Are Flexible Working Hours Good for You

As an employee of an incredibly good IT company, I have the rare privilege of working WHEN I want to and WHERE I want to. To my brethren who work in IT sweatshops (I'll not name them;)), this might sound like heaven. Yes, it is heaven and a very productive "heaven" too, given the per capita revenue generated by my company.

So, is my company so good because it's  employees are happy and thus productive? 

OR 

Are the employees happy and productive because of the privileges they enjoy? 

It's a chicken and egg situation that I will save for another blog. Of all the privileges that I enjoy, there's only one that I exercise with extreme caution - flexible working hours. Here's why:

Work Life Balance

Flexible working hours affect your personal life. Given that a majority of the population works from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, most social activities are planned around these working hours. So, schools start before office hours, stores remain open after office hours, ...and so on. By choosing your own working hours, you run the risk of getting out of sync with the community, and in many cases, with your family. While some people realize and accept this, a vast majority are lulled into this trap, especially youngsters. Youngsters with few family obligations take flexible working hours to mean coming in late and staying up late at work. It might feel cool at first, but the routine soon starts taking it's toll especially in the form of health issues. 

Discipline

Taking calls in the loo or replying to  e-mails during dinner might sound cool, but they never help in the long run. Flexible doesn't mean mixing work and play! To succeed, you need to be disciplined. The old adage "work while you work and play while you play" is apt to this scenario. 

Influence on Children

Young children get used to routines quite easily and every parent tries to maintain a routine, especially with kids. If you are not careful with how you manage your work hours, you can very easily ruin the child's routine. 

Productivity

This is a fairly controversial topic. Supporters of flexible work hours argue that it allows workers to work when they are most comfortable. This, companies explain, ensures better productivity. It also helps in global teams where people need to interact at odd hours. So flexibility helps build stronger global teams. That said, flexibility when not planned properly, can affect productivity. For example, if a person's working hours don't suit her teammates, decisions can get delayed thus affecting the team's productivity. 

Many companies develop people-friendly policies to attract and retain top talent. However, companies shy away from defining these policies clearly as they are weary of being perceived as bureaucratic. So, before you define your own working hours, work out a schedule with your manager and your team even if you are not mandated to do so. Remember, this is a relatively new concept, even in the West. Arriving late to work, no matter how genuine the reason, is often frowned upon. So, to get the most out of your customized schedule:

1. Plan it well
2. Get a buy-in from all affected parties (including family)
3. Be disciplined about it

Cheers!!