For years, workers have been searching for a way to balance their personal and professional lives. Finally, companies have implemented a solution for this problem, flexible work schedules. The impact flexible work schedule's have had on organizations have been quite positive, benefiting both the employer and the employee. Such benefits include increase in productivity, employee retention, motivation, and a decrease in absenteeism, tardiness, stress, and turnovers. Companies that have successfully adopted this method include Hewlett-Packard, Baxter International, Nabisco, and Dupont, among others.
             Flexible Work Schedules' Impact on Organizations
             For decades, the workweek of nine-to-five, Monday to Friday, has remained unvarying for millions of workers. Balancing both a personal and a professional life has proven to be very stressful. Many companies have sought out different methods of dealing with this problem, not only to benefit the employee, but also the company. The most implemented method is known as flexible work schedules (also referred to as flextime, flexible hours, flexible work arrangements, flexible options, job-sharing, compressed work weeks, flexplace, telecommuting, flexible scheduling, and flexible time schedules), which permit flexible starting and quitting times within limits set by management. This paper will explain the benefits of flextime; uncover the reality behind various myths; and present company cases where flextime has been successful.
             The mayor concern of flexible work schedules for almost every manager is not having control over their employees. In other words, if the employee is at home, how will the manager know he/she is working? Sandra Sullivan, founder of Flex-It, a Southington, Conn., consulting firm, asks these managers, "How do you know they're productive now?" (Capowsky, 1996, p. 15). When confronted with this question, most managers really have no ide...