The days when all jobs consisted of 40 work hours spent ineight-hour chunks Monday through Friday are over. Today, anincreasing number of employees work flexible schedules from avariety of locations and even share jobs. Employees like thesearrangements, and they can be advantageous for the rightentrepreneur as well. Here are some of the most notable flexiblework arrangements and the key characteristics of each:
Flextime is the most popular flexible work option withboth employers and employees. It lets employees set their ownstarting and quitting times within limits determined bymanagement.
Job-sharing lets two people share the responsibilities ofone full-time position. It’s basically a form of part-time workthat provides you with the equivalent of one full-time employeewhile giving the job-sharing employees the ability to keep theircareers on track while allowing more time for familyresponsibilities or other activities.
Compressed workweek arrangements let employees work 40hours in fewer than five days. Most commonly, this means four10-hour days each week. Advantages to employees include an extraday off and lower commuting costs per week. Many employers reporthigher productivity from employees working compressedworkweeks.
Telecommuting employees work from home during some oftheir scheduled hours. Telecommuters often come into the office oneor two days each week. This lets them go to meetings and stay intouch with co-workers.
