Flexibility

Yesterday morning my son's day just didn't start off well. It was just one of those mornings that he was still a little tired, and very grumpy. I decided that his whole day would go better if we just didn't rush out of the house. I had a class at 10am, but other than that, had some flexibility on my work start time for the day. As a result, we were out the door without any stress, just a little later than usual.

For me, this is what flexibility means. I have the flexibility to work when I need to, and change my schedule when I have to. I don't know how I would manage if I had to rush my kids out the door each morning just to make sure I am seated at a desk at an arbritary time.

There are consequences to my decisions on when to work. If I have a client with a need, I need to deliver to them on time. I am accountable to my students to get their work graded and returned in a timely manner. But how and when I accomplish these things is up to me to determine.

Obviously not all work can provide total flexibility. If you work in a retail store, for example, you can't just show up when you want. But, there is still an opportunity for some flexibility. Can you pick your schedule in advance? Or have the option to trade a shift with someone else if needed?

But if you work somewhere that doesn't have a customer element, or some other reason to be seated at a desk at 8am, it is time to look for some flexibility. Most companies have attendance policies in place because they don't do a good job of measuring performance. That is, they don't know how to determine if you are working hard, so they focus on making sure you are there on time. Seat time is measured instead of productivity.

And so a proposal for more flexibilty should include your ideas on how to measure your performance. What will you be accountable for? How will it be measured? While doing so won't guarentee that your request will be granted, determining how you will be evaluated is a key step in the process.