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
Nonexempt employees participate in flexible work programs to a much larger extent than researchers had anticipated. 45% 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.
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.
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 percent of survey respondents have more than 1,000 employees.
WorldatWork (www.worldatwork.org) is a global human resources association focused on compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork provides a network of more than 30,000 members in 100 countries with training, certification, research, conferences and community. It has offices in Scottsdale, Arizona and Washington, D.C.
The WorldatWork group of registered marks includes: WorldatWork®, WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals®, Alliance for Work-Life Progress® or AWLP®, Certified Compensation Professional® or CCP®, Certified Benefits Professional® or CBP, Global Remuneration Professional or GRP®, Work-Life Certified Professional™ or WLCP®, Certified Sales Compensation Professional™ or CSCP™, Certified Executive Compensation Professional or CECP™, workspan®, and WorldatWork ®Journal, and Compensation Conundrum®.
Print this Page