Full text of Workplace Flexibility Initiatives

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Issue brief

WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY INITIATIVES

The following is a compilation of traditional and innovative flexible arrangements that merit additional consideration as
options to address the needs of employees and business in various industries. The examples for each flexible option
are not exhaustive. Prior to implementation of any of these strategies, employers may want to consult with the U.S.
Department of Labor for additional compliance assistance.

SCHEDULE FLEXIBILITY
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Flextime

Workday start and end
times differ from standard
(same number of hours/
day).

• Allows for commute
outside of peak hours

• Daily flex: Work 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. instead
of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Improves efficiency
if employee works
when they are most
productive

• Summer flex: Work hours during summer
only.
• Core hours: Establish specific hours when
all employees work (e.g., 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.);
start and end times may vary.
• Day-of-the-week flex: Work hours are flexed
on one specific day each week.
• Flexible breaks: Adjust or extend break
times to attend to personal matters and make
up time before or after the workday.

Just-In-Time
flexibility

Employee
scheduling

Being able to take
some time off during the
workday to respond to
unexpected needs.

• Allows employee to
respond to last minute
emergencies

Team: Seek employee
input and control into
scheduling and involve
team in determining
schedules and shift
coverage.

• Gives an employee
more control over his/
her time

Individual: Set
parameters for mandated
coverage and allow
employees to schedule
remaining hours to meet
their personal needs.

• Report late: Call in late (up to 30 minutes)
and make up time at the end of the workday,
without repercussions.
• Co-worker coverage: Coordinate to adjust
schedule or cover shift.
• Fixed scheduling for students and those
with second jobs.
• Smart phone app for schedule viewing.
• Using scheduling software, employees
set their own schedules without the need for
supervisor intervention.
• Self-scheduling/bidding that honors shift or
trip preferences and accepts change request.

Issue brief
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Shift and trip
flexibility

Amending work shifts
or allowing employees
to trade work shifts with
coworkers to adjust one’s
schedule.

• Gives an employee
more control over his/
her time

• Advance notice of regular, assigned
schedules and schedule changes.

• Allows employee to
respond to last minute
emergencies

• Trade, drop or pick up shifts or trips by
coordinating with co-workers (in advance or
day of).
• Cross-training and cross-utilizing to
enable employees to pick up available
shifts in other positions or locations/sites to
maximize hours worked.
• Split shifts that allow a break of several
hours in the workday to attend school or
manage other personal commitments.
• Shift hour changes such as allowing a
production employee in an 8-hour shift
environment to work a full shift starting at 9
a.m. instead of 6 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
• Full-time floater positions to reduce the
need for temps and mandatory overtime.
• Relief pool positions for employees trained
on all jobs within a team who can cover
staffing shortages due to vacations and other
time off.
• Overtime notifications sent to employees to
solicit volunteers.
• Shift change requests with a simple process
that allows employees to easily.

Compressed
workweek

Full-time option with
• Allows for commute
longer workdays for part
outside of peak hours
of a week in exchange for • Improves efficiency
shorter days or day(s) off
if employee works
during the pay period.
when they are most
productive
• Gives an employee
more control over his/
her time

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• 4-day workweek (4/10): 10-hour shift.
• 3-day workweek (3/12): 12-hour shift.
• 4 ½ day workweek: Four 9-hour days and
one 4-hour day.
• 9-day biweekly (9/80): 80 hours in 9
workdays (typically 8 days at 9 hours and 1
day at 8 hours).
*Prior to implementation, it is important to
review federal and state legislation regarding
compressed workweeks.

Issue brief
FLEXIBILITY IN THE AMOUNT OF HOURS WORKED
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Part-time
(reduced work
schedule)

Working fewer than
35 hours per week to
accommodate second
jobs, school schedules
or family/personal
responsibilities.

• Gives employee • 80% of full-time (32 hours/week), 60% of fullmore time
time (24 hours/week).
for family
• 50% of full-time (20 hours/week).
obligations or
personal interest • Temporary move from full time to part time.
• Weekend hours only.
• Float positions that cover breaks and meal
periods.
• Shorter shifts within the existing shift structure.

Part-year work

Part-time
compressed
workweek

Number of hours worked
are calculated on an
annual basis.

• Enables
flexibility in
scheduling
blocks of time
off

• Seasonal Work

Enable part-time
employees to work a
compressed week of their
choice.

• Allows for
commute
outside of peak
hours

• Five 4-hour days

• Teacher works a 9-month year.

• Four 5-hour days
• Two 8-hour days/One 4-hour day

• Weekends only
• Improves
efficiency if
• “Non-extendable” part-time schedule with
employee works
limited benefits, guaranteed days and hours of
when they are
work, and no mandatory overtime.
most productive
• Gives an
employee more
control over his/
her time
Job sharing

Full-time position, role or
• Gives employee
shift shared by two people,
opportunity to:
each working part-time
• Balance routine
hours (not necessarily an
or unexpected
even split of hours).
work and family
demands

• Alternate weeks with each working one week
on, one week off.
• Share workdays with each working four hours.
• Overlap schedules with each working 2½ days
a week with a mid-week overlap.

• Pursue an
education
• Devote time
to a volunteer
activity in the
community

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Issue brief
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Compressed
workweek

Full-time option with
longer workdays for part
of a week in exchange for
shorter days or day(s) off
during the pay period.

• Allows for
commute
outside of peak
hours

• 4-day workweek (4/10): 10-hour shift.
• 3-day workweek (3/12): 12-hour shift.
• 4 ½ day workweek: Four 9-hour days and one
4-hour day.

