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Another aspect of job design which has received great attention in the recent past is the scheduling of work hours. The increase in the workforce of dual-career couples with children and the increased realisation by employees that production needs may be better served by varied schedules, have been largely responsible for the shift in work week scheduling.

The requirements of balancing work shifts with family and other personal demands, for example, can make work a difficult endeavour for many people. A manager should recognise at least five alternatives to the traditional 8-hour per day/5 days per week work schedule, the compressed work week, flexible working hours, job sharing and part-time work. Each of these approaches shares a common concern for making the work day and its time requirements more compatible with individual needs and non-work activities.

(a)      Compressed work-week: A compressed work-week is any scheduling of work that allows a full-time job to be complete in fewer than the standard five days. The most common form of compressed work week is the “4-40”, that is, 40 hours of work accomplished in four 10-hour days. A 4-40 schedule for a work unit of two employees is shown in Table 13.1. As the exhibit shows, one result of the 4-40 is that employees have three consecutive days off from each week.

          This added time off is the source of most benefits associated with compressed work-week plans. The individual often benefits from increased leisure time, more 3-day weekends, free weekdays to pursue personal business and lower commuting costs. The organization can benefit, too, in terms of reduced energy consumption during 3-day shutdowns, lower employee absenteeism, improved recruiting of new employees and having extra time available for building and equipment maintenance.

Table 13.1: A Sample “4-40” WORK SCHEDULE

          Employee       Mon.   Tues.  Wed.   Thurs. Fri.     Sat.    Sun.

          Ram              On      On      On      On      Off      Off      Off

          Rahim            Off      On      On      On      On      Off      Off

          The disadvantages may include increased fatigue from the extended workday and family adjustment problems for the individual and increased work scheduling problems and possible customer complaints due to breaks in work coverage for the organization. Possible constraints on utilisation of compressed work-week schedules include occasional union opposition and laws that require some organisations to pay overtime for work that exceeds 8 hours of individual labour in any one day.

(b)      Flexible working hours (Flexitime): Flexitime may be defined as “any work schedule that gives employees daily choice in the timing between work and non-work activities”. A sample flexible working hour schedule is depicted in Table 13.2. Employees are required to work four hours of ‘core' time.

          They are then free to choose their remaining four hours of work from among flexible time blocks.

Table 13.2: A Sample Flexible Working Hours

          Flexible          Core             Flexible          Core    Flexible
          time              time              time              time    time

          7 A.M.           10 A.M.         12 Noon    2 P.M.      4 P.M. 6 P.M.

          Flexible working hours, or ‘flexitime', increases individual autonomy in work scheduling. Early risers may choose to come in early and leave at 4 P.M.; late sleepers may choose to start at 10 A.M. and leave at 6 P.M. In between these two extremes are opportunities to attend to such personal affairs as dental appointments, home emergencies, visiting the bank and so on. There are several types of flexitime schedules which vary according to the amount of scheduling flexibility that is allowed. These include:

(i)       Flexitour: Workers choose starting and stopping times, which must be adhered to for a set period of time, from among lists provided by the organization.

(ii)      Gliding time: Workers may vary their starting and finishing times daily, but must work a set number of hours per day.

(iii)     Variable working hours: Workers are free to choose hours irrespective of core time, provided they contract a set number of hours with their supervisors.

(iv)     Maxiflex: Workers have the freedom to vary their hours daily irrespective of core times. Maxiflex is similar to a compressed work week.

(v)      Flexiplace: Workers may work part of the time outside the workplace, such as home.

          Like other alternative work scheduling systems, flexitime has both benefits and disadvantages. Workers find that the flexibility afforded them under flexitime systems increases the amount of time they can spend together with their families, it allows the scheduling of work hours to avoid commuting difficulties and it provides feelings of control over the working environment. For employers, flexitime provides ease of scheduling, reduced overtime costs, higher productivity because of increase in morale. It is an effective recruiting tool.

          For employees, there seem to be few, if any, disadvantages to flexitime systems. Employers, however, sometimes find that overhead costs based by variation in hours increases, unions object to the decrease in overtime pay attributable to certain flexitime programmes (such as maxiflex) and many supervisors experience difficulty in managing a flexitime work force.

(c)       Job sharing: Another alternative work schedule is job sharing. This occurs when one full-time job is assigned to two persons who then divide the work according to agreements made between themselves and with the employer. Job sharing often occurs where each person works one half-day, although it can also be done on such bases as weekly or monthly sharing arrangements.

          Organisations can benefit from job sharing when they are able to attract talented people who would otherwise be unable to work. An example is the qualified school teacher who is also a parent. This person may feel unable to be away from the home full day, but able to work a half day. Through job sharing, two such persons can be employed to teach one class. Many other opportunities for job sharing exist.

(d)      Part-time work: There is another work schedule of increasing prominence and controversy in the United States. Part-time work is done on a schedule that classifies any employee as ‘temporary' and requires less than the standard 40-hour work-week. It is estimated that as many as 12 million people, or 13 per cent of American workers do part-time work. Some 70 per cent of them are females. Part-timers are usually easy to release and hire as needs dictate. Because of this, many organisations use part-time work to hold down labour costs and help smooth out peaks and valleys in the business cycle.

          Part-time work provides benefits both to employers and to society. Employers find that the use of part-time employees allows for greater flexibility in scheduling, more accurate matching of the work force to the workload and substantial cost saving because part-time worker usually receives no voluntary benefits. Society benefits because involuntary unemployment, consequently the draw on social welfare benefits, are reduced by providing opportunities to workers who would otherwise be unable to obtain employment.

          The major disadvantage to part-time work is felt by employers in increased costs and union opposition. Benefits mandated by the government, such as unemployment compensation and social security, must be paid for each worker regardless of his or her working status. Consequently, several part-time employees fulfilling the job of one full time worker may be more costly in benefit administration. Finally, unions sometimes object to the use of part-time employees because it reduces the job opportunities available for their members.