1. MANAGEMENT Masterclass
I
n today’s dynamic times, the
weekly working hours vary
from country to country – from
40-44 hours generally, to 35
hours in France, and signifi-
cantly higher in North Korea. In the
past, these variations have generally
been driven by history, geography
and culture. However, increasingly,
company needs or lifestyle choices
are the drivers.
One of the practices that has
gained popularity globally, and looks
like it’s here to stay, is flexitime – de-
fined as a system of working a set
number of hours, with the starting
and finishing times chosen within
agreed limits by the employer/em-
ployee. The common perception is
that flexitime is not a good thing.
It is seen as a challenge for busi-
nesses; one that adversely impacts
productivity. At the same time, it
remains clear that flexitime is not
just a ‘nice-to-have’ but critical in
certain situations.
Competitive, Evolving
Global Workplace Context
A more competitive and continu-
ously changing workplace is de-
manding a rethink on workplace
practices. To collaborate globally, we
must be available for early morning
or late meetings. The costs of work-
ing spaces are driving companies to
‘hot desk’, where virtual teams can
work anywhere, including their
homes. Manufacturing products
have a global demand – it has meant
a peak and trough product-demand
cycle for some companies, demand-
ing a flexible workplace. The dearth
of talent has also meant that cross-
border freelancing is growing, and
the contingent flexible workforce is
becoming an integral part of a com-
pany’s workforce.
Customer business needs are
driving new demands. For example,
in a multinational where I worked,
they now have to run machines
24/7 to drive manufacturingproduc-
tivity. When they face breakdowns
over the weekend, a team is needed
to support them, as customers won’t
wait until Monday.
In a competitive, and often roller-
coaster business context, companies
would like to get the maximum out
of their employees but not want to
pay overtime. More importantly,
they may not want to explicitly ask
them to work over the specified
hours, but sort of expect that level of
commitment, and use it as a param-
March 13 2016 BUSINESS TODAY 0000 BUSINESS TODAY March 13 2016
It is not only desirable but also critical in
certain situations for organisations.
By RICHARD COWLEY
Why
Flexitime is
Important

2. March 13 2016 BUSINESS TODAY 00
eter to decide things like promotions, perks, etc.
Evolving Global Workforce Needs
As the company context is changing, so is the workforce
in terms of their expectations. Increasingly, companies
have challenges with retention, particularly with the
younger team members, and they want to find ways to
makethemstay.Acommonpracticenowistouseworking
hours as a carrot to attract and retain, e.g., flexible five- or
six-day work weeks, flexible use of 40 hours, etc.
Employees have changing needs that depend on per-
sonal context, e.g., as the cost of living and hiring babysit-
ters rises, parents need two jobs with schedules that
cross-over. Older employees are happy to work less and
take potential cut in salaries in more developed markets
to enjoy time with the children, while in nations with
more mouths to feed, people can be hungry for
overtime. Finally, of course, the new gen-
eration is demanding a different type
of relationship with their employer,
one that is more focused on their
needs, e.g., to contribute socially
or have reduced commute time
to work.
What Impacts
Productivity?
To understand the impact of
flexitime, one first needs to
understand what factors poten-
tially impact productivity met-
rics. There are many! The major
ones include: employee efficiency
(how quickly something is done versus
expectation), employee effectiveness
(achievement versus target, e.g., sales), and the way
the company is structured in terms of organisation layers
and manager-team ratios.
The industry context is important, as productivity in a
consulting firm versus a manufacturing environment is
clearly very different. As is the position level, where at the
manager and above levels, organisation and individual
productivity is driven by many factors. I believe that not
having the right strategy or plans, flawed decisions, or a
lack of effective performance leadership have the greatest
impact on productivity.
In the office environment, productivity can be im-
pacted by the simplest of things. During my time in Korea,
I watched the team diligently finish lunch in 20 minutes
and go back to work, whereas in other countries, a slow
lunch is the norm. So, what should be an hour easily turns
into an hour and a half of lunch. The time spent on
Facebook or the Internet generally impacts productivity,
too. Jobs where this is not prevalent e.g., hairdresser or
bricklayer, would not be impacted much.
Context is, therefore, a key criterion of evaluating the
impactofflextimeonproductivity.Inproductmanufactur-
ing or hospitals, shift work is the norm, therefore, flexitime
is generally a given. Where teamwork, projects or virtual
teams are concerned, there must be a time slot when all
the teams have to work together. Outside of these times,
flexitime is an opportunity. In organisations that demand
an interface with customers, fitting in with their schedules
is critical, e.g., direct marketing people may need to meet
customersonweekends,pharmarepresentativesmayhave
to meet doctors as per their schedules, etc. Flexitime is
paramount to delivery. In consulting, support services or
design environments, greater flexibility is an option as long
as the core deliverables are achieved.
When Flexitime Meets
Productivity
As a regional HR leader, one of the key pri-
orities when you join and work in an
organisation is to look at productivity.
And generally speaking, flexitime is
not seen as a major contributor to
poor productivity versus other
factors. The granularity comes
at a department or individual
level often and, generally speak-
ing, is part of a performance
discussion.
However, in some situations,
this may not be the case. I would
recommend that the perceived
negative impact of flextime be bal-
anced with the upside that it might
provide in terms of retaining talent, sus-
taining projects or providing a paradigm that
enables a higher quality product that delivers on the
value it creates, versus being concerned about how many
hours it has taken to build.
A big focus on the impact of staff turnover is interest-
ing. Productivity is hit when an employee departs and the
losscanbeveryhighforsomepositions,asthemomentum
is destroyed. A focus on quality outcomes that meet expec-
tations, e.g., product effectiveness, net margin or delivery
deadlinesismoresignificant.Retainingknowledgeworkers
will help productivity – in some cases, they can do more in
six hours than a new employee can do in 10.
In summary, context is everything. Depending on the
deliverable, the employee and market workforce dynam-
ics, the impact of flexitime on productivity varies. The
deliverable is core to deciding this, and the priority is for
it to be achieved. To ensure better productivity, building
strong employer-employee relationships is critical.
Flexitime can only help. ~
The author is a global HR thought leader and change maker
Companieshave
challengeswithreten-
tion,particularlywiththe
youngerteammembers...A
commonpracticenowisto
useworkinghoursasa
carrottoattract
andretain
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