Yu Jin

Flextime Written by: Yu Jin Cheon Written For: Chief Executive Officer July 14, 2009

YJ To: Mr. Chief Executive Officer From: Human Resource Department Representative Yu Jin Cheon Date: July 14, 2009 Subject: Implementation of Flextime

As the representative of the human resource department, I am writing on behalf of our employees. Our department is always striving to enhance our organization of the employment system in our company. We implement programs that are beneficial to every employee in the YJ Corporation. Currently, we are analyzing the positive and negative aspects of flextime. Flextime, which first originated in Germany, provides a flexible schedule for employees who cannot accommodate with the schedule of a full-time worker. In our company, many employees are frequently displaced by others as people cannot follow our hectic schedule of about forty hours a week. Therefore, our department has analyzed the ambience required in a corporation that implements flextime and has seen both the positive and negative aspects of the system. With the analysis, the human resource department would like to illustrate both the positive and negative aspects of flextime when incorporated in YJ Corporation. Our company should analyze which system will maximize the profits and become more successful in the future. Enclosed in this report, you will find the analysis of how flextime will benefit our company and actions we can take in the future.

Sincerely,

Yu Jin Cheon Human Resource Representative

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. ......1 POSITIVE EFFECTS........................................................................................... .....1 NEGATIVE EFFECTS..............................................................................................2 BENEFITS..................................................................................................... .......3 STATISTICS....................................................................................................... ...4 POLICY..............................................................................................................4 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................5 WORKS CITED................................................................................................. .....6

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YJ INTRODUCTION This report will analyze the positive effects and benefits, negative effects, statistics, and the policy of using flextime. The YJ Corporation works to provide the best system for the employees, while also meeting high profits for the company. The implementation of flextime will provide employees the flexibility in choosing when to work, rather than following a strict system of work times. POSITIVE EFFECTS Flextime allows employees to negotiate with the employer on when they will work. Due to the employees’ schedule outside of work, they cannot accommodate with the specific hours from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Many employees are currently parents and others are continuing their education at school. The hectic personal life that people have causes many employees to quit, triggering new, untrained workers to replace them. Therefore, flextime will allow experienced employees to work at the YJ Corporation. There are numerous benefits to flextime.

➢

Decreased stress levels

➢

Increased productivity

➢

Less absenteeism

➢

Travel benefits

➢

More satisfaction

As employees are not compelled to work according to the strict time system, they are not rushed to go to work. Therefore, employees have less stress as the environment is more relaxing. Indirectly proportional to stress levels, satisfaction is increased among employers and 4

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employees. Employees produce more work because they are able to work at the times they feel they get the most accomplished. Moreover, because the employees are not anxious about fulfilling their personal life, they are able to concentrate on their work. Therefore, production

increases significantly and people come to work as they desire to compensate the employers for allowing them to have more flexibilities. There is less absenteeism also because they can organize their schedule so that their personal life will not interfere with their professional life. In addition, employees receive more travel benefits as they have more time to use other means of transportation, such as subways and buses. Although they are more time consuming, they cause less traffic accidents. For people who use the car, they save time as they avoid traffic jam. According to Picado, employees save about seven minutes each day due to the time not in traffic. Flextime, overall, benefits the employees by providing them with more freedom in their work.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS The implementation of flextime requires more effort. Flextime necessitates more organization among employers and employees. The employers negotiate with the employees the work schedule that the employees will follow. Moreover, the employers should know the work times of the employees in order to manage the assignments that employees are designated to. Therefore, as a short term action, the work required will be time consuming and costly as more organization and examination are needed. Moreover, due to the differing schedules that people have, interactions among workers are difficult to achieve. As a result, meetings cannot be held frequently, causing less group achievement. Lastly, every employee cannot implement flextime as their work policy. Because employees have different responsibilities, only some can have flextime as an option. Therefore, the policy may cause discrimination. To summarize the negative effects of flextime, the following points provide an overview. 5

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Increased amount of management and organization

➢

More time and costs required

➢

Necessity for employers to know numerous schedules

➢

Interactions, such as meetings, are difficult

➢

Discrimination BENEFITS

Benefits that the employees receive differ according to their working schedules. Full-time employees receive more benefits than the flextime employees. Most full-time employees receive insurances, including life insurance and health insurance. Vacation is also a priority to full-time employees. Absences due to illness are more tolerable when the employees work at the regular schedule. However, for flextime employees, because they receive more freedom in determining their work schedule, they will not receive as much benefits as the full-time employees. The amount of benefits offered will be determined by how much is available after the full-time employees enjoy their benefits. This will allow employees to have a just environment in YJ Corporation with every employee having schedules or benefits favorable to him/her.

