Flexible work time and its secrets

The situation in the world forced a change in the work model and approach to employees. Most companies had no choice but to switch to fully remote work. Another change already implemented in almost all companies is flexi-time of work. The 9 to 5 workday served its purpose in the 20th century and is less and less relevant in today’s interconnected, globalized, digital world.
Such a work system has many advantages and benefits for both employees and the employer. For example, it means that one can go running in the morning, cook dinner for the family, take a dog for a walk, pick up kids from school in the afternoon, etc.
However, some conditions must be met to be successful.

Trust

Usually, flexible hours are connected with fully remote work. It means that one will not see if other colleagues are currently working or not. That should not matter when someone work are irrelevant if their work is delivered on time and as expected. This is the autonomy of workers. One should create a culture where everyone is encouraged to live their best life and chase what they find enjoyable to take full advantage of flexible hours.

Communication 

This work style means that we cannot expect that everyone will reply right away to our email, a Slack message, a voicemail, or even a call. That is why it is vital to make an internal agreement that people should react to a message within a certain number of hours. If a person’s response is crucial for you to move forward with your duties, try to find something else to do in the meantime.

Self-discipline

Flexible working hours require good organization. Only disciplined, responsible, and able to stay motivated are dedicated to such work. Not everyone is suitable for such a work style. 

A limited number of meetings

In addition, companies should be cautious while scheduling meetings. Companies cannot expect their employees to feel as if they have flexible hours when a session is at 9 a.m., 2 p.m, and 7 p.m. 

Sometimes it is possible to contact via chat or recorded video instead of organizing fixed-time meetings.

Employees should feel like they own their working hours and work without interruptions.

Of course, there are situations when the meeting is a must. Flexible working hours should be the norm, but one also should not expect to be fully adjustable all the time.

To sum up, to be successful in flexi-time work model one should bear in mind the following elements: 

• Trust your team members
• Don’t judge how people spend their time
• Communicate asynchronously
• Hire self-disciplined workers
• Schedule meetings as a last resort
• Realize that some days won’t be as flexible

The situation in the world forced a change in the work model and approach to employees. Most companies had no choice but to switch to fully remote work. Another change already implemented in almost all companies is flexi-time of work. The 9 to 5 workday served its purpose in the 20th century and is less and less relevant in today’s interconnected, globalized, digital world.