Giving employees flexible work hours improves business

NEW YORK — Matt Dornic gives his employees flexible work hours so they can pursue graduate degrees or even to work a second job. Steven Rabinowitz encourages his staffers to do pro bono work, although he knows that such extracurricular activities might lead them to quit for a better job elsewhere.

While it's still pretty much the norm for American workers to mold their lives around their bosses' schedules, many small business owners are giving employees flexible work hours, allowing them to take part in outside activities such as grad school, charitable work or second jobs.

Company owners who give their workers such leeway say they're not just being considerate, they're doing something that makes good business sense.

"The only way to compete for these top candidates is to give them flexibility to go back to school or to pursue outside activities, or to find a way to supplement their income," said Dornic, president of 3 Dog Agency, a public relations firm based in Washington, D.C.

Dornic said one of his staffers is currently in school, so she works a five-day week, including two half-days.

The fear that stops many owners from accommodating employees' outside activities is that productivity will suffer — and in this economy, productivity is more critical then ever. It can be hard for an owner to trust that staffers who are pursuing a degree, doing charitable work or holding down another job will be truly dedicated to their primary employment.

"I find it to be exactly the opposite," Dornic said, explaining that by being flexible, "you increase productivity by so much."

Some companies are able to be more flexible than others — it can depend on the type of business and whether it needs to have a specific number of workers on-site at any time. But Kevin Oakes, chief executive officer of Institute for Corporate Productivity, a Seattle-based human resources networking company, says a small company's ability to be more flexible is what makes it more attractive to many workers.

At his own firm, "it doesn't matter to me when or where the work gets done, as long as it gets done," Oakes said.

Moreover, Oakes is well aware that staffers often sacrifice their personal time when the job demands it, working late into the night or on weekends. "I don't think you have license to expect flexibility from your employees unless you're willing to give it," he said.