flexible work assignments

8 types of flexible work schedules for the modern workforce

Curious about the different types of flexible work schedules ?

Following a global pandemic, businesses are looking to enhance employee productivity despite limited physical interaction. They have adopted strategies to ensure unobstructed workflow, flexible work schedules being the most popular ones.

So how do you incorporate this evolving schedule system into your company?

In this article, we’ll define flexible work schedules and take a look at the different types of flexible work schedules and working arrangements at your disposal. We’ll also take note of associated compliance issues and possible benefits linked to these schedules.

Table of Contents

What is a flexible work schedule, what are the different types of flexible work schedules, advantages of flexible work schedules, a smart tool to implement flexible work schedules, legal and compliance issues associated with flexible work schedules.

Let’s dive in.

A flexible work schedule or flex schedule is an alternative to the conventional workweek. 

It allows employees to start and end a workday whenever they want, as long as they deliver services during the core hours specified by the employer. 

The flex work system also applies to work done from the office as well as from home. The customized schedule transforms routine jobs into flexible jobs or flexjobs.

Such a schedule can be full-time or part-time, affording employees the freedom to pick and choose the hours as per convenience.  

And given its benefits , it’s one of the most sought-after work schedules .

Whether you’re located away from the office or can only work on weekends, flex schedules offer options that can suit your human resources team’s various needs.

Let’s take a look at different types of flexible work arrangements and schedules: 

1. Compressed workweeks

A compressed work week involves an unequal distribution of work hours throughout the week to reduce the number of working days. 

In a compressed work schedule, an employee may choose to work at any time as long as they remain productive for the required work hours needed to complete their job.

For instance, this flexible work option may involve working four 10-hour days in a week, giving you an extra day off every week.

Or you can use a 9-day, 2-week work plan — which compresses two weeks of work into nine days, giving you two days off a month.

In both cases, you need to calculate the extra number of hours or overtime hours (if any).

The compressed workweek gives employees more personal time off work and also saves on commuting costs.

2. Customized working hours / flextime

Much like the compressed schedule, employees can customize their operational hours within a workday with flextime . 

These flexible hours allow them to function when they’re most productive. 

A split shift schedule also works well here.

Some team members may perform better in the morning, while others may be comfortable working at night. Additionally, employees can take meal breaks when they desire, instead of sticking to a predetermined and rigid lunch break routine. 

If team members can avail such flexible working hours every day, their output is bound to increase immensely. 

Additionally, the freedom to customize their schedule allows employees to take long breaks and work when they’re well-rested. This way, it helps prevent employee burnout.

3. Alternative schedule

What if you could offer a convenient schedule for employees unavailable during the workweek ? 

An alternative work schedule is a flexible schedule to follow for those who can’t work within the regular Monday to Friday, five day workweek. 

For them, normal work hours are often devoted to part-time jobs, personal matters, child care, etc. 

They desire flexibility above all else in their schedules. Such employees can take up an alternate work schedule through the second shift, night shift, or by working on weekends. 

This flexible arrangement frees up normal day hours for non-obligatory tasks the employees wish to accomplish.

4. Flexplace

Flexplace refers to the practice of employees working from home or any other remote location (other than the office) on a predetermined schedule. 

This could be for a few hours a day or a few days — and could gradually extend for 100% of the time.

Today, we can adopt workplace flexibility in three ways:

A. Telecommuting

Telecommuting or telework involves using computers and other communication devices by employees to overcome the limitations of place and time. 

Since it’s a type of flexplace practice, team members can work remotely or from the office, should they choose to do so. 

B. Hoteling

Hoteling is a practice similar to telecommuting. 

Instead of their permanent workplace, employees reserve a separate co-working space for their job. The reduced dependence on conventional office spaces also cuts costs and benefits for the employer. 

C. Snowbird programs

Snowbird is a flexible program with the provision for employees to transfer to warmer regions during the winter months. 

This helps attract a larger labor force irrespective of age constraints. Snowbird programs are especially useful for those working in telemarketing and communication roles. 

For instance, the American retail chain, CVS, introduced a policy of allowing pharmacists to work from Florida during the winter months.

5. Remote working

Remote work is a flexible work arrangement in which work is performed completely away from the office for a temporary or permanent period. 

In the modern job landscape, remote working provides employees with greater flexibility to live and work from anywhere in the world. Since employees’ physical location is insignificant, remote working can also help you find high-skilled candidates worldwide. 

However, implementing these systems relies heavily on effective communication and video conferencing channels among team members.

Here’s a toolkit to help you manage remote employees .

