Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510060018
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA GENASC ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
He wasn't on vacation, and he wasn't playing hooky.
Johnson was taking advantage of a creative new work schedule Dow and other companies are rushing to adopt - one designed to give workers more free time.
Employees work nine-hour days Monday through Thursday and an eight-hour day on Friday, then are given the following Friday off. In other words, employees receive two Fridays off each month.
``It gives me more of an opportunity to spend time with my small children without affecting my ability to be productive in my job,'' Johnson said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1993, only 4 percent of employees at medium and large companies worked nontraditional hours, or hours other than 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The trend, however, seems to be gathering steam.
``This new type of schedule is sweeping like wildfire in popularity,'' said Barney Olmsted, co-director of New Ways to Work, a research and advocacy group in San Francisco. ``People are experiencing longer days, there is demand for more hours spent at the work place, and this is a way of formalizing time off.''
Starting this month, more than half of Dow's employees joined the program. Dow will evaluate the results after a year and decide whether to extend the program, known as 9-80 for the nine-hour days and 80 hours worked every two weeks.
``People have told us they need more flexibility in balancing work and family,'' said Dow spokeswoman Catherine Maxey. ``This is designed to help employees achieve that balance.''
Dow hopes employees will use the extra time to schedule doctor's appointments, pick up dry cleaning and get haircuts - things that otherwise might be accomplished during a work day.
``When a company like this makes a change, it will have an impact,'' said Arlene Johnson, vice president of the Families and Work Institute in New York, a research and consulting group.
She and others cautioned, however, that companies should not substitute one rigid schedule for another, or mandate flexibility.
At Dow, in cases where the new hours are a hardship - usually because of child-care or car-pool arrangements - the previous schedule may be maintained, Maxey said.
For many companies, the option arose from the need to comply with the Clean Air Act of 1990, which requires companies to reduce solo driving among employees.
Bechtel Group Inc., the construction giant, implemented 9-80 in 1991. The new schedule now covers three-quarters of all Bechtel employees.
Shell Oil Co. began a 9-80 arrangement 11/2 years ago, and most people participate.
And Hewlett-Packard Co. is giving employees a variety of scheduling options. Some are even experimenting with a six- or seven-hour day over six days, said Jerry Cashman, work options program manager.
Currently, about 15 percent of employees work nontraditional hours, he said. Within two years, he expects that to rise above 30 percent.
``It give employees a sense of control and ownership,'' Cashman said. ``We are trying to create an environment where business objectives and work-life balance can be achieved.''
Hewlett-Packard and others also report increased productivity, reduced employee overtime and improved morale.
by CNB