Alternative Work Arrangements
Flex? Compress? Phase?
No, these aren't sports terms. They're ways in which older workers are shaping how they work.
Older workers tell AARP that they expect their retirement to include some form of work. In a recent AARP survey, nearly 70 percent of workers who have not yet retired say that they plan to work into their retirement years or never retire.
For many workers, choosing to work longer also means hoping to work differently. They tell AARP that workplace flexibility is very important to them, especially being able to:
- Set their own hours,
- Take time off to care for relatives or attend to other life priorities, and
- Work a reduced schedule before completely retiring.
Are those possibilities important to you? Are you thinking about different forms of work? Do you wonder what might be possible? Are you curious about flexible work options you can discuss with your employer?
Here are some flexible work possibilities that older workers and employers are using.
Flexible Scheduling
These three methods let you set some of your own work hours. Both full- and part-time employees use these schedules.
With flextime, workers choose what time to begin and end their workdays. Most employers require that employees still work a certain number of hours each day. Most employers also require all workers to be present during core hours—the hours most important to the employer and the type of work. Core work hours are often between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. For example, a worker could arrive at 10 a.m. and leave at 7 p.m., or arrive at 6 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m. Either way, core hours are covered, and the workday is eight hours long, with an unpaid lunch hour.
With compressed work schedules, employees work longer on some days in order to have more days off. For example, working 40 hours in four 10-hour days gives an employee one day off a week. More commonly, employees spread out two weeks of work over nine workdays, and get a day off every other week.
With compensatory time off, employees get time off with pay after they have worked extra hours.
Federal government workers at all levels can use these flexible arrangements. But the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires private employers to pay overtime wages to hourly employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. This law was passed to protect workers from abuse. Now many workers and employers prefer flexible scheduling. But the law has to change before hourly workers can fully use flex-time, compressed schedules, or compensatory time off.
Telework, Flex-Place, or Telecommuting
These terms all mean that employees work somewhere other than the regular location of their work. The other place is usually at the employee's home.
It can also be in a satellite office or telework center. This is a place with computers, Internet access, and other office equipment. Some employers provide such offices so that workers who live far from the regular office can work there instead—at least part of the time.
Employees who work at home must have office equipment to do their work and stay in close contact with their employers. A few employers provide the equipment. Many expect that the employee will buy the computer and other equipment.
The International Telework Association and Council tracks how many employees work from their homes at least one day a month. A recent survey found that this number has doubled in the past six years and grown by almost 40 percent in the last two years.
There are now about 24 million employed teleworkers. About two-fifths of them telework from home one day a week or more. And about one-fourth of them telework almost every day.
Through telework, you can set some of your own hours or take time off during the day and make it up later.
Consider writing a proposal to your employer. Show how doing some of your job through teleworking will benefit your company or organization.
Part-Time Work
Try one of these methods to cut back on your work hours before you fully retire—if you ever do.
Dividing up a job into two parts lets you share the job with another worker. You each work about half time. Job sharing works well in many different kinds of jobs. Some employers have formal job sharing programs. In other cases, workers find each other and propose a job share.
Some retirees leave their long-time employer and then they work part-time—coming back to their old employer, with a different employer, or even in a different kind of work. Some part-timers work as long-term employees. Others contract to work on a short-term project or for a certain period of time. In some part-time jobs, you can work temporarily in the same season each year.
In phased retirement, employees stay with their employer. But they work reduced hours over a period of time before full retirement. They may receive some pension benefits while still working part-time. Retirement is then a gradual process, not an abrupt event. And employers benefit from the skills and experience of workers who will be hard to replace.
Surveys show that most employers would like to offer formal phased retirement programs. But few do. Why? Congress passed the laws that protect workers—and especially the laws that protect pension rights -when most employees retired once and for all, and then drew pension benefits. Those laws do not allow the flexibility that many employers and workers want now.
But there is hope for change. Private research institutes and the federal government are studying how to change laws to allow more flexibility, without losing essential worker protections.
Talking With Your Employer
Your employer may already offer flexible work choices—to employees of all ages.
Or you may want to persuade your employer to give workplace flexibility a try. Refer your employer to the resources in this article.
Getting health, pension, and other benefits through part-time or reduced-hours work can be challenging. Work closely with your employer before you agree to any changes. Be sure that you understand what you may gain, and what you may give up.
AARP Resources
-
Best Employers for Workers Over
50
Check out how the winners of this annual AARP employer award handle workplace flexibility. -
Home Depot
and AARP: A National Hiring Partnership
Find out about AARP's Senior Community Service Program partnership with Home Depot—to hire older workers for Home Depot's 1,500 stores.
Additional Resources
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Families and Work
Institute
This Institute conducts a national campaign to show employers the business benefits of workplace flexibility. Get ideas for your proposal to your employer. -
U.S. Department of Labor—Flexible Schedules
Learn what the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.
