Flexible Staffing Arrangements Essay examples -- Work Working Workforc

Flexible Staffing Arrangements Options for flexible work schedules--once nonexistent--have become a reality, with benefits for workers and employees alike. Job sharing, compressed work weeks, reduced hours, work at home, and flextime have provided employees with the means to realize a better balance between work and family and an opportunity to engage simultaneously in more than one endeavor, e.g., school and work, two careers, and work and leisure. They can also lead to economic and emotional stress and to limited opportunities for professional growth. This Digest examines flexible work options, including the characteristics of workers who select them, the organizations that offer them, and the influence they have on worker satisfaction, performance, productivity, and career progression. Flexible Staffing Arrangements Over the years, employers have established employment arrangements with workers that include working in shifts, on "temporary" assignments, in a part-time capacity, and through independent contract work. The impetus for these arrangements is the organizations desire to realize its short-term service and production goals and to reap the low-cost benefits of a contingent work force. Today, with businesses facing increasingly competitive markets and unprecedented customer demands for services, the employment of workers in shifts to cover a 24-hour day is increasing. In fact, one in five workers is hired to work outside the typical 9-to-5 time slot ("No More Nine-to-Five" 1998). Manufacturing companies have traditionally operated day and night, often to capitalize on equipment usage. However, many other types of companies are now offering their services around the clock, e.g., financial services, 24-hou... ... to Growth in Use of Part-Time Faculty." Chronicle of Higher Education 44, no. 15 (December 5, 1997): A18. Lief, L. "An End to the Dead-End Job?" U.S. News & World Report 123, no. 16 (October 27, 1997): 86-87. McShulskis, E. "Retirees Returning to Work Threaten Some Full-Time Workers." HRMagazine 42, no. 3 (March 1997):26-28. McShulskis, E. "Part-Time Plans Have a Positive Impact." HRMagazine 43, no. 1 (January 1998): 26. "No More Nine-to-Five." The Economist 346, no. 8050 (January 1998): 53-55. "No Part-Time Job Explosion." The Economist 344, no. 8030 (August 16, 1997): 23. "Part-Time Professionals Push Positive Image." CQ Researcher 7, no. 40 (October 24, 1997): 944. Tolliver, C. "The Payback from Part Time." HR Focus 74, no. 12 (December 1997): 1, 3-4. "Using Part-Time Workers." IRS Employment Review no. 629 (April 1997): E13-E16.