6. Part-time positions

To phase out the number of full-time employees and provide flexibility, businesses adopt the concept of part time work . 

Here, the job is delegated to team members who work for fewer days or hours than their full-time colleagues. 

Their association with the employer may be short-term or a part time work endeavor while pursuing other opportunities. 

Part-time employees are usually students or professionals who can’t devote full-time work hours because of prior commitments. 

Part time work also offers more time to employees to engage in other creative projects. 

A satisfied employee will have more time at their disposal. And with personal projects taken care of, they can contribute more effectively to the organization. 

However, you must pay your part time worker fairly. 

The organization decides whether team members engaged in part time jobs are exempt employees or not. 

Note : Exempt employees usually operate in executive or administrative roles and are not eligible for overtime pay. They earn a fixed salary, irrespective of the number of work hours they put in. 

In addition to a part time schedule, managers should advocate partial retirement or phased retirement for older employees. 

This cuts short their full-time work and allows them to work from home. The flexibility in switching to a remote work setup could be a welcome change for them – as they may prefer to minimize regular travel due to health considerations.

7. Job sharing

A question most leaders face is how to accomplish a task in the shortest possible time effectively.

One method to achieve this is job sharing or work sharing among coworkers. 

Job sharing involves dividing a full-time job between two or more part-time employees. Each employee works for one part of the workweek, while the others work on it the rest of the week.

While similar to a part-time job, work-sharing is also beneficial for employers. Employers now have an assigned job covered even in the absence of one team member. 

They no longer need to deal with issues of reassignment and collaboration for a designated task. However, managers should be careful and ensure equal distribution of work among employees. 

8. Extra paid time off (PTO)

If you value your high-performing employees, you must incentivize their monotonous work routine by increasing their time off. 

This may sound counterproductive to the normal work culture you’re used to. But most employees expect work flexibility from employers today. 

The idea of unlimited vacation time for capable employees is being seriously considered as an additional perk by many organizations. 

These employee-centric policies motivate them to perform better at work and deliver great results. 

Flexible working hours come in handy during the Coronavirus pandemic era. And their benefits can no longer be overlooked. 

If you opt for any of the above practices, there are several advantages for you and your employees:

A. Advantages for employers

Here’s how flex work can benefit employers:

1. Larger talent pool

Flexible work schedules give you access to a wider and more talented applicant pool. 

Since flexibility is the norm, you’re free to appoint high-skilled individuals from anywhere in the world to grow your business.

The wider pool also promotes diversity in the workplace. 

Modern jobs must offer equal opportunities to people from all spheres of life. 

More people from diverse backgrounds now work in the same digital workplace . This fosters cooperation among team member and eliminates discrimination of any kind. 

The practice has become a reality because of an evolving flexible work policy. 

2. Transparency

Flexible working arrangements operate in a transparent digital environment with the help of employee monitoring tools. 

As a result, you can keep a better track of employee attendance, work hours, productivity, etc.

When employees know you’re monitoring them, it can lead to higher productivity and lower absenteeism. 

3. Employee retention

As flexible work schedules heavily favor employees and provide them with multiple benefits, they help you retain talented employees. 

Systems like part time jobs also offer greater flexibility to employees. With these schedules becoming commonplace, employee discontent within the company decreases drastically.

4. Increased productivity and continuity

Once your team members get used to the employee-driven work culture, flexible work schedules boost their productivity . 

With a highly productive and motivated workforce, your organization can scale to greater heights.

With a distributed employee network , managers can ensure that operations continue even during emergencies like extreme weather conditions or a pandemic with a distributed employee network. 

5. Cost-effectiveness

For work-from-home setups, you can select a group health insurance plan for your employees. 

Since the risk to health insurers is divided among several members of the group, flexible working arrangements can also save you several dollars in insurance costs. 

Additionally, since most flexible work schedules require employees to work outside the office, you can save up on rent, office supplies, utilities, etc.

B. Advantages for employees

Here’s why employees prefer flexible work schedules:

1. Heightened morale

A flexible working arrangement that focuses on employee convenience can boost team morale.

Such a scenario is also free from overbearing hierarchical interferences (in other words, micromanagement.) This can help increase employee job satisfaction.

2. Better work life balance

Flexible scheduling works to restore the optimal balance between working and non-working hours. 

Your team enjoys a better work life balance with more time available for childcare, part-time study, and other creative pursuits.

3. Location flexibility

Since most flexible work schedules do not require employees to be present at any specific location, employees enjoy the freedom to travel and work whenever they want.

Once you’ve chosen a flexible work schedule model, how do you go about implementing it for your team?

