Flextime, also spelled flex-time or flexitime (BE), is a flexible hours schedule that allows workers to alter their workday and adjust their start and finish times.
[8] Moreover, research reports[9] gave quantitative interpretation backed by statistical evidence showing the changing attitude of organizations in different countries (especially the UK) toward flexible working.
An estimate of 50% of the companies in the UK started to consider flexible working as a common practice and 73% of the managers in the survey showed an ultimate support to it.
On the other hand, employees showed great preference to flexible working to the point that 40% of workers in the UK choose it over their salary.
[10] Also, greater focus was put[11][12] to explain the increased demand for such arrangements by both stakeholders by which it was clarified by their advantages of contributing to the high quality of output results while creating the "perfect" working conditions for workers.
For example, a study by Origo and Pagani based on a sample of European countries, gave a deep analysis of the concept of flexible working by testing the level of heterogeneity in the effect of flexibility on job satisfaction, the study found some positive link with some aspects of the job while negative or no relation was found against other aspects.
A meta-analysis of studies has shown that flexible working can provide a wide range of benefits for companies, including increase in performance, productivity, and reduction in absenteeism.
On 13 November 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced plans to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees,[31] this legislation took effect in April 2014.
[32][needs update] Now being enforced by the law on 30 June 2014, industrial reports concentrate on workers' right to request for flexible working and how it is guided by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
They explained how this code is designed to help employers, employees and their representatives to deal with disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace.
[citation needed] Other groups of workers for whom flextime arrangements are rare include those who serve the public during specific opening times.
The advantages of Flextime for the individuals include a "better work–life balance", fewer commutes, less fatigue, more days off and lower sickness rates.
The benefits for the company include better motivated workers, more efficient and effective operation, less fatigued workers and fewer errors; Flextime also gets' people working overtime hours without paying overtime rates, make fewer facilities required, and lower sickness rates.
In recent years, the term "flextime" has acquired a more controversial definition when used to describe proposals to overhaul the nation's overtime regulations.
Flextime in Australia is usually referred to accumulated overtime hours that an employee can build up and exchange for the equivalent amount of time off.
It is implemented formally in the federal Australian Public Service and is available for staff in most state and territory government departments.
With current changes to industrial relations laws (2006), from State to Federal level there are no new published guidelines (online) for flextime.
[38] As ethnic diversity and high level of education are their main characteristics, it is seen that Millennials are more likely to change their jobs more than the previous generation for economic reasons.
[40] Flexible working patterns have gained the interest of both academics and industrial practitioners for some time,[41] with implementation into law in certain countries as far back as 1930, but also in recent years.
Existing literature highlights the fundamental importance of flexible working to both academics and organizations as a means of establishing a good work–life balance for employees.
[48] Industrial sources also have been able to highlight one of the positive effects of flexible working patterns as being able to attract highly qualified professionals, but Brookins[49] established some negative effects flexible working patterns had to employers as it adds expenses and responsibility in the organization, negative availability perspectives of employees on the customers, and employee availability.
Then Federal Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, announced that the program would invite the former Director of Human Resources Management of Volkswagen, Peter Hartz, chaired the Labour Market Reform Committee.
This program's goal is to make the rigidity of the labor system more flexible and to change the old social welfare policy, in order to lighten heavy financial burden.