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YJ STATISTICS Many companies, including the YJ

Employment

Corporation, are currently analyzing flextime. In YJ Corporation, employment is divided with

16%

36%

25%

men as the majority. Moreover, in both genders, young employees are the majority as shown in

Men <25 Men >25 Women <25

23%

Women >25

Figure 1- Employment in YJ Corporation

Figure 1. Younger employees tend to find their

Efficiency

personal life as important as their work life. According to a survey conducted by the Spherion Corporation, 86%

18% 46%

Negative Neutral

36%

Positive

prioritized “work-life balance” in their companies. This illustrates how the majority, which consists of youngaged employees, prefer more freedom in balancing their

Figure 2- Effectiveness of flextime

life. Therefore, flextime may increase worker satisfaction in YJ Corporation. Another survey outlined how effective flextime is as compared to the cost required in order to implement the system. Less than half companies believed they were benefitting from flextime, 36% did not gain or lose from the system, while the rest did not gain much benefits, as illustrated in Figure 2. Therefore, the two surveys depict how the type of company is significant in determining whether to implement flextime. POLICY If YJ Corporation is to implement flextime, policies should be established to specify how employees will be managed. Not all positions are able to consider flextime as an option. The following positions need to follow the standard 9-5 P.M. workday. ➢

Chief Executive Officer 7

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Manager

➢

Salesman/ salesclerk

➢

Receptionist

➢

Employees in branches under the YJ Corporation headquarter (who

interact with customers) The employees should negotiate with the employers in determining which schedule will fit the needs of both the employees and the employers. The employers should have a schedule of every employee using flextime. To have equal or more productive days, the employers will see if the employees are working the appropriate hours and evaluate the quality of the work produced in a certain time period. Lastly, the employers should illustrate what they require from the employees. To compensate for the benefit of a flextime, the employee should be more productive and should know the consequences, such as the loss of some benefits of insurances, they are receiving. Moreover, the employees should contact the employers frequently in order to know the issues discussed in meetings during the day. The employers, in return, should manage the schedule to not create conflicts between the employees. They should also be aware of issues to inform the employees. If both the employers and the employees follow these policies, then the implementation of flextime will be successful. CONCLUSION The YJ Corporation should view both the positive effects and the negative effects to determine if the company is suitable for flextime. The goal of YJ Corporation is to maximize profits and therefore, flextime should also be able to produce better results.

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YJ WORKS CITED Victoria Transport Policy Institute, TDM Encyclopedia, 4 January, 2009 Victoria Transport Policy Institute, TDM Encyclopedia, 4 January , 2009 Red Orbit, More Americans Using Flextime, Telecommuting: Report, 4 May, 2006 Advameg Inc., Hours of Labor,< http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Gov-Inc/Hours-ofLabor.html#STATISTICS_AND_TRENDS> Entrepreneur, David Javitch, The Benefits of Flextime, 5 June, 2006, RSM McGladrey, Is Flextime program Right for Your Organization?, Value Options, Alternative Work Arrangements Benefit the Employee and the Employer, Sloan Work and Family Research Network, Boston College, Statistics,

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YJ Monica Cheon NOVA Corporate Management 31 May, 2009 Implementation of Flextime Flextime allows employees to negotiate with the employer on when they will work. Due to the employees’ schedule outside of work, they cannot accommodate with the specific hours from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Many employees are currently parents and others are continuing their education at school. The hectic personal life that people have causes many employees to quit, triggering new, untrained workers to replace them. Therefore, flextime will allow experienced employees to work at the YJ Corporation. There are numerous benefits to flextime. As employees are not compelled to work according to the strict time system, they are not rushed to go to work. Therefore, employees have less stress as the environment is more relaxing. Indirectly proportional to stress levels, satisfaction is increased among employers and employees. Employees produce more work because they are able to work at the times they can have the most accomplished. Moreover, because the employees are not anxious about fulfilling their personal life, they are able to concentrate on their work. Therefore, production increases significantly and people come to work as they desire to compensate the employers for allowing them to have more flexibilities. There is less absenteeism also because they can organize their schedule so that their personal life will not interfere with their professional life. In addition, employees receive more travel benefits as they have more time to use other means of transportation, such as subways and buses. Although they are more time consuming, they cause less traffic accidents. For people who use the car, they save time as they avoid traffic jam. According to Picado, employees save about 10

