Flextime Has Green Appeal And Lures Younger Workers

According to Tony Sablo, senior vice president for human resources at National Geographic, President and Chief Executive John Fahey proposed trying the modified workweek for the summer. Although morale, not economics, was the main driver behind the shift, Sablo said the fact that "1,400 people aren't commuting every other Friday" is a plus for workers and for the environment. Sablo said officials are studying whether to extend the program beyond summer.

Craft said that although many decisions are being driven by a desire to reduce costs, companies also view flexible scheduling as a way to attract younger employees, who often do not think a traditional five-day, eight-hour-a-day workweek fits with their lifestyle. "Those born in Generation Y and beyond want more flexible work lives," he said.

Some other employers, such as Howard and Montgomery counties, are drawn to the environmental benefits of such changes. Although the counties will not save a significant amount of money on utilities and other costs because most of their offices will remain open five days a week, officials say allowing a small number of workers to stagger schedules or work one less weekday can ease congestion, which cuts down on gas consumption, and reduce their carbon footprint.

In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, Hoyer said that putting even 20 percent of the estimated 400,000 Washington area residents employed by the federal government on a four-day-a-week schedule could generate "significant cost savings for the American taxpayer without a drop in productivity or decrease in service."

Although much of the research on flexible scheduling has measured employee and employer reaction to such arrangements (most love it), a 2005 study by the nonprofit group Corporate Voices for Working Families found that flexible work arrangements offered benefits to customers as well, enabling some companies to offer extended hours. One Tennessee bank estimated it saved more than $3 million in turnover costs by shifting to flexible hours.

Human resource experts, however, caution companies about moving too hastily. Once put in place, flexible hours are difficult to undo, and some experts say they wonder whether employees would be as productive on flexible schedules.

David Lewis, president of OperationsInc, a Connecticut-based human resources consulting firm, said although he encourages companies to consider such arrangements, he is concerned that too many businesses are not thinking of the long-term impact.

"I've been taken aback over the last few months over how many firms are going this route of the condensed workweek," he said.

"Once you put some of these things in place, it's a disaster to try and undo them. You can't go back to employees and say, 'Remember all that stuff in terms of flexible work arrangements? Well, forget it; we're reverting back to the old way.' Talk about a revolution."

But many experts say the U.S. workplace is due for a significant shift, especially as more and more workers embrace such changes.

A shorter workweek helped lure Sara Campbell from her job with the Howard County school system to a job working in the human resources department of the Howard government. Campbell, 26, said four 10-hour days leave her more time to run errands, schedule doctor's appointments and spend time with her two children, ages 4 and 1.

"It's a real morale-booster," she said. "There's just so much less stress, because I know I have that extra day."