WORK HARD PARTY HARDER
Work
longer for more weekly offs
Mumbai:
How many of us have craved for a longer weekend and have latched on to every
public holiday that falls on a Friday to attain this satisfaction? How about
this: You have clocked your weekly quota of hours — in most organizations it
would be about 40 hours — between Monday and Thursday, and you get to take an
off on Friday? Well, this is now turning out to be a reality in some
organizations.
Commonly known as “compressed workweeks”, it is the latest flexi-work practice, wherein employees can jump Fridays if they have completed the required number of work hours from Monday to Thursday. The practice serves the purpose of giving employees the option of enjoying a longer weekend after the requisite hard work.
Audit major PwC India has introduced compressed work weeks in the current financial year, wherein any employee can take up to three Fridays off during the year, provided they complete their normal workweek hours in four days. Hours worked for the week must be 40 or more in that week or 48 hours in the following week in order to be eligible for this offer. “Flexibility is important in today’s environment and this is one of the ways to help our employees manage their hectic schedules,” said Mark Driscoll, HR head, PwC India. Compressed workweeks is a practice well established globally, with companies such as IBM, Ernst & Young and Qualcomm following it in some form or the other. At Qualcomm, the practice is known as ‘alternative workweek schedules’. A typical alternative workweek schedule would allow employees to work 10 hours per day for four days per week. However, alternative workweek schedules may be proposed by the company if such an arrangement is consistent with its business needs.
“As we continue to grow worldwide, a key challenge is to recognize country-specific cultures and thereby ensure employees all over the world experience the free spirited, entrepreneurial culture that fosters innovation, execution and partnership,” a Qualcomm spokesperson said.
In India, organizations are largely testing the waters with this practice. Dell India, for one, is in the process of implementing the compressed week framework pilot for one of its offices in India. The computer hardware major is awaiting approvals from relevant authorities to finalize the same, said Alok Dwivedi, director (HR), Dell India. According to different studies carried out by PwC to understand the mindset and aspirations of its workforce, a recent one, PwC’s NextGen study on millennials, has strongly underlined the fact that employees cherish a flexible work culture and require policies that promote greater work-life balance. PwC’s Driscoll expects productivity to go up following the compressed week practice.
However, while this is a good approach to retain and engage various employee segments, it comes with its own set of challenges. “Implementation and tracking of the same, for employees who opt for this, will be essential. But in the current knowledge economy, where working hours are not always fixed, defining how many hours of work are required to be completed in a week will be ambiguous,” said Simran Oberoi, knowledge advisor, SHRM India, an Indian subsidiary of SHRM, a leading global association for human resource management.
Commonly known as “compressed workweeks”, it is the latest flexi-work practice, wherein employees can jump Fridays if they have completed the required number of work hours from Monday to Thursday. The practice serves the purpose of giving employees the option of enjoying a longer weekend after the requisite hard work.
Audit major PwC India has introduced compressed work weeks in the current financial year, wherein any employee can take up to three Fridays off during the year, provided they complete their normal workweek hours in four days. Hours worked for the week must be 40 or more in that week or 48 hours in the following week in order to be eligible for this offer. “Flexibility is important in today’s environment and this is one of the ways to help our employees manage their hectic schedules,” said Mark Driscoll, HR head, PwC India. Compressed workweeks is a practice well established globally, with companies such as IBM, Ernst & Young and Qualcomm following it in some form or the other. At Qualcomm, the practice is known as ‘alternative workweek schedules’. A typical alternative workweek schedule would allow employees to work 10 hours per day for four days per week. However, alternative workweek schedules may be proposed by the company if such an arrangement is consistent with its business needs.
“As we continue to grow worldwide, a key challenge is to recognize country-specific cultures and thereby ensure employees all over the world experience the free spirited, entrepreneurial culture that fosters innovation, execution and partnership,” a Qualcomm spokesperson said.
In India, organizations are largely testing the waters with this practice. Dell India, for one, is in the process of implementing the compressed week framework pilot for one of its offices in India. The computer hardware major is awaiting approvals from relevant authorities to finalize the same, said Alok Dwivedi, director (HR), Dell India. According to different studies carried out by PwC to understand the mindset and aspirations of its workforce, a recent one, PwC’s NextGen study on millennials, has strongly underlined the fact that employees cherish a flexible work culture and require policies that promote greater work-life balance. PwC’s Driscoll expects productivity to go up following the compressed week practice.
However, while this is a good approach to retain and engage various employee segments, it comes with its own set of challenges. “Implementation and tracking of the same, for employees who opt for this, will be essential. But in the current knowledge economy, where working hours are not always fixed, defining how many hours of work are required to be completed in a week will be ambiguous,” said Simran Oberoi, knowledge advisor, SHRM India, an Indian subsidiary of SHRM, a leading global association for human resource management.
Namrata
Singh TNN TOI130617
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