Qualities That Create a “Good” Work Schedule

What one person considers a good work schedule is not the same as another person’s ideal schedule. For a long time, we lumped the idea that we could be happy at work and home into a work-life balance concept that somehow perfected workloads while providing time for personal pursuits. The idea was that if we tried hard enough, we could neatly relegate workload demands to specific hours of the day. Then, an employee could then manage their personal needs (outside of work) accordingly.

Of course, the perfect balance is elusive, and the last 18 months have whirled work and personal life together in ways we had not previously experienced. The result of a global health crisis combined with online access to employees has both hourly and salaried employees combining childcare with work shifts or working longer hours for less pay.  It is tougher to know what a “good” schedule is in the current landscape. Still, there are negotiable aspects to a good work schedule that will always add to good results, good employees, and good business:

Balance

Everyone’s fulcrum point for balancing non-work hours with workloads is different, but it remains the most desired benefit from an employer. People want to spend time with what they value most, but some schedules don’t allow any family time on workdays, and nearly half enjoy less than an hour in a pleasurable activity each day outside of work. So, while extreme flexibility may not suit your small business needs, understanding what matters to each employee does suit your needs. Helping create individual balance will enhance your business by supporting employees’ most important personal needs.

Health & Wellbeing

Twenty percent of employees claim that work schedules negatively affect their sleep and health. The complaint was even higher among employees with rotating shifts. Employers and managers can work to negotiate fewer back-to-back shifts or multiple days of overtime. Lunch breaks are key to healthy and happy employees, also. The more consistently employees stop for lunch, the more positive they feel about their employers. In most locations, lunch breaks are required by law—if that’s not true where you are, implement the policy, anyway.

Consistency

After getting enough sleep and feeling well, employees desire consistency in scheduling. There will be exceptions, but most employees prefer regularly. Regularity might not be possible in organizations with rotating shifts, but the more consistent you can be, the better the schedule. IF you are juggling employee needs with pencils and erasers, consider a simple scheduling software to keep schedules reliable and employees happier with the hours you assign.

Communication

No one likes to be surprised. Share your work schedules equally and electronically in the best way for each employee and business. By using technology, you can include notes, changes, or information specific to each person and shift, too. Your communication is consistently shared, and employees receive work assignments without ambiguity.

Input

Almost half of all employees would choose a different schedule if they could. That certainly suggests that managers are not doing a very good job of meeting employee needs. Since so many feel this way, the chances are that getting to know employees will reap scheduling improvements. Ask staff members for input, and your scheduling may get easier and better.

There is no magically perfect schedule to adopt, but how we manage them strongly impacts the employee experience. Ask employees about their wellbeing and personal needs to create a good schedule. With consistency and technology to ease the load, you may even craft a great schedule—one that will improve the health of your organization.

Author Profile Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. For many years, Atlas Business Solutions has been named one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies.