Pros and Cons of a Compressed Work Schedule

Pros and Cons of a Compressed Work ScheduleCredit Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Attracting and retaining top talent is a major concern for small business owners across every industry. While things like competitive wages, top-elendch benefits and adequate vacation time are important, for high-demand employees, such features are widely considered to be the bare minimum. If you want to attract the best workforce possible but you cant necessarily afford to increase salaries or benefits, offering flexibility is an excellent strategy.Work-from-home options are highly desirable to most employees, but cutting-edge employers are going a step further by offering their workers an alternative to the Monday through Friday, 9-to-5 schedule. Offering compressed work schedules makes it easier for SMBs to compete with larger corporations for elite talent.Editors notenzeichen Looking for a time and attendance system for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have o ur vendor partners contact you about your needs.What is a compressed work schedule?A compressed work schedule is one where employees maintain a full-time schedule (which adds up to 80 hours over two weeks) but do so in fewer than five days or in an otherwise nontraditional arrangement.Why do employees like compressed work schedules?Compressed work schedules offer employees more opportunities for three-day weekends. Employees with long commutes may especially appreciate having an extra day off.Do some employees dislike compressed work schedules?Yes. If you want to offer your employees a compressed work schedule, you should make it optional. Working parents, especially, may not be able to accommodate longer work days. Additionally, some people prefer to work in shorter bursts rather than for long stretches. A compressed schedule should be treated like a benefit on offer and not a mandate.What is a 4/10 compressed work schedule?The most common type of compressed work arrangement is cal led a 4/10 schedule, during which an employee may elect to work four 10-hour days (Monday through Thursday) and have Friday, Saturdayand Sunday off work.What is a 9/80 compressed work schedule?If four days on and three days off doesnt work for your business, you may want to investigate alternate versions of the compressed work week, the most common of which is the 9/80 schedule. In a 9/80 work schedule, there is a two-week cycle wherein the employee works 9 hours a day (usually Monday through Thursday) and 8 hours a day on the last day of the first week (Friday). Then, during the second week, employees work 9 hours a day again (Monday through Thursday) and get an additional day off work entirely (Friday). This schedule works out to 80 hours of paid work over two weeks, but it gives the employee two three-day weekends a month.What are the challenges of offering employees a compressed work schedule?For service-oriented businesses, offering compressed schedules may be a challenge. If y our business is tied to strict hours or youre short on staff, offering alternate scheduling plans may make staffing and scheduling more complicated.One option to offset this challenge is to offer day-specific compressed work schedules. In other words, you could offer some employees a Monday through Thursday schedule and others a Tuesday through Friday schedule to balance out your workforce. Whatever you decide to do, though, have a plan in place long before you present the option to your staff. Mona Bushnell Mona Bushnell is a New York City-based Staff Writer for Business News Daily and Business.com. She has a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and has previously worked as an IT Technician, a Copywriter, a Software Administrator, a Scheduling Manager and an Editorial Writer. Mona began freelance writing full-time in 2014 and joined the Business.com team in 2017. departure Your Business Business Ideas Business Plans Startup Basics Startup Funding Franchising Success Stories Entrepreneurs Grow Your Business Sales Marketing Finances Your Team Technology Social Media Security Build Your Career Get the Job Get Ahead sekretariat Life Work-Life Balance Home Office Lead Your Team Leadership Women in Business Managing Strategy Personal Growth Find A Solution HR Solutions Financial Solutions Marketing Solutions Security Solutions Retail Solutions SMB Solutions About Us Contact Us Partner with Us Copyright Policy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap 200 Fifth Avenue, Second FloorWaltham, MA 02451infobusinessnewsdaily.com Copyright document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) All Rights Reserved. Company About Us Contact Us Partner with Us Copyright Poli cy Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Advertising Disclosure Sitemap Network Business.com BuyerZone.com

How To Decide Whether To Accept A Job Offer

How To Decide Whether To Accept A Job Offer Congratulations Youve been offered a job. Maybe its the job of your dreams, maybe its one that will help get you to the next level of your career, or maybe its just good enough for where you are right now. But how do you know if youshould really take it? If it seems too good to be true, what if thats because it is?Here are five questions you must answer for yourself before accepting any job.1. What is the culture really like?Before you think about the company, think about yourself. Write down how you like to work is it in a collaborative room with lots of minds, or independently and quietly? Are you a morning or evening person? Do you like having one supervisor or many? Get as specific as you can, delineating needs vs. wants, or must haves vs. nice to haves. Make koranvers you know what your bottom lines are in certain areas, and where you are flexible in others.Once you know what you need and want, assess the company. Do they have a lot o f remote positionswhere you dont see everyone regularly? Do they expect you to be in the office between certain hours, regardless of that days workload? Do they schedule meetings for first thing or in the evening? Are they flexible around maternity leave, childcare, or family obligations? Do employees regularly spend time together outside of work, or is efficiency and effectiveness more of a priority?2. Is there space to use skills I already have and learn the ones I want?Ideally you will have 60-70% of the skills you need to do the job youre being offered, and the rest they will teach you. Teaching you the skills means providing instruction, opportunity for practice, and space to use your newfound skill until you reach mastery.3. What opportunities for growth exist?Will a development plan be part of your overall job performance reviews regularly, or are you on your own to seek out opportunities? A great babo will support and develop you in growth, even if that ultimately means you will leave their team eventually.4. Do our values align?To determine if there is alignment, look at their website and read their mission statement. Ask yourself, Where am I already demonstrating their values in my life? For example, lets say you were applying for a job withWhole Foods. On their website, it states that one of their measurements of success is improvement in the state of the environment and local and larger community support. You would then ask yourself, where in your life do you exhibit behaviors aligned with this vision? Do you recycle, compost, or volunteer on your neighborhood beautification committee? Do you ride a bicycle, reuse plastic bags, and bring your own shopping bag whenever possible?If your life does leid already show your commitment to a companys values, take a closer look. Will this company be the right fit for you, and you for it? If not, dont waste both of your time. Find an organization whose mission, vision, and values are ones that are already pre sent in your current life. That will be a seamless match.5. Does it meet my financial goals?Note that I didnt say financialneeds. Those are different. Financial needs keep you out of debt, pay your bills, and maybe allow you to go to dinner once in a while. Financialgoalsallow you to go on dream vacations, buy a home, save for retirement, and build a life for yourself by creating opportunities for your future self to have everything she wants.The most important thing to remember is tolisten to your gut. Your brain constantly catalogues and stores information you may never become aware of. If you had to be conscious of every single thing going on in the world around you in order to survive, you would be on sensory overload from the moment you opened your eyes in the morning. Your brain recognizes patterns that look like previous experiences, information that seems out of place, and movements that do not fit the expectations of a situation. All of this hums in the back of your brain l ike apps refreshing on your iPhone, storing and sorting data for future use. So, if something feels right to you, listen to that feeling. If something does not feel right, try to examine why you are feeling uneasy. If you cant exactly pinpoint it but just know something feels off,listen to that feeling. It is telling you about years of information stored for this very purpose to alert you when something is wrong and to help you make an alternative decision. You know what is right for you. Trust yourself.--Jenny is the founder of Forward in Heels Executive Coaching, which empowers badass women who want to excel at what they do, stand tall, and own their worth so they can light up the world. As a licensed psychotherapist as well as certified executive leadership coach, Jenny has been helping women make bold, lasting changes in their lives for over a decade.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer