Flexible Work Hours: Which Companies Are Leading the Way and How Do They Do It?

Hi,

I want to know how organizations are providing flexible timings to their employees and also the names of companies implementing this.

Regards,
Sakshi

Hey Sakshi,

I am working in a BPO in hardcore night shifts and feeling very frustrated. I have the same query as you do - I need to know if there are any companies that offer better work-life balance.

Thanks,
Shashi M.

Almost all MNCs have this system called flexi-timings. In my company, an employee can come before 11 am and leave after 3 pm only if his/her TL has no issues about it. Ultimately, every week HR monitors the access card entries as well as the timesheet of the employee. He/she should have at least worked for 40 hours a week, or else the deficient hours' pay will be deducted from the employee's salary, which will be reflected as a black mark during their appraisals.

So, an employee can utilize flexible timings but should ensure that they work extra hours to reach the minimum requirement of 40 hours per week. HR monitors both the swiping details and timesheet entries for the past week. If any employee's working hours are less than 40 hours, HR will immediately email the employee as well as his/her TL, including the deficient hours and the deduction in pay.

Hi,

Flexi-timing depends on the nature of the business you are in. For example, in IT/ITeS, where physical presence of an employee is not mandatory, you can consider flexible timings. However, if customer interaction is a crucial aspect of the job, flexible timings may not be feasible.

Yes, but the work-from-home concept doesn't fall under flexible timings. Both are totally different.

Hi all,

Something more to note:

a) Flexi-time: The basic number of hours to be put in per week for the completion of tasks is set. However, the routine for attending the set tasks and achieving the basic number of hours does not have hard and fast start and end times.

b) In one of the organizations I had worked for, the entry time was between 8:30 to 10:30 am (two hours) and the exit between 5:30 to 7:30 pm, but working those 9 hours per day was compulsory. The measurement of attendance was based on swiping.

c) The other approach involves no fixed hours per week but mandatory attendance at the workplace per day, with the rest being based on the completion of assigned tasks. This is common in some apparel design houses.

d) Some KPO/Engineering design service providers also consider long conference calls attended from the home of the employee as part of working hours and adjust the working hours accordingly. This also falls under flexi-hours.

Kind regards,
Dayanand L. Guddin
Sr. Head - HR
BOBST INDIA

What about Construction Project Management companies where most of the staff is at the site and the rest are at the head office? Do you think they require flexible timings? New timings have been forcefully applied from 8:30 to 6:00 with Saturdays off. However, the issue arises when everyone is supposed to arrive at 8:30, but no one seems to care as all the engineers arrive late at 11:00 and stay late until 8:00 or 9:00. Some even leave as early as 4:00. The HR admin, on the other hand, must be there by 8:30 and has no specific leaving time.

I am from Pakistan, Zeeshan Iqbal.