October 9, 2018 Organizational Behaviour Discussion Post 6

Four-day week/Compressed Workweek: Alternative work schedule in which employees work fewer than the normal five days a week but still put in a normal number of hours per week; Four days, ten hours a day.

Pros: An employee can work the same amount of hours per week in fewer days, giving them an extra day off per week. This allows for more time for leisurely or family activities. Four-day weeks can also reduce commuting costs and time by 20%.
Cons: This structure could be problematic for single parents who have childcare barriers. The long days could cause burnout or fatigue.

Compressed workweeks are more desirable in some industries than others. For instance, production or manufacturing related positions may benefit from a four-day week with increased focus and productivity on working days and increased rest and recuperation on days off. In professions where consistent social interaction is necessary, such as teaching positions or counselors, four-day weeks may be less desirable, as the three days off of work may put too much of a gap between the professional and their clients.

Compressed workweeks are more also more desirable for career fields that have a demographic under 50. Working 4 long days on, with 3 days off, is more physically/mentally demanding and involves more concentrated work periods with high stamina needed. As you age, your stamina starts to decrease and health issues start to present. Therefore, longer, more intense workdays are less desirable for aging employees or people who are differently abled.

Flex-Time: Alternative work schedule in which start and end times are flexible.

Pros: Meets diverse workforce needs, promotes job satisfaction, and helps employees manage work-life responsibilities; facilitates recruiting and retaining the best talent; reduces absenteeism and turnover; leads to more positive work attitudes.

Cons: Not sufficient for highly interdependent jobs; might lead to problems in achieving adequate supervisory coverage.

Flex-time schedules are more easily implemented and successfully maintained in office environments. It would not work in a structure where employees are needed to work together or be present in specific situations. Where implemented, they are proven to have positive effects on productivity, job satisfaction and lower employee absenteeism.

Flex-time schedules can assist people who face barriers, such as transportation issues, mental health issues or difficult family dynamics. For instance, someone reliant on the bus (especially here in St. John’s where public transit is inadequate) oftentimes faces the possibility of lateness or missed buses. Furthermore, where jobs may require you to work later into the evenings and miss the last bus home, flex-time offers employees the ability to ensure they can leave in time to catch the bus. People who have anxiety and/or depression oftentimes have challenges with promptness, scheduling commitments and getting ready in the morning. Having a flex-time schedule allows people some flexibility in their daily lives where adhering to strict schedules would normally add pressure and anxiety that can hinder their attendance and overall performance. Additionally, a single-parent with a sick child may need additional time in the morning to find child care when their kid has to stay home from school, and a flex-time schedule would be conducive to solving those types of demands employees face without the risk of getting penalized for tardiness.

Telecommuting: A system by which employees are able to work at remote locations but stay in touch with their officers through the use of information and communication technology.

Pros: Flexible; makes distant staffing possible; lower operating costs; positive effect on perceived autonomy and lower work-family conflict; positive effect on job satisfaction and performance; lower stress and turnover.

Cons: Damage to informal communication; problems in handling rush projects, workload spillover from non-telecommuters; negative effect on relationships with co-workers; distraction of home environment.

Telecommuting is a wonderful schedule alternative for people who live in remote communities, for people with physical/mental disabilities that prevent them from being successful in traditional workplaces, and for people with busy family lives or different needs at home. It may be attractive to older employees or employees who are also caregivers of elderly family members.