Rethinking Work Schedules? Consider These 4 Questions.

Researchers recently conducted a review of 153 academic articles examining how working a nonstandard schedule affects employee attitudes, behavior, physical and psychological health, as well as their personal and family life. Their review prompts four questions employers should consider as they begin to rethink their schedules: 1) How does my organization’s scheduling practices affect employee well-being? For example, night shifts are associated with higher absenteeism and lower productivity while flextime schedules are generally associated with reduced absenteeism and turnover; 2) Can we better align our work schedules with the needs of our employees? Person-schedule fit, or finding the right hours for the right person, is an important factor to consider when contemplating a post-pandemic strategy; 3) What are the implications of giving employees more control over their schedules? It is possible to create schedules that are idiosyncratic and customized to meet the needs and desires of individual employees; 4) Can we effectively balance the needs and desires of both the organization and employees? The key will be finding a balance between the long term benefits their scheduling strategy brings to both employees and the organization.