Compressed hours - anyone tried it (or tried to negotiate it)

[Kif]

Is anyone out there working 'compressed hours'?

I've been thinking hard about what to do when it's time to go back to work (Feb). My best plan so far is to ask to work three days long hours for 0.8 pay... it would mean not seeing Dd at all for three days, but it would allow dh/dd to live near to our extended family.

Is this pie in the sky? Anyone got any thoughts on how easy it will be to convince my employer? What are good arguments to use? Would be grateful for any stories and advice - positive and negative.

I tried to work full time in 4.5 days by working longer days. Although they did say yes - there was a BUT. The problem would come when I wanted a day off as it would then be difficult to make up the hours unless I worked my lunch hour or took work home - both of which 'was against policy'. So they tried to let me take holidays from a bank of hours but because my day was longer than normal, I would have to take more hours out of the 'pot' - which actually meant I would have less days holiday !! I turned down their 'kind offer' !

I am working compressed hours at the moment. I was able to negotiate with my employer to work my normal 37.5 hours in four days (8:30 - 6:30 with 1/2 hour lunch) without a reduction in salary and it has worked pretty well so far. I think it does make a big difference how flexible your company is though. I've managed to leave earlier these days and no one seems to mind too much. I returned to work when my ds was about 6 months. He is now 1.5 and I really feel alot of pressure to get home to see him for just 1/2 hour before he goes to bed as I feel that is the only time we have together on some days. I think if you have partners/extended family looking after him it would be easier for the baby (we have our ds in nursery and the long hours are hard for him somethimes) and I think they really miss their mothers. It may be worth trying and if it doesn't work out you could always review your options and do something different at that point. I do think that it has been worth it as I still have an additional day with the baby and we do more things together than we would if the time were spread over a few hours of every evening. I would find it very difficult to miss out on seeing the baby everying day, but I think a lot of fathers are in that position and we all have to do what we can to get by these days.

I am about to start compressed hours. I negotiated it directly with my immediate boss, who was very receptive. My biggest problem was with the "compulsory" lunch break every 6 hours, but as I have worked for the same organization for 14 years without a lunch break I pointed out that they might be in a difficult position if they tried to force me to take one now. He did not want me to take the break anyway, so has directed me to "write what they want you to write, do what we have agreed". Having said that, I did more or less back him into a corner by telling him it was either this or I was leaving. But it can be done!

This "compressed hours" idea is common practice in the health service.

You should work out a list of how this will benefit your employer if they do not already have people working these hours. If there are no benefits to them that you peceive then you will need to rely on the fact that they do not want to lose you.

You could suggest a temporary hours change and a review after 3 months?

I think that in general shorter days rather than longer days are better for family life - but of course it depends on all sorts of things what suits you and your family.

Depends a lot on the organisation. I used to work for a small firm where there had been no pregancies for ages, then like buses they all came along. Luckily I was only no 2 in the queue and I put together a detailed proposal for working 3 days in plus extra hours at home. They agreed in principle but then while I was on mat leave they took on another administrator (age 40 single) and redistributed half my job to someone else. I still came in for the 3 days working 8 to 3.30 with no lunch (1.5 hour commute unfortunately) and despite being willling and able to work from home this was always held out as a remote future possibility and never happened. They also put my salary onto a pro-rata basis negotiating the hourly rate down as far as poss. In the end it was not really tenable. The new administrator is due to give birth shortly . I can see how its difficult for small firms but they are now so anti child it is untrue. As general advice I would put your proposal for how you will cope with revised hours on paper and remember to keep in touch during your mat leave, just the odd phone call to colleagues if can I really wish I had done that.