Flextime and job sharing are two options that are most often found within the walls of an innovative organization dedicated to maximizing employee productivity through worker-directed programs. Employees fortunate enough to participate in such programs usually have worked one or more years with the organization as full-time permanent employees, and then convert to flextime or job-sharing status.
According to the Administrative Management Society, the percentage of American companies offering flexible work schedules more than doubled between 1977 and 1986.
Flextime
In a flexi time arrangement, an individual works during specific core hours and makes up the rest of his/her workday at hours mutually agreed upon with the employer. Our research turned up one flexi timer who works 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off; and another, this one a working mother, who works 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 P.M. This woman is able to get her kids off to school, be home for their return, and leave again when her husband comes home from work.
Job Sharing
In a job-sharing situation, two individuals share everything: salary, hours, and responsibilities. At our organization, we have two women who share one permanent, full-time sales position. One works two full days; the other, the remaining three. We do caution that in order to make this kind of relationship run smoothly, the two parties must be attuned to each other, keep each other informed of their individual activity, and each must share equally in the work load. When one partner carries the burden of responsibility, resentment is likely to grow and sabotage the job-sharing concept for others.
Companies have found that flexible work schedules have both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
- Company morale is boosted, and employees experience increased loyalty, particularly those with specific conflicts between work and home.
- A firm with flexible scheduling has a competitive edge in hiring and keeping employees.
- Employees feel greater control over their home and at-work activities.
- Not all employees make use of flexi time; some people make minimal or no available scheduling changes.
- Morale doesn't necessarily rise if the program isn't used.
- A company that makes extra effort to determine whether its employees are really putting in full days (by installing time clocks, for example) may destroy the freedom and morale lift it was trying to create.
It may be easiest to think of employee leasing as a management tool for the small-business owner. A typical client of an employee leasing firm might be a doctor’s office, a small retailer, or a building/home improvement contractor. The major benefits offered to the user include:
- Payroll provisions
- Group health care at low rates based on the total number of employees handled by the employee leasing firm
- Employer freedom from paying liability taxes, workers compensation, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance
Employee leasing allows a business to transfer a group of its employees to the payroll of a leasing organization. After the transfer, the employees are leased back to their original employer. These employees perform in permanent positions and follow set hours on a daily basis at the original employer's location.
A contract leasing firm hires an organization s existing employees and then leases them back for a fee. The leasing firm pays all the employee benefits, including pension contributions equal to a percentage of the employee’s annual earnings. Since contract leasing firms are generally larger than the customer who utilizes their services, leased employees may benefit by receiving a more attractive benefit program than if they had gone through their original employer. The size of the leasing firms allows them to negotiate the lowest possible premium rates for health-care and life insurance plans for their employees.
Employee leasing firms and their users operate under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) of 1982 and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. These rules were set up to protect leased employees and to ensure that they could receive employee pension programs and other benefits compensation. The federal government considers employee leasing and temporary help services to be similar industries and has given them the same SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code.
There is very little an individual can do to become a leased employee. This is largely a decision made solely by the employer (owner); however, if you feel you are not receiving adequate health coverage or pension compensation, you might suggest employee leasing as a alternative to your employer.
