Options...

So what are these flexible working arrangements that are out there? I have done quite a bit of online research on this and also have practiced a few myself over the last couple of years; so here I will provide a brief summary on what options are available.

I will start with what I have personally tried out. Currently I'm on a telecommuting work schedule with my organization. This arrangement allows me to work at office 2 days a week and work from home 3 days a week. This is a full time contract where the obligation is to put in 40Hrs of work per week and work needs to be primarily carried out during core business hours. The flexibility in this arrangement is the 'place of work'.

Last year I was on a part time schedule, where I was contracted to put in 30Hrs of work per week and work from office during the core hours. The flexibility in this arrangement was the 'hours of work'. Since this was based on reduced hours, accordingly there was a change to remuneration and entitled benefits.

Starting next year I'm hoping to move into a new work arrangement which will be based on reduced hours and working permanently from home. This requires a change in the employment contract from full time to maybe an hourly contract and accordingly changes to remuneration and entitlement of benefits. The details are still been worked out with the organization and figures crossed, this could be a reality by January 2015.

I have been very fortunate to be employed at an organization that is open for 'flexible working' even though there are still no formalized polices on the same. Also the fact that I have been part of the organization for almost 8+ years and have been considered as top performer (no bragging intended here) for many years helped me to negotiate these alternative working arrangements.

So basically there are some common options available for flexible working, which are accepted and commonly practiced all over the globe. The list goes on as follows:

• Flexi Hours - Employee has flexibility in terms of work start and finish times. The number of hours worked per week will remain as per the standards and usually the hours needs to cover the core work hours. Work is carried out in office.

• Reduced Hours - Employee works a pre-defined number of hours a week which is less than the standard. Usually work will be carried out in office during core business hours.

• Compressed Weeks - Employees can cover the total hours per week within a fewer number of days. Usually this results in 4 days of 10Hrs or 3 days of 12Hrs. Work is carried out in office.

• Annualized Hours - Employee has to work a certain defined number of hours per year but they have flexibility about when they work.

• Job Sharing - Two employees will carry out the responsibilities of a single job role. Each will split the obligations on when they work and how much hours they work. Work is carried out in office.

• Telecommuting - This allows for the employee to carry out some part (or all) of his job outside the office environment (from home or any other remote location). Usually this will be only for a few days a week, on an ad-hoc manner as needed, or even on a full time basis.

While the above are considered the most standard options for work flexibility, I personally would include the below also as viable options. You might find these defined differently in many other places, but this is my own take on this as I strongly believe that these are also excellent solutions that provides us with flexibility.

• Freelancing - Someone who provides services to multiple clients (employers). This can be on full-time or part-time basis. Resource is not directly employed by any employer and only contracted to provide the agreed upon services. Freelancing is one of the easiest, fastest, and lowest cost ways to start working for yourself.

• Home Businesses - Small scale businesses that operate from the owners home. These provide ultimate work flexibility for the owner as they are self-employed.

So there you go….these are some of the most common options out there that can help You to Make it Work. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to flexible working arrangements. It is up to the individual and/or the organization to determine what is most suitable based on the need at hand and progress accordingly. I've just provided a very high-level overview on these available options and hope to post more in the future with more insights into each possibility.