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Flexible Schedules for Hourly Workers Becoming More Prevalent

July 23, 2009 — Washington, D.C. — A new study by WorldatWork and the Work Design Collaborative (WDC) indicates that the number of hourly workers in the U.S. using flexible scheduling benefits such as teleworking is larger than expected. The study, “Flexible Work Arrangements for Nonexempt Employees,” found that a surprisingly high number of companies are allowing nonexempt employees to telework despite traditional limitations such as work hour and safety requirements.

“There has been a significant body of best practices, policies and procedures developed concerning flexible work for salaried or exempt employees, but far less for hourly or nonexempt employees,” said Ryan Johnson, a WorldatWork vice president and telework expert. “This study indicates that including nonexempt employees in flexible work programs is becoming more of an imperative for employers. Planning, training and changes to performance evaluation systems are the keys to success.”

Key Findings

1. Nonexempt employees participate in flexible work programs to a much larger extent than researchers had anticipated. Forty-five percent of survey respondents (61 out of 135 organizations) report they include nonexempt employees in those programs. Based on previous occupational survey data, the researchers expected to find only about 15% allowing nonexempt participation.
2. The three biggest industrial sectors allowing nonexempts to telework were manufacturing, education and business services. Manufacturing came as a surprise as it is traditionally dominated by nonexempt employees working on site.
3. Employers are providing (or allowing) telework in an ad hoc manner.
   *44% do not have a formal selection process in place to determine eligibility.
   *39% do not utilize formal employer-employee contracts regarding flexible work arrangements.
   *44% do not evaluate technology effectiveness.

“The participation of non-exempt employees in flexible work programs is much higher than expected, but not as well-organized and orderly as is required by employment law,” said Charlie Grantham, managing director of Work Design Collaborative. “As flexible programs grow in both scale and scope, policy development in this area will become a critical human resource management issue.”

About the Survey
WorldatWork sponsored the study by Work Design Collaborative (WDC) to conduct a survey of U.S. employers. A mailing to more than 2,000 employers in the Work Design Collaborative database resulted in a total of 135 online surveys completed. Nearly 50% of survey respondents have more than 1,000 employees.

To access a full copy of the survey report, log on to http://www.workingfromanywhere.org/.

Contents © 2009 WorldatWork. No part of this article may be reproduced, excerpted or redistributed in any form without express written permission from WorldatWork.