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Flexible Work Arrangements
Text Box: Program Description Starting on April 21st, BNL supervisors will be authorized to approve two forms of flexible work arrangements for their employees. These arrangements are called FlexMonth and CoreHours. A third option, TeleWork, will be available in a few months. While supervisors have permitted flexibility in work schedules to employees in the past, BNL has had no formal policy that governs this. Flexible work arrangements serve as tools for recruitment, retention, and even productivity. Flexible work arrangements are generally considered an attractive feature of employment, so they will make BNL a more appealing place to work for prospective employees. A formal policy enables BNL to publicize this opportunity in our recruitment efforts. It also helps to ensure that the arrangements are managed effectively and consistently. As a benefit of employment, they serve as a retention tool, but they also permit supervisors to establish work arrangements that may actually enable a valued employee faced with balancing personal demands on their time to continue working. Finally, while the personal benefit to employees is reasonably obvious, if constructed effectively, arrangements can enhance productivity. Examples include providing additional coverage for a service area, and enabling employees to focus work effort to periods of greatest demand. The Management Council was recently briefed on the flexible arrangement program, and employees will soon be informed. This information is provided to supervisors to enable them to start thinking about the possibilities and how they will be handled.

 

Descriptions of the Three Arrangements

 

FlexMonth is a work arrangement that full-time exempt employees may request of their supervisors.  If approved, employees record work and leave time against a monthly target equal to the budgeted hours on the monthly time entry screens in PeopleSoft HR.  The primary purpose of the FlexMonth arrangement is to provide management and staff the flexibility to balance workload demands (e.g., project deadlines or peak workloads) with personal demands (e.g., doctor appointments, parent-teacher conferences, or other absences that may be unplanned.)

 

CoreHours is a work arrangement that full-time exempt and non-bargaining non-exempt monthly and weekly employees may request of their supervisors.  Employees approved for this arrangement work five 8-hour days per week that include the standard core hours between 10:00 am to 3:00 pm each weekday.  The balance of the 8-hour day is worked before and/or after those hours.  Employee start times are typically set for each day of the week.

 

TeleWork is a work arrangement that when available, full-time exempt employees may request in which a portion of their work schedule is performed off-site, usually at their home.  A TeleWork agreement documents the conditions and requirements of the arrangement.

 

Supervisors will be responsible for determining whether any of the arrangements are feasible, and, if so, establishing the conditions that address the employee’s work requirements. 

 

These descriptions are sure to generate many questions.  We have tried to anticipate and answer some on pages 4 and 5.  Additional opportunities to learn more will be provided in the coming weeks.

Flex-work programs will be announced Lab-wide

in the next Monday Memo on March 10.

Questions, comments?  Please send to supervisornews@bnl.gov