This paper is an examination of an important new trend in the workplace, the use of flexible working options that allow both employees and supervisors the opportunity to customize work schedules, work arrangements, and responsibilities to accommodate family, employer, and other needs. Flexible work arrangements are an important response to the changing face of the American workforce, as the majority of families become, by necessity, two-income households and as individuals increasingly find themselves having to deal with complicated child care arrangements, the guardianship of aging parents, and other demands outside the workplace. In addition, flexibility has become an important option for employers seeking more economical solutions to downsizing the workforce while confronting needs such as increasing productivity, decreasing turnover, and providing around-the-clock service to customers. While flexible work options first evolved as a response to the increase in young mothers in the workforce, they are now applicable to all types of workers. Most large companies either have a menu of flexible options already in place or are considering them.
This trend was led by the federal government, which began experimenting with and studying possible programs in the early 1970s. Enough analysis has been done at this point to identify four major steps which organizations must complete in order to implement an effective flexible work plan: building organizational support, promoting the efforts of managers and users, internalizing the practice, and sustaining momentum. Through the use of all four steps, supervisors can design and maintain an effective flexible work program that serves both the changing needs of employees and the organizations for which they work.
The federal government began experimenting with flexible work options in 1972. One of the largest single employers in the United States, the government realized that it n...