You’ll need robust employee productivity software like Time Doctor to help you out.

What’s Time Doctor?

Time Doctor is a powerful employee time tracking and performance management tool used by major corporations as well as by small businesses to manage flexible work schedules of employees across the board.

Time Doctor helps you set a flexible or fixed schedule for each employee and record the time they spend on their respective shifts. 

The software automatically designates employees who reach on time as ‘Present.’ If an employee is late, they’re marked as ‘Partially Absent.’ And if they don’t show up at all, they are ‘Absent.’

Since the system of flexible work schedules is a fairly new idea, the US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t have comprehensive provisions concerning it.

Guidelines about work arrangements different from mainstream work, like ad-hoc work schedules, have to be agreed upon by employer and employee. 

Once you adopt these flexible working conditions for your modern digital worksite, you must safeguard employee interests as you would in a normal work environment:

1. Equal employment opportunity compliance

Make sure to put guidelines in place to guarantee non-discrimination in hours of work, wages, and conditions of work. You should also work towards eliminating any inherent bias within your organization.

2. Wage and hour compliance

While implementing flextime schedules, the assurances provided to your employees must comply with federal and state wage and hour laws in implementing flextime. 

Concerns linked with telecommuting such as, identifying accurate time period for compensation , controlling unauthorized work beyond the mandated time limit, handling overtime pay, etc., must be handled impartially. 

3. Benefits compliance

All employee eligible benefits must be provided to the team which uses a flexible work schedule. 

Since this is a legally grey area, you’re responsible for administering it judiciously. 

Some employees may put in more hours of work. The organization needs to be careful if such workers are non-exempt employees. Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay in addition to a minimum wage. 

For non-exempt employees, the organization is responsible for providing them with benefits and bonuses.

Here are some notable free employee scheduling software.

Work away from work is the reality of modern business operations. 

Flexible schedule options afford you the twin benefits of increasing employee engagement and keeping your business up-to-date.

And you’re now equipped with all the information needed to make a choice. 

So you can go ahead and select a flexible schedule customized to your unique business needs!

View a free demo of Time Doctor

Andy is a technology & marketing leader who has delivered award-winning and world-first experiences.

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5 Types and Examples of Flexible Work Arrangements

Discover 5 innovative flexible work arrangements, along with examples of companies that use them, to revolutionize the way your employees work.

By ActivTrak

Dec. 22, 2023 / 7 min read

Flexible work arrangements are increasingly popular in today's workforce. People love control over their work schedules and locations — and want more of it.

In this article, we’ll examine why flexible work is so popular and provide several real-world examples of arrangements to inspire you.

What are flexible work arrangements?

Flexible work arrangements are business policies that give employees a say in how, when and where they work. This overarching term refers to a wide range of options such as hybrid work schedules , compressed workweeks, job sharing and flextime. Organizations offer flexible working arrangements to help employees achieve work-life balance and improve productivity . 

The rise of flexible work arrangements

While the concept of flexible work isn’t new, advancements in technology fueled its growth in recent years. Roughly 80% of companies now offer some type of flexible work, and flex jobs attract seven times more applicants than traditional roles.

The reason? Flexible work arrangements yield positive results. Rather than being confined to a traditional office setting, people are free to choose the work locations and hours that work best for them. This flexibility empowers employees to create a work environment that suits their needs, ultimately leading to increased job satisfaction and productivity. 

Benefits of flexible work arrangements

Flexible work arrangements make it easier for employees to manage personal obligations such as child care. And because they can be present for important moments outside work, there are far fewer distractions on the job . This not only improves overall well-being but also strengthens commitment, resulting in:

• Less stress
• Lower risk of burnout
• Higher productivity

Meanwhile, employers can reduce absenteeism and increase loyalty simply by offering people the freedom to work in ways that best suit them. Because flex jobs accommodate different needs and preferences, organizations also use them to attract a wider pool of talent. This results in:

• Greater diversity and inclusion
• Higher employee engagement
• Lower turnover

5 common types of flexible working arrangements

While there are dozens of options for adopting flexible work policies, these five have emerged as some of the most successful.

1. Remote work

When people work from home or other remote locations, employers benefit in several ways . Employees are happier and more productive, the company can hire from a broader pool of applicants, real estate costs go down and retention goes up. Remote work is so prominent that it’s a central component of virtually every other type of flexible work arrangement being offered today.

Example: When LinkedIn updated its work policies in 2021, executives embraced remote roles. The business chose to reverse previous expectations that employees would report to the office 50% of the time, instead allowing the majority of its workforce to work remotely full-time.

