"How do I offer flextime as a manager in a larger organization?" It's a common question I get from managers looking to give a little flexibility to their people. And it makes sense as the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey noted that 43% of respondents said flexible working hours helped them be more productive.
While many organizations don't have policies FOR flexible working time they also usually don't have policies AGAINST it. This could allow a manager to develop their own flextime policy for their team.
Here is how:
Start-of-day Flexibility
Extend the start (and stop) of the day. If your team normally works 9-5 why not allow them to start their day anywhere between 8-10am? Isolate meetings to the crossover time where everyone is guaranteed to be working, from 10-4.
Day-of-week Flexibility
Traditionally called "comp time", allowing people to move a working day around adds flexibility for both planned and unplanned personal needs. If someone needs to take Wednesday off they can opt to make up the time on a Saturday.
Time-off Self Scheduling
When you have policies like the above two it enables your team to schedule their own time off. With good calendar communication, your team can move days and start earlier or later as life demands. All while still being around during critical working hours. Additionally, if you already offer an unlimited PTO option, allow your team to self-schedule smaller moments of time off like half days.
If you cannot work more than a certain time in a day offer "start of day". If you only need to clock 40 hours a week offer "day-of-week". Or simply let people self-schedule some of their time off so they don't feel crushed under an inflexible policy.
Even with strict labor rules, there are opportunities to deliver a bit of flexibility to your team (but be sure to take it to your HR department first).
Any Thoughts?