• Improves
• 9-day biweekly (9/80): 80 hours in 9 workdays
efficiency if
(typically 8 days at 9 hours and 1 day at 8
employee works
hours).
when they are
most productive *Prior to implementation, it is important to
review federal and state legislation regarding
• Gives an
employee more compressed workweeks.
control over his/
her time

FLEXIBILITY IN THE PLACE OF WORK
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Job transfer

Transfer to other work
locations when relocating
household for personal
reasons.

• Employee
• Enables employee to change job or position
can maintain
• Transfer to a different location
benefits
eliminating gaps
in coverage

Telework

Occasional telework from
home during inclement
weather or urgent family/
home situations.

• Eliminates
commute

Flex-place

Job relocation

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• Limits office
based
distractions

Working from more than
• Allows
one location in a local area
employees to
or other geography.
optimize hours
and help fill in
gaps in various
work locations
Periodically, or seasonally,
changing the place of
work.

Examples

• At-home offices in jobs such as reservations
agents, financial services, customer service,
billing, marketing, etc.

• Work from home full time
• Telework on set days

• Allows
• Snowbird programs enable employees to work
employees
in warmer climates during the winter months.
to select the
most suitable
geographic
location based
on their personal
obligations and
preferences

Issue brief
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Job sharing
hires

Hire job share teams and
base them at the same
work location.

• Creates
part-time
opportunities
in a full-time
position.

• Each employee works 2.5 days per week.

Remote
production

Work done away from the
formal worksite.

• Eliminates
or reduces
commute

• Some parts assembly work performed at
home or from a remote location such as a
satellite production center.

• Senior-level executive share a 70+ hour/week
and share benefits.

LEAVE FLEXIBILITY
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Leave policies &
banks

Time off for vacations,
rest and relaxation, and
personal business or
emergencies.

• Gives an
employee more
control over his/
her time

• Paid time off bank that includes the entire
allotment of days off to use for any reason.

• Allows
employee to
respond to
last minute
emergencies

• Extended leave policy to allow employees time
to visit home countries.

• Paid sick leave to care for dependent children
and adults.

• Updated attendance policies that consider
work-life needs and allow excused absences.
• Floating holidays to enable employees to take
different holidays off.

Other time off

Time off for vacations,
rest and relaxation, and
personal business or
emergencies.

• Gives an
employee more
control over his/
her time
• Allows
employee to
respond to
last minute
emergencies

• Day-at-a-time vacation
• Vacation buying or borrowing
• Vacation donation enables employees to give
unused paid time off to a co-worker in need.
• Paid personal/emergency days off, typically
one to three annually.
• Unpaid time off to attend parent-teacher
conference or other personal commitments.
• Voluntary time off during down time.
• Staffing models with continuous shifts that
build in extra people and offer unpaid time off if
coverage is not needed on a particular day.

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Issue brief
CAREER FLEXIBILITY
Arrangement

Description

Benefit

Examples

Phased
retirement

Gradual reduction of work
hours and responsibilities
for the purpose of easing
into full retirement.

• Provides a
higher income
than if the
employee
leaves entirely

• Part-time work

Paid or unpaid time off
for personal enrichment,
volunteerism or other
activities.

• Builds skills

• Typically leave for more than 4 weeks for
travel, volunteering, learning, research, goal
attainment, personal growth, or innovation.

Retiree Pool

Create retiree pool as a
source of labor to help
meet short-term demands.

• Creates
opportunities
for retirees to
earn additional
income

• Re-hiring retired workers

Re-careering

On-the-job training
programs, to teach new
skills and offer resources
to transition to different
practice or project areas.

• Builds skills

• Career coaching

Customized
Career path

Redesign or scale back
job responsibilities,
such as moving to a
job without supervisory
responsibilities.

• Allows
employee to
“step back” or
“step ahead”
or “step
sideways” as
responsibilities
or career
desires change

• Exit and reentry programs

Job rotation

Move to another position
for a specific period of
time or number of days a
week; often develops out
of cross-training.

• Builds skills

• Flex staffing pool for workers who want to take
a break from a regular, full-time job, but want to
stay engaged in project work in a professional
workplace

Sabbatical

• Helps employee
to identify
opportunities
for performance
improvement

• Seasonal or part-year work
• Job sharing
• Project work

• Helps employee
to identify
opportunities
for performance
improvement

Source: Roundtree, L. (2005). Approaches to workplace flexibility. Prepared for DOL, Women’s Bureau, Flex-Options Project incorporating
previous unpublished client work by author; Madoo, N. (February 2014), work-life consultant and expert in hourly flexibility, personal interviews;
Williams, J. (February 17, 2011). Hourly workers. Presentation at the National Dialogue on Workforce Flexibility, Pasadena, CA; Workplace
Flexibility 2010, Georgetown Law and The Institute for Workplace Innovation, University of Kentucky (May 2011). Flexible Workplace Solutions
for Low-Wage Hourly Workers: A framework for a national conversation. Retrieved from: http://workplaceflexibility2010.org/images/uploads/
whatsnew/Flexible%20Workplace%20Solutions%20for%20Low-Wage%20Hourly%20Workers.pdf; Social Dynamics, LLC. (October 21, 2011).
Research and Analysis of Workplace Flexibility: National dialogue synthesis report. Unpublished manuscript prepared for U.S. Department of
Labor, Women’s Bureau.

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Contact us
Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, October 2015.

CONTACT US
Website: www.dol.gov/wb/
E-mail: Womens.Bureau@dol.gov
Mail:
Women’s Bureau
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
Phone: 1-800-827-5335 or (202) 693-6710

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