2. Hybrid work

The hybrid work schedule refers to any policy that lets people work from home some days and report to the office on others. For some companies, that means employees split their time evenly between working remotely and working on-site. For others, team members trade off who reports to the office each day. And in the most flexible scenarios, organizations leave it up to each employee to decide where, when and how they work best.

Example: Amazon requires employees to report to an office three days a week, with the option to work from home the other two days. But at Salesforce, it’s up to each manager to decide how often team members are physically present. And at ActivTrak, people are given the option to work at an office, but aren’t required to report on specific days. In each of these hybrid work scenarios , a combination of in-person and remote work are offered to help boost engagement and productivity . 

3. The four-day workweek

With the four-day workweek model, also referred to as a compressed workweek, people work four days per week instead of the standard five. Some companies have people work four 10-hour days, while others cut back on meetings and distractions to ensure work can get done within 32 hours. Both arrangements offer extended weekends, allowing employees to pursue personal interests. Many four-day workweek experiments show lower burnout, better mental health, greater productivity and higher retention.

Example: When Buffer stopped requiring employees to work 40 hours , they found that stress levels, autonomy and happiness all improved significantly. At Kickstarter, employees raved on the company’s Slack channels about how the four-day workweek made their lives fuller and brighter. And at Basecamp, leadership continues a strict 32-hour workweek every summer since it first experienced the benefits back in 2008.

4. Flextime

Flextime empowers employees to choose their start and end times, as long as they complete the required number of work hours each week. This arrangement recognizes that different people have different peak productivity times, ensuring employees can work when they’re most efficient. It gives each person freedom to change work schedules from week to week based on personal obligations and individual work preferences.

Example: Employees at Dell have long been encouraged to set their own schedules, and to use online collaboration tools to keep in touch with team members. The tech company’s pioneering flex program was so “overwhelmingly” successful that it’s still going strong well over a decade later.

5. Results-only work 

In a results-only work environment, the number of hours employees work doesn’t matter. People aren’t required to report to an office, start their days by a set time or even let employers know when they travel. All the company measures is output. Team members are evaluated solely based on the outcomes they produce, rather than their physical presence or attendance at meetings. This arrangement provides employees with the freedom to complete tasks at their preferred times and locations.

Example: At Atlassian, executives have a name for the company’s results-only work environment: Team Anywhere . Employees can work remotely as frequently as they like, and are encouraged to do whatever it takes to achieve the kind of deep work that leads to better software coding and research. Zapier's work culture is similarly autonomous. Employees are accountable for results, and are given the freedom to decide how, where and when they work best.  

While these are some of the most widely adopted types of flexible work arrangements, they’re far from your only options. Other examples include:

• Annualized hours: With this approach, the company pays people based on the total number of hours worked over the course of a year. Employees are at work when the business needs them, and off when it doesn’t. This arrangement is used in industries where demand fluctuates, and often combines compressed workweeks and flex time to help reduce overtime hours.
• Job sharing: With job sharing, multiple coworkers divide one full-time position into part-time work. It’s usually intended for people who want to work limited hours and don’t need traditional benefits, and lets employers achieve the equivalent of a full-time job.
• Voluntary reduced work time: In reduced work time arrangements, employees have the option to decrease their number of working hours while maintaining full-time employment status. This arrangement helps individuals balance their professional and personal lives more effectively.

Implement and manage flexible work arrangements with ActivTrak

Flexible work arrangements are a significant aspect of modern work culture — for good reason. They offer countless benefits for employees and employers alike, and make companies highly desirable for top job candidates.

Trying to decide which flexible work arrangement will work best at your company? That’s what our workforce management software is for. Thousands of companies rely on it to understand how, where and when their employees work best — and to create flexible work policies based on objective data.

Sign up for a free account and request a demo to see how ActivTrak can help answer your most complex flexible work questions.

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Flexible Work Arrangements: A Compliance Checklist

Under flexible work arrangements, employees can change the place where their work is done—for example, by working from home or from a mobile location—or the hours when their work is done, with different work start and end times, job sharing or flexible or compressed workweek schedules.

Employers in the U.S. who have employees in flexible work situations need to consider federal, state and local laws that affect these arrangements.

Wage and Hour Recordkeeping

With telecommuting arrangements, employers must monitor carefully the work hours of employees who are not exempt from federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime requirements in order to avoid a violation of unpaid overtime. With employees in compressed workweek schedules, employers must adjust the defined workweek so no employee overtime is incurred; they must make sure that their timekeeping procedures incorporate any state daily overtime requirement and maximum hour limitation.

Action steps:

• Require nonexempt telecommuting employees to sign an agreement acknowledging that they are not permitted to work overtime without prior written approval, and require these employees to clock in and out via e-mail or telephone, advised Kristina Klein, an associate with Atlanta-based law firm Troutman Sanders, and Ashley Hager, a partner at the firm who specializes in employment discrimination litigation.
• Have a policy for times when a telecommuting employee is unable to work because of a power outage or technology and equipment failures. Whether the employer must pay for the time employees aren’t working depends on whether the employee is exempt or nonexempt and whether he or she is unable to work because of a technological problem caused by the employer—if the employer’s servers are down, for example—or if the problem is caused by the employee, said Klein and Hager.

Workers’ Compensation

Typically, state workers’ compensation laws do not distinguish between on-site and off-site employees, said Kevin Hess, an associate with law firm Squire Sanders in Columbus, Ohio, who focuses on workplace health and safety. But the determination of whether a telecommuter’s injury at home is compensable depends on the facts of the case and is extremely difficult to anticipate. And, although an employee generally is not covered for an injury when going to and from work, accidents that occur after an employee’s workday has begun often are compensable. This includes travel between worksites, so telecommuters who are injured traveling to their employer’s office might be entitled to compensation, he advised.

• To assess whether an injury occurred in the course and scope of employment, have a policy that allows access to the telecommuter’s home to investigate any injury that occurs while he or she is working at home.
• Conduct inspections of telecommuters’ home offices for safety conditions, including ergonomic safety.
• If employees work at home in states other than the company’s place of business, determine whether those states’ workers’ compensation rules require insurance coverage to be obtained in each of those states.

Workplace Safety

Employers must ensure a workplace free from hazards for home-based employees as well as employees working at other off-site locations. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration will respond to complaints of unsafe home workplaces and will fine employers whose employees work in unsafe home worksites, said Hess.

Action step:

• Require home-based employees to comply with workplace safety policies, and keep records of all work-related injuries that occur in a telecommuter’s home office.

Discrimination

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), flexible work arrangements may be considered a reasonable accommodation for a disabled employee. To avoid charges of unfair and discriminatory treatment, employers must keep the same conditions of employment for disabled employees in flexible arrangements as for nondisabled employees.

• Keep a telecommuting employee’s wages unchanged, and keep insurance and other fringe benefits at the same level and in the same manner as if the employee was not telecommuting, advised Klein and Hager.

Data Security/Employee Privacy

Employers need to protect confidential business and proprietary information while providing remote workers access to such data. Security measures must cover company-owned and employee-owned computers, laptops and mobile devices. Data security is especially critical if the telecommuter works with health information that is covered by the electronic security rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

• Have a data security policy that clearly details what, if any, company data may be moved to an employee’s personally owned computer or mobile device and how employees must protect confidential business information when they remotely access that information.
• To remove any legal expectation of privacy by telecommuting employees, Klein and Hager recommended obtaining signed acknowledgements that they understand that certain aspects of their employment will be monitored without notice, including computer files, documents prepared or used by the employee in the scope of their employment, and computers and telephone lines during work hours.

Liability Insurance

Third parties who are injured on the telecommuting employee’s property—a delivery person bringing work-related documents to the employee’s home who slips and falls on the steps, for example—may bring a tort claim for injuries against the employer.

• Have liability insurance that covers the employee’s home whenever it is being used for the employer’s business.
• Require telecommuters to maintain homeowner’s or renter’s liability insurance.
• Ensure that telecommuters obtain any home office permit or license required by local zoning laws.

Tax issues might arise when an employee works at home in a state other than where the employer’s business is located. Some states have reciprocity agreements so that telecommuting employees do not face double taxation; others do not, and workers then may be subject to two state tax bills on the same wages.

• Determine what state and local income taxes are owed for telecommuters who live in a state other than the employer’s state.

Susan R. Heylman, Esq., is a freelance legal writer and editor based in the Washington, D.C., area.

Related Resources:

• Sample Job Sharing Memo of Understanding , SHRM Templates and Tools
• Sample Flextime Policy , SHRM Templates and Tools
• Outline: How to Develop a Compressed Workweek Policy and Procedures, SHRM Templates and Tools
• Factors to Consider Prior to Instituting a Telecommuting Practice , SHRM Templates and Tools

Related Articles:

Tools and Training Prepare Managers for Workplace Flexibility , SHRM Online Benefits Discipline, January 2012

FLSA Inhibits Workplace Flexibility Policies , SHRM Online Benefits Discipline, November 2011

Quick Links:

SHRM Online Benefits Discipline

SHRM Online Workplace Flexibility Resource Page

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