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seven minutes each day due to the time not in traffic. Flextime, overall, benefits the employees by providing them with more freedom in their work (TDM). The implementation of flextime requires more effort. Flextime necessitates more

organization among employers and employees. The employers negotiate the work schedule that the employees will follow. Moreover, the employers should know the work times of the employees in order to manage the assignments that employees are designated to. Therefore, as a short term action, the work required will be time consuming and costly as more organization and examination are needed. Moreover, due to the differing schedules that people have, interactions among workers are difficult to achieve. As a result, meetings cannot be held frequently, causing less group achievement. Lastly, every employee cannot implement flextime as their work policy. Because employees have different responsibilities, only some can have flextime as an option. Therefore, the policy may cause discrimination. Benefits that the employees receive differ according to their working schedules. Full-time employees receive more benefits than the flextime employees. Most full-time employees receive insurances, including life insurance and health insurance. Vacation is also a priority to full-time employees. Absences due to illness are more tolerable when the employees work at the regular schedule. However, for flextime employees, because they receive more freedom in determining their work schedule, they will not receive as much benefits as the full-time employees. The amount of benefits offered will be determined by how much is available after the full-time employees enjoy their benefits. This will allow employees to have a just environment in YJ Corporation with every employee having schedules or benefits favorable to him/her. Many companies, including the YJ Corporation, are currently analyzing flextime. In YJ Corporation, employment is divided with men as the majority. Moreover, in both genders, young employees are the majority. Younger employees tend to find their personal life as important as their work life. According to a survey conducted by the Spherion Corporation, 86% prioritized 11

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“work-life balance” in their companies. This illustrates how the majority, which consists of young-aged employees, prefer more freedom in balancing their life. Therefore, flextime may increase worker satisfaction in YJ Corporation. Another survey outlined how effective flextime is as compared to the cost required in order to implement the system. Less than half companies believed they were benefitting from flextime, 36% did not gain or lose from the system, while the rest did not gain much benefits. Therefore, the two surveys depict how the type of company is significant in determining whether to implement flextime. If YJ Corporation is to implement flextime, policies should be established to specify how employees will be managed. Not all positions are able to consider flextime as an option. The following positions need to follow the standard 9-5 P.M. workday: chief executive officer, manager, salesman and salesclerk, receptionist, and employees in branches under the YJ Corporation who interact with customers. The employees should negotiate with the employers in determining which schedule will fit the needs of both the employees and the employers. The employers should have a schedule of every employee using flextime. To have equal or more productive days, the employers will see if the employees are working the appropriate hours and evaluate the quality of the work produced in a certain time period. Lastly, the employers should illustrate what they require from the employees. To compensate for the benefit of a flextime, the employee should be more productive and should know the consequences, such as the loss of some benefits of insurances, they are receiving. Moreover, the employees should contact the employers frequently in order to know the issues discussed in meetings during the day. The employers, in return, should manage the schedule to not create conflicts between the employees. They should also be aware of issues to inform the employees. If both the employers and the employees follow these policies, then the implementation of flextime will be successful.

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The YJ Corporation should view both the positive effects and the negative effects to

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determine if the company is suitable for flextime. The goal of YJ Corporation is to maximize profits and therefore, flextime should also be able to produce better results.

13

YJ Works Cited Victoria Transport Policy Institute, TDM Encyclopedia, 4 January, 2009 Victoria Transport Policy Institute, TDM Encyclopedia, 4 January , 2009 Red Orbit, More Americans Using Flextime, Telecommuting: Report, 4 May, 2006 Advameg Inc., Hours of Labor,< http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Gov-Inc/Hours-ofLabor.html#STATISTICS_AND_TRENDS> Entrepreneur, David Javitch, The Benefits of Flextime, 5 June, 2006, RSM McGladrey, Is Flextime program Right for Your Organization?, Value Options, Alternative Work Arrangements Benefit the Employee and the Employer, Sloan Work and Family Research Network, Boston College, Statistics,

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