Compress your work week
What employers can do to implement a compressed work week schedule program:
Economic and demographic changes in our society - such as the increases in dual-earner families and single parent famiies - have made alternative work schedule desireable to many employees. By allowing employees to adjust their work schedules, employers are not only able to recruit and retain valuable employees, but they also make it possible for them to completely eliminate some commutes (and commute expenses) by compressing their work weeks. With a compressed work week, the total nmber of hours an employee works does not change; only the way his or her hours are scheduled changes. The most typical compressed work week schedules are:
- 4/10s: Forty hours are worked in four 10-hour days
- 9/80: Eighty hours are worked in eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day
- 3/12s: Thirty-six hours are worked in three 12-hour days
By adopting compressed workweek schedules that extend the length of the workday, companies are often able to extend customer service and sales force hours.
ETCs should work with managers, employees and labor organizations to develop suitable policies and practices. Informal alternative work scheduling is common at many worksites, so an official policy may simply formalize and support existing practices. The policy should specify:
- Which job categories are suitable
- What is required of employees to qualify
- What criteria are to be used to evaluate the performance of employees on alternative schedules
- How employees’ schedules are determined and what is required to change schedules
- Periodic review of the arrangement
- Model contracts and forms for establishing and tracking alternative work schedules
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