The majority of people are aware of the standard 8-hours-per-day 5 days-a-week, 40-hour week. Did you know that there are other alternatives to the standard work schedule? Most talked about is the 9/80 working schedule. But is it the right choice for your business and your employees?
In this article this article, the scheduling and management experts from Sling will provide you with all the information about the subject in order to make a decision for yourself. We’ll also explain how to implement this particular work schedule into your business.
What is a 9/80 Work Schedule?
A 9/80 schedule of work comprises eight 9-hour days, an eight-hour day and one day off across a two-week workweek.
A 9/80 work plan has employees working for 80 hours over the course of nine consecutive days (hence the term nine days and 80 hours) instead of the standard 10 days (assuming the five-day work week). This allows you to grant your employees a whole day off every week.
For a normal 9/80 schedule, employees be working four days of nine hours (36 hours) then one eight-hour workday. To pay the bills for payroll, you assign the first portion of the 8-hour workday to the beginning week, and the other half to the next week.
When all is said and done, it is 40 hours of work from Monday to Friday during the week beginning, as well as another 40 hours of work from Monday through Thursday in two weeks (all with no overtime). Then, you can allow employees to take the second Friday off entirely without having to cut off work hours.
What are the benefits of A 9/80 Work Time Schedule?
At first it may appear that the work schedule of 9/80 is only beneficial to your employees. However, look a bit further and you’ll realize that the 9-80 schedule can also benefit your company. Here’s how.
1.) Work/Life Balance
The company will give employees two extra days of vacation each month. This will allow them to make appointments or conduct personal business or go on a trip with friends or family. This could also mean less sick days, fewer no-calls/no-shows and less time-off requests for your company.
2.) Less interruptions
Employees will have more time to attend to personal obligations, which means they won’t need to disrupt work to complete their work. This is better for their involvement and the overall efficiency of your company.
3) Less Commuting
The two extra days of vacation every month means that your employees won’t need to stand in line and they won’t need to fuel up and won’t need to accumulate miles on their vehicles.
4) Improved Task Completion
The additional hour of work every day means your employees stand a better likelihood of finishing their tasks the day that they begin their work.
5.) Better Rest
The two extra days of vacation every month give workers more time rest from their busy schedules. They’ll feel rejuvenated and ready to go the next Monday.
6) Improved Productivity
If you implement a work schedule that is 9/80 it provides your employees with more control over their schedules. This means that your employees will feel more motivated due to the extra day of rest at the end of the two weeks.
The increase in energy which in turn, results in increased productivity over the period of time that your team is in action. This productivity isn’t only specific to the task at hand.
The overall productivity increases with the implementation of this kind or flexible scheduling. The 9/80 schedule may also minimize stress for long-term use, meaning that employees use less time off or take sick days to recuperate.
7) More Incentive for Potential Employees
Finding new employees is an overwhelming task in the current fast-paced workplace. New employees often seek the highest quality of possible fringe benefits prior to committing to your company. A work schedule that is 9/80 makes your business more appealing to prospective employees.
If you can offer this kind of schedule on the first day of employment, new employees will be able to have a life/work balance that is more suited to their specific needs immediately. They won’t be required to work for months, weeks or even years to have more control over their work schedule.
This is a enticing incentive that will significantly boost your efforts to recruit.
8.) More Flexibility
One of the main issues managers face when considering the 9/90 working schedule is the coverage of shifts. They fear that they won’t be able to get enough employees to perform the crucial tasks on the additional day off.
The schedule 9/80 actually makes it simpler than you’d believe.
If you aren’t able to shut down your office at the conclusion of each week, you could split your team into two and give half of them Friday off and the remaining half a Monday off. Everyone has a three-day holiday and the office continues to operate from Monday through Friday.
These are only a few of the many advantages you’ll experience after adopting an 8/80 working schedule. There are likely to be other advantages too as you’re on this schedule.
However, is it really too promising to be real? Let’s look at the alternative side of the 9/80-work-schedule coin.
What are the challenges of A 9/80 Work Hour Schedule?
The difficulties of the 9/80 working schedule usually include employee morale as well as payroll time tracking. Here are some of the most frequently encountered issues.
1) Longer Workday
In the 9-hour workdays employees might feel that they have only time to get home, eat dinner, and then go to sleep. This can affect the mood after a time.
2.) Change the Regular Day Off
Sometimes, employees want to shift their normal day off in order to accommodate their schedules. This could make time tracking a lot more challenging.
3.) Early Arrival or Departure
The ability to let your employees alter their departure and arrival times could lead to over 40 hours of work during the first week and fewer than 40 hours of work during the second week, result in overtime, and other issues.
4.) Problems With Focus
For team members who prefer a calm working environment The 9/80 schedule could cause issues. A lot of fluctuation in activities can cause employees to lose focus and lead them to lose interest and motivation.
It could also be a problem on telecommuters and freelancers who are working while the majority of your office is not.
5.) Staffing Gaps
Smaller companies that have fewer employees The 9/80 schedule is not ideal. Alternate schedules such as the 9/80 could mean that there aren’t enough employees to cover all shifts, allowing your business to be open for the additional days of vacation each month.
Even if you try to stagger the schedule to ensure that certain employees get Friday off, and others get the day off on Monday, you might not have enough employees to run your business effectively.
6) Inactive Customers And Businesses
In certain situations customers as well as other businesses might not be operating in the additional hours of working that come with the 9/80 work schedule.
This could result in a drop in productivity or even the loss of revenue if you’re unable to maintain your staff members in line in some way or another during the brief time period in the time that other businesses are closed and customers are in other locations.
7) Sick Leave
It is possible to alter the policy on sick time if you include the 9/80 schedule into your work routine. This type of schedule, a day off from work because of illness will be nine hours rather than the standard eight hours.
Eight and nine hours do not equalize into the same number (unless you’re planning to provide portions of a day or increase your sick time by 72 hours) therefore you’ll need to perform a little some rearranging to make your changes work.
8.) Overtime Issues
There are also difficulties in the case of overtime. If your team members do not strictly adhere to the specific time schedule (e.g. for instance, they may take an extra hour off on a Tuesday to finish an assignment) You could end up paying more for overtime than you expected.
It shouldn’t pose an issue if it occurs once or twice per month for just one or two employees. If it occurs often, and for more than a few team members, the added cost will start taking a bite out of your profits.
Don’t let these obstacles deter you from adopting an 8/80 working schedule. It’s just a matter of promoting teamwork and cohesion throughout the lengthy work week, and also enforce the rules of the work schedule to ensure that you do not run into problems with tracking and calculation.
How To Begin A 9/80 Work Scheduling
The most effective way to begin implementing an 8-hour work day is to first look at your corporate, business and functional level plans to determine if this is the best option for you.
The next step is to design a test plan to check if it fits your work routine.
In the end, it’s best to discuss the new schedule with your employees to ensure that they don’t get caught off guard when they begin working for nine hours instead of eight.
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