What about Junior Executives who always put in long hours - won’t FWH make them work less because they’ll be taking time off all the time?

In all the companies with which we have been involved, there is no indication that Flexible Working has reduced the sense of responsibility at any level.

Responsible executives in most cases are task oriented people and tend not to consider time as their primary motivation to get the job done. In other words, often it’s not so much a case of when the work is done – but that the job is done. This is the essence of flextime - that people can work towards the task – so that if time runs over the conventional day span, it doesn’t matter. That time can be taken off at a time when things are less hectic.

This way the Executive manages the peaks and thoughs” in more considered way than under a conventional fixed day or shift.

It is then less likely that time is lost as working tasks more closely mirror the hours that are being worked. Or put another way – without flextime, if the executive stays late he/she can lose time. To make it more frustrating, tomorrow he/she might have less tasks but still needs to be present because of the arbitrary 9 to 5 day or a fixed shift arrangement.

In addition, with flextime, the executive knows that his/her time worked is now bring recognised by the system. This helps even if he/she finds that on occasion time is actually being lost. So say he works even after the end of the flexi bandwidth (maybe after 7.00 in the evening), then unlike before – the boss knows for definite.

Some organisations then take that excess time into consideration when it comes to appraisal or work assessment for instance.