Ensuring fair and equitable practices There may be no body working at this one week because managers are too nice about it. Mangers pay think it is fair, employees may perceive it otherwise. When facing more than one requests on the same shifts, how to deal with favoritism. d. Balancing the needs of the business to employee needs. It is challenging to match scheduling requirements with employees needs.

The work practices that were identified as effective with employees in lower-wage, hourly jobs illuminate four points related to flexibility for this group of workers. Flexibility as a culture

This study illustrates how one company has moved beyond offering flexibility as a workplace policy or benefit to incorporating flexibility into its culture and flexible practices into daily operations. Sanctioning flexibility as an informal workplace practice The challenge is hiring employees that have a range of schedule preferences, so both the companys and the employees needs can be met. In this organization, store managers are given autonomy and authority by senior management to develop a scheduling system that works best for the stores operations. This decentralized approach allows for creative approaches to scheduling. The scheduling depends on supervisors previous experience, beliefs, and training. Flexibility: The business case and the opportunity costs Limitations and future research

